Famagusta Debate

After the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, Famagusta became part of the ‘Turkish Republic of North Cyprus’ (TRNC). The TRNC operates a large free port and zone at Famagusta, although the Republic of Cyprus has declared this closed. A section of Famagusta called Varosha has remained closed off by the Turkish military since 1974, becoming a ghost town.

Famagusta is often seen as one of the keys to a permanent settlement for Cyprus and to unblocking Turkey’s stalled EU accession process.

UN-sponsored negotiations for a permanent settlement for Cyprus restarted in 2015 following the election of a new leader in the TRNC. Problematic issues still include powersharing, security, residence and citizenship, and property issues. The talks have carried on in fits and starts since the Greek Cypriots rejected the Annan plan for a permanent settlement in a 2004 referendum.

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1. The Famagusta dispute

1.1 Backbench business debate

The House of Commons is debating a Backbench Business motion on Famagusta on 16 November 2015. It calls for the Cypriot city of Famagusta to be returned by Turkey to its ‘lawful inhabitants’.

That this House supports the comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem based ona bi-communal, bi-zonal federation with political equality, as set out in the relevant Security Council Resolutions and the High Level Agreements; endorses the Declaration of the European Parliament of 14 February 2012 on the return of Famagusta to its lawful inhabitants; notes that the city of Famagusta in the Republic of Cyprus was captured by the invading Turkish forces in August 1974, that a section of Famagusta was then sealed off and remains uninhabited, under the direct control of the Turkish military, and that the return of Famagusta to its lawful inhabitants would facilitate efforts toward a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem; further notes the 1979 High Level Agreement and UN Security Council Resolutions 550 (1984) and 789 (1992) and the 2008 Report of the Committee on Petitions of the European Parliament on Petition 733/2004; calls on the government of Turkey to act according to those UN Security Council Resolutions and Report Recommendations and return Famagusta to its lawful inhabitants, who must resettle under conditions of security and peace; urges the Government, as a guarantor power of Cyprus, to promote Turkey's cooperation; and directs the Speaker to forward this Resolution to President Nicos Anastasiades, Mr Mustafa Akinci,the UN Secretary General and the government of Turkey.

1.2 What happened to Famagusta?

Famagusta (Gazimağusa in Turkish) is a historic port city on the east coast of Cyprus. It is in the (unrecognised) ‘Turkish Republic of North Cyprus’ (TRNC), above the UN buffer zone that divides the north from the (Greek Cypriot) south:

It is the de facto capital of Gazimağusa district of the TRNC, and the de jure capital of the Famagusta district (Paralimni, to the south, is currently serving as the Greek Cypriots’ district capital).

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Famagusta debate

A section of Famagusta called Varosha has remained closed off by the Turkish military since they invaded the town in 1974. It was a modern beach resort largely inhabited by Greek Cypriots, who fled at the time of the Turkish occupation. It is now a ghost town.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) operates a large free port and zone at Famagusta. But in 1974 the Republic of Cyprus declared all airports and ports in the area not under its effective control – including Famagusta – closed. It argued that, as the internationally recognised authority, it could not guarantee vessels’ safety. All EU and UN member states (other than Turkey) respect the closure of those ports and airports. Turkey responded by closing its ports to Cyprus-flagged and/or managed vessels, and vessels whose last port of call was Cyprus. This breaches the EU-Turkey customs union and has resulted in eight of Turkey’s EU accession negotiating ‘chapters’ for EU membership being frozen. Opening up Famagusta port could therefore have far-reaching consequences.

A Library note from 2009, Cyprus: a political and economic overview ,¹

explains Cyprus’s history and constitutional arrangements, including independence from the UK in 1960 and division between the Greek south and Turkish north in 1974.

