Last Edited: February 8th 2004. This is an evolving document. Please use the edition date when referencing

While most international attention during the past few decades has for obvious reasons focused on human rights violations in Cyprus by Turkey, human rights issues in the Republic of Cyprus (or rather the government-controlled areas or simply the "South") rarely receive appropriate attentionⁱ. Yet, human rights issues in the South deserve closer attention as evidence demonstrates major deficiencies in several areas. We, as the Cyprus Action Network, would like to invite both Cypriots and non-Cypriots to provide us with evidence and reports that could help us expose human rights violations. We believe that old-fashioned state practices and mentalities will start to change only through widespread publication of these incidents.

While human rights should be observed by all states under all occasions, the human rights record of the Republic of Cyprus is particularly important for political reasons. The prospect of reunifying Cyprus IS dependent on human rights issues, particularly on those relating to Turkish Cypriots. If the Republic of Cyprus is to evolve into a bi-communal federation in the future with a Turkish Cypriot and a Greek Cypriot constituent state (as it claims it aspires to do), then the continuation of its current administrative practices, social prejudices, and discriminatory policies will certainly constitute important obstacles to this evolution. In contrast, if the Republic of Cyprus develops solid multicultural policies, it will diminish the chances for ethnic tension and it will provide a smoother transition to a new bi-communal and multicultural state.

The Cyprus Action Network is particularly concerned with the rights of the Turkish Cypriot community before a settlement is reached. The occupation of northern Cyprus and the properties of the Greek Cypriots in the North by the Turkish military should not serve as an excuse to allow human rights violations in the South. Likewise, the continuation of ethnic conflict and the absence of a settlement should not justify prejudices and different types of discrimination against the Turkish Cypriots or any other group.

We believe that the opening of the "Green Line" in April 2003 presents a challenge for the Greek Cypriot authorities, which they have not yet managed to deal with it effectively. Many Turkish Cypriots have expressed disappointment regarding their treatment in the South, by authorities and the general public alike. The lack of goodwill and effort in the South to make Turkish Cypriots and other marginalized groups feel comfortable undermines the vision of a trust-based multicultural society that EU membership implies. As the numerical majority, the Greek Cypriots should try their hardest to build good relationships with marginalized groups. It is important to note that even the strongest opponents of Denktash, such as Sener Levent (editor of Afrika) ⁱⁱ and Ibrahim Aziz (TC journalist residing in the South)ⁱⁱⁱ have expressed complaints about their treatment by Greek Cypriot authorities on different occasions.

We would like to stress that this document is not a full report, but rather an effort to outline the human rights debate. Therefore, we would like to invite friends of the Cyprus Action Network and other activists to contribute to this debate. We will be glad to consider these contributions for publication in our website. There are several topics pertaining to the Cyprus conflict and immigration. The Republic of Cyprus has an unfortunate historical record involving high levels of inter-communal violence, as well as a fortunate one of economic performance that made the South a magnet for immigrants from the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the Black Sea countries.

The Greek Cypriot press pays close attention to human rights violations in the island. We strongly recommend all newspapers for research purposes and in particular the dailies Politis ("Citizen") and Cyprus Mail as well as the Agence France Presse (French Press Agency), which we have used for the writing of this preliminary document. More specifically, we would like to invite factually accurate contributions in the following sub-categories:

1. Pre-1974 History of Human Rights Violations
2. Post-1974 Human Rights Violations of Turkish Cypriots
3. Delays in the Application of Measures for Turkish Cypriot (aiming at the equality of members of the two communities) announced in 2003
4. Prisons in the Republic of Cyprus
5. Human Rights Violations and Immigrants in the Republic of Cyprus
6. Gender Equality and Domestic Violence
7. Illegal Turkish Immigrants in the North
8. The National Guard

ⁱ This review was prepared by Alexandra Manglis, Olga Demetriou, Neophytos Loizides and Elena Georgiou, as well as other Cyprus Action Network members.

ⁱⁱ ΠΟΛΙΤΗΣ: 23/10/2003 Σελ.: 6 Κωδ. άρθρου: 388713, ΠΟΛΙΤΗΣ:25/09/2003 Σελ.: 2 Κωδ. άρθρου: 381520

ⁱⁱⁱ ΠΟΛΙΤΗΣ:29/10/2003 Σελ.: 2, Κωδ. άρθρου: 390005