Pavlos Xanthoulis
Just three weeks after its report on Turkey sent a strong message on the framework for resolving the Cyprus issue and rejected Ankara's "two-state" narrative, the European Parliament has adopted another report that reinforces Nicosia's positions. The new report, which focuses on the impact of the 1974 Turkish invasion on the women and girls of Cyprus, comes at a particularly important time, with preparations underway for a planned five-party conference and reports that the U.N. secretary-general is pursuing a new initiative to resume direct negotiations.
The report, which addresses the "crimes committed by the Turkish forces" during the 1974 invasion, including sexual violence, points to Turkey's continuing responsibility while also reaffirming the framework within which a settlement of the Cyprus problem should be pursued. It repeats the European Parliament's call for Turkey "to withdraw its troops from Cyprus and refrain from any unilateral action that would entrench the permanent occupation of the island, as well as from actions that alter its demographic balance."
The report, which is due to be put to a vote today during the European Parliament's plenary session, repeats almost word for word the positions adopted on June 17. It "urgently calls for the resumption of negotiations on the reunification of Cyprus under the auspices of the U.N. secretary-general," stressing that the talks should continue from the point where they ended at Crans-Montana in 2017. It also "strongly reaffirms its view that the only solution to the Cyprus problem is a fair, comprehensive, viable and democratic settlement within the established and agreed U.N. framework and the EU acquis, based on a bicommunal, bizonal federation with political equality, as defined in the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions."
The report, which will be put to a vote today in the European Parliament's plenary session, repeats the positions adopted on June 17.
Taken together, the European Parliament's repeated position, expressed twice within three weeks, provides additional political backing for Nicosia ahead of the United Nations' efforts to restart negotiations. This comes as Ankara continues to insist on sovereign equality for the self-declared "TRNC," while the European Commission and the European External Action Service continue efforts to strengthen EU-Turkey relations in areas such as connectivity and security, offering concessions to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government without meaningfully linking them to progress on the Cyprus issue.
Against that backdrop, the European Parliament's recent report on Turkey, which prompted strong reactions in Ankara, along with the report expected to be approved today on the impact of the Turkish invasion on the women of Cyprus, gives Nicosia two valuable tools as it pursues a settlement of the Cyprus issue. At the same time, the earlier report on Turkey also included references supporting stronger EU-Turkey ties and progress on a range of bilateral issues, developments that continue to concern both officials in Nicosia and Cypriot members of the European Parliament.
Today in the plenary
The report on the impact of the 1974 Turkish invasion on the women and girls of Cyprus condemns in the strongest terms Turkey's military invasion and the continuing illegal occupation of the Republic of Cyprus, describing it as "a serious violation of international law and an obstacle to peace, stability and EU-Turkey relations."
It also "unequivocally condemns the serious and long-lasting consequences of the invasion for the women and girls of Cyprus, including conflict-related sexual violence and other forms of sexual exploitation, forced displacement, family separation and other violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law that disproportionately affect women and girls, as well as the long-term social, economic and psychological harm they suffered."
The report "emphasizes that the Republic of Turkey continues to bear responsibility under international law for the violations committed during and after the 1974 invasion, including grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions." It recalls that this responsibility includes the obligation to ensure victims receive full reparations, including compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees that such violations will not happen again.
As a result, the report "calls on the member states to ensure effective reparations for all victims of gender-based violence, including sexual violence," adding that these reparations should be adequate, prompt and comprehensive to fully acknowledge the harm suffered.
The report also "calls on the Commission to support Cyprus in its ongoing efforts to determine the full scale of the crimes committed during the conflict, including sexual violence, establish the number of victims, collect data and safely document testimonies." It says this would help secure official recognition, rehabilitation and reparations for survivors and, where appropriate, their descendants, promote historical awareness and strengthen support services through an enhanced national action plan.
In addition, it "calls on the U.N. secretary-general, who prepares annual reports on sexual violence in conflict zones, to examine relevant U.N. archives and other sources to document the atrocities committed in Cyprus."
Among the amendments submitted, one from the Socialists, co-signed by the European Left, states that "intercommunal violence affected all Cypriot communities," referring to its lasting impact on first-, second- and third-generation Cypriots, particularly women and girls who were disproportionately affected.
Another amendment submitted by the European Left and backed by the Socialists refers to intercommunal violence before 1974, "affecting women and girls from all communities in Cyprus, including Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Maronites, Armenians and Latins."
"Support history"
The report's rapporteur, EPP MEP Eleonora Meleti, urged fellow members of the European Parliament to support "the history behind the resolution, the women, the girls, those who left, those who are still here. Those who," she said, "told us about the darkest acts of violence, isolation, humiliation and abuse."
Meleti referred to the women who were raped by Turkish invading forces in 1974 and said they had broken their silence. She also spoke of the commitment to recognize them as victims of war crimes.
Speaking for the Socialists, MEP Cecilia Strada said rape was used by the Turkish invading forces as a weapon of war, noting that girls and women between the ages of 12 and 70 were raped. She also said rapes were committed by EOKA B.
Representing the Patriots, Aphrodite Latinopoulou referred to the mass rapes of girls and women in Cyprus by Turkish invading forces and told the chamber: "You want to bring them into the EU, and you're not ashamed. Stuffed with the occupier's dirty money. Shame on you."
Speaking on behalf of the ECR group, ELAM MEP Geadis Geadi said it was "a disgrace" that senior EU officials, High Representative Kaja Kallas and Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos, recently described Turkey as a strategic partner of the European Union during a visit to Ankara. He said those remarks insult the EU's values.
AKEL MEP Giorgos Georgiou, speaking for the European Left, said the Turkish army systematically carried out sexual violence "against Greek Cypriot women as well as men of all ages" during the 1974 invasion of Cyprus, describing it as "another heinous crime by Turkey that remains unpunished."
He also said atrocities were committed by Greek Cypriot paramilitary organizations against Turkish Cypriot women, adding that "rape has no color, race or religion."
Representing the Liberals and the Greens, Jana Toom and Isabella Lövin avoided focusing on Turkey's responsibility and instead confined their remarks to the social aspects of the issue.