Other Library briefings include:

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Property disputes in north Cyprus , SN05663, 28 July 2010 In brief: a closed window in Cyprus?, SN05664, 28 July 2010

1.3 Proposals

Under the 2004 Annan peace plan – accepted by Turkish but not Greek Cypriots in twin referendums – the Turkish Cypriots would have been able to operate Famagusta port as part of the Turkish Cypriot state, and Varosha would have been returned to its Greek Cypriot owners. Doing this could unblock Turkey’s stalled EU accession process.

In 2010 the then President of the Republic of Cyprus, Demetris Christofias, proposed that Turkey hand over Varosha to the UN in return for the Republic of Cyprus opening the port of Famagusta to commercial transactions with the EU.²

In 2012 there were reports that Turkey was considering allowing the former residents of Famagusta to return, but keeping the city under TRNC administration, if the Cyprus peace talks did not reach a conclusion by 1 July 2012 when Cyprus took over the EU presidency.³The Turkish proposal did not materialise. Greek Cypriots would consider it a breach of UN Security Council resolutions on Famagusta which call for the area to be transferred to the UN.

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Commons Library Standard Note 5208, 4 November 2009

“Famagusta becomes key to Cyprus reunification ”, EurActiv, 12 October 2010 “Famagusta mayor calls on president to take action ”, Cyprus Mail, 12 April 2012

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2. Cyprus settlement negotiations

Since the Greek Cypriots rejected the ‘Annan Plan’ for a permanent settlement in 2004, negotiations have sputtered along with limited progress.

2.1 UN negotiations

The negotiations are facilitated by the UN’s special adviser on Cyprus , Espen Barth Eide. The talks are based on the agreed formula of a unified State of Cyprus with a single sovereignty, single international personality and a single citizenship, in a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation with political equality, as described in a series of UN Security Council resolutions.

The problematic issues include:

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Power-sharing: in general, Greek Cypriots want to keep as much power as possible with the federal government and ensure that the new state is a continuation of the Republic of Cyprus, whereas Turkish Cypriots want to keep as much power as possible within the two ‘constituent states’ and ensure that their own entity is treated as an equal founder.⁴

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Security: the status of Turkish troops and of the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee.

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Residence and citizenship rights of settlers from mainland Turkey. Property issues: there are thousands of claims to ownership of properties from people displaced during the events of 1974.

Recent developments

The election in April 2015 of Mustafa Akinci, a centre-left moderate, as president of the unrecognised TRNC rekindled optimism over the talks:

The recent election of Mustafa Akinci as Turkish Cypriot leader is widely seen as a game-changer - one that has significantly increased the chances of finding a solution.

His first act on assuming office was to abolish the "entry visa" for visitors to northern Cyprus - something that had long angered Greek Cypriots.

For the first time since Greek Cypriots rejected the UN's 2004 reunification plan, the communities now have leaders with both the will and political acumen necessary to reach a solution.⁵

In May 2015 the UN special adviser, Espen Barth Eide, announced that the restarted comprehensive settlement negotiations between Mr Akinci and the Greek Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiades had yielded their first tangible results, with decisions to open new crossings and interconnecting electricity grids on the island. Negotiations are currently

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International Crisis Group, Cyprus: Reunification or Partition?, Europe Report N°201, 30 September 2009, p4

‘Cyprus peace talks: Rocky road to reunification ’, BBC news online, 16 June 2015

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Famagusta debate

in an ‘intensive’ phase, with six meetings between the leaders scheduled for November and almost daily meetings between the negotiating teams.⁶

In October 2015 the Cyprus Government – which continues to oppose reopening EU membership talks with Turkey⁷– said it could remove its veto on Turkish EU accession if Famagusta was returned. It had the support of Germany’s leader, Chancellor Angela Merkel, who met Turkish Prime Minister Davutoglu in an attempt to secure Ankara’s support in stemming the migrant influx into the EU. Davutoglu was reported as describing the moves to foster collaboration between the EU and Ankara as a “better approach”.⁸

In mid-November 2015 the Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, said it was clear the EU's salvation lay with Turkey. Hundreds of thousands of migrants have travelled from Turkey to Greece since the crisis in Syria began, on their way to Germany and northern Europe.

