RESOLUTION 9.7.1987
on the case of the Turkish Cypriot Member of Parliament, Mr. Ozker Ozgur

The European Parliament,

1. whereas the principal Turkish Cypriot Opposition leader, Mr. Ozker Ozgur, has been charged in connection with an article published in the newspaper Yeni Duzen and risks a seven-year prison sentence,
2. whereas an application for the waiver of Mr. Ozgur's 'parliamentary immunity' has been tabled before the 'Parliament' of the 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus',
3. whereas similar applications have been submitted on a variety of pretexts against most representatives of the Opposition,
4. whereas since 1974 Turkish troops have occupied the northern part of the Republic of Cyprus, where the 'TRNC' was proclaimed unilaterally in 1983 despite condemnation by the international community,
5. concerned at the colonization policy pursued by the Turkish Government in the part of Cyprus under its control, into which at least 60,000 Turkish colonists have been brought, enjoying, moreover, voting rights in Turkish Cypriot 'elections' alongside the approximately 100,000 Turkish-speaking Cypriots,
6. stressing the criticism directed at Turkey in this connection by the UN SecretaryGeneral in his last report on Cyprus,
7. whereas the civilian 'government' of the occupied area is the outcome of a coalition between the party of the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr. Denktash, and the Turkish colonists' party,
8. having regard to the appeal to international opinion by the heads of the three Opposition parties, Mr. Ozgur, Mr. Bozkurt and Mr. Kotak, who say that they represent at least 55% of Turkish Cypriot voters and denounce the policy of 'suppression, intimidation and blackmail' carried out against the Opposition, the 'destruction of democracy' and the 'decadence and corruption' in the occupied area of Cyprus,
9. having regard to the unexplained circumstances surrounding the death of the leader of the Opposition Social Democratic Party in a road accident caused by a Turkish military vehicle,
10. having regard to the numerous resolutions on Cyprus adopted by the UN, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe and others, calling for the withdrawal of the occupying troops and the repeal of the proclamation of the 'TRNC',
11. Calls for any repressive measure which may have been decided on against Mr. Ozgur and the leaders of the Turkish Cypriot Opposition to be dropped immediately;
12. Calls on the Turkish Government to withdraw its troops and colonists from the island so that a solution may be found to the Cyprus crisis;
13. Calls for a free, democratic election, under international supervision, to be organized among the Turkish Cypriot community, so that it may freely choose its representatives;
14. Calls for the population of Cyprus as a whole to be allowed to determine their future freely and without any outside interference;
15. States once again that the withdrawal of the Turkish troops and colonists from Cyprus is a prior condition which cannot be circumvented for any normalization of relations between the EEC and Turkey;
16. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Foreign Ministers, the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Turkish Government and Parliament and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
    • Amendment to Docs. B2-568, 600 and 601/86