Greece, Turkey and the UK, as Cyprus’s three ‘guaranteeing powers’, take a close interest in the negotiations. Under Cyprus’s 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, the three states undertook to “recognise and guarantee the independence, territorial integrity and security of the Republic of Cyprus” and to “prohibit, so far as concerns them, any activity aimed at promoting, directly or indirectly, either union of Cyprus with any other State or partition of the Island”. The Treaty gave each of the three states the right to take unilateral action as a last resort against a union or partition of Cyprus. They also had the right to keep troops on the island (Britain kept two Sovereign Base Areas). But the extent of their practical involvement in the negotiations is sometimes hard to ascertain from the outside.

Up to 2014

When for a time both north and south had pro-settlement leaders, the prospects for successful negotiations looked encouraging. But then a nationalist party won elections in the north in 2010,⁹and re-started negotiations stalled again when the Republic of Cyprus assumed the EU’s rotating presidency in 2012. They were not helped by Cyprus needing to give priority to securing an international bailout sparked by the eurozone debt crisis.

On 11 February 2014 the two then leaders, Nicos Anastasiades and Dervis Eroglu, met to restart talks, issuing a joint communiqué that had been months in the making.¹⁰They said that all remaining issues would be on the table and discussed interdependently.

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Statement delivered by the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on Cyprus on 30/10/2015

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‘Cyprus to block restart of Turkey-EU talks ’, EU Observer, 20 October 2015 In Cyprus, 20 October 2015 .

See In brief: a closed window in Cyprus? Library Note 5664, 28 July 2010.

“UN chief welcomes re-launching of Cyprus reunification talks ”, UN news centre,

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11 February 2014

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The talks were based on the principle that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”. The parties also committed to avoiding “blame games” or other negative public comments on the negotiations. But early on there were reports that Eroglu had been criticising the Greek Cypriot side.¹¹

The Greek Cypriot negotiator, Andreas Mavroyiannis, and the Turkish Cypriot negotiator, Kudret Ozersay, met several times after the 11 February communiqué, and made historic parallel visits to Ankara and Athens. The negotiators finished talking about the process and started talking about substantive issues. Seven working groups were set up, looking at governance and power-sharing; EU/Human Rights; property; territory; economy; security; and citizenship/asylum.

The two leaders met again on 31 March 2014. According to a statement by Lisa Buttenheim, Head of the UN Mission in Cyprus, the leaders met “in a friendly atmosphere and reviewed the progress of the discussions undertaken thus far between the negotiators. They agreed to continue the screening process and to conclude this phase as soon as possible with a view to entering into the next stage of the structured negotiations.”¹²

On 12 May 2014, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ordered the Turkish government to pay €90 million in compensation to Cyprus over human rights abuses committed during and after Turkey’s invasion of the island in 1974. Ankara said before the announcement that it would not be bound by the ruling, whose timing it said was aimed at undermining a fresh peace drive on the island. But a former Turkish judge at the ECHR said Turkey would have to pay the compensation.¹³Cyprus brought the case to the European Court 20 years ago, demanding financial compensation over missing Greek Cypriots, the property of displaced people and violations of other human rights. The Court ruled largely in Nicosia's favour in 2001, but postponed a decision on the sum to be paid. It was not clear why the European Court took so long to fix the amount. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters in Ankara an ECHR ruling on the case would not be binding in terms of international law”. Riza Turmen, a former judge of the ECHR and now an opposition lawmaker in Turkey's parliament, said Ankara would be legally required to comply with the ruling.¹⁴

2.2 Cyprus-EU relations

Cyprus joined the EU as a divided island in 2004, part of the big enlargement that included eight central and eastern European countries. There has been a lot of criticism over allowing it to join before

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“Leaders to hold second meeting (updated)”, Cyprus Mail, 11 March 2014 "Need for further dialogue on all aspects of Cyprus problem", Cyprus Mail, 31