Outcome of the second trilateral meeting of Istanbul

JOINT COMMUNIQUÉ

of the Peace Association of Turkey, of EEDYE, and the Cyprus Peace Council

Istanbul, Turkey, 24-25 September 2011

The Cyprus Peace Council, the Peace Association of Turkey and the Greek Committee for International Detente and Peace held their second trilateral regional meeting on 24-25 September 2011 hosted by the Peace Association of Turkey and with the support of the World Peace Council.

As fraternal Peace organizations of three neighbouring countries, we address militant greetings and an anti-imperialist message of friendship and solidarity to the Greek labourers struggling against the offensive mounted by the big capital, the EU and the IMF, under the pretext of global capitalist economic crisis.

In a historical moment the possibility of the reunification of the island of Cyprus comes to the political agenda, we express our solidarity with peace-loving Cyprus people of both communities, Greek-Cypriots and Turkish – Cypriots. It is our duty to decipher the attacks of imperialist powers which are responsible for the perpetuation of the Cyprus problem and of the nationalist forces which have accelerated their efforts to wear down progressive forces in Cyprus and have intensified the pressures on President Christofias.

We evaluate the efforts to present the growing aggressiveness of Turkey, as a reaction against Zionist Israel and even some times as an independent line from imperialism’s rivalries and the interests of its ruling class aiming to disorient the peoples of the Middle East. We express our militant solidarity to the progressive popular anti-imperialist forces of Turkey in their struggle against expansionist and anti-people’s regime led by the existing government. The initiative taken by the Turkish government to send warships to the Eastern Mediterranean is unacceptable and the pretexts are completely illegitimate.

The three peace movements express also their solidarity with Palestine who applied to the United Nations Security Council for full membership to UN, for the recognition of the Palestinian State by the international community. We condemn US and Israeli positions to block all bilateral negotiations since many years and the latest clear refusal of the demands of Palestinian people by US. We once again emphasize our position in favour of a two-state solution to the issue and salute the struggle of Palestinian people for an independent state on the basis of the June 1967 borders and relevant UN resolutions, giving an end to the occupation of the lands of neighbour countries by Israel, guaranteeing also the right of Palestinian refugees to return back to homeland. While warning our peoples on the hypocritical character of the tension between Israel and Turkey, we also condemn the strategic military and political collaboration between the governments of Israel and Greece.

As anti-imperialist Peace movements of Cyprus, Greece and Turkey gathered together under such conditions while imperialism attempts to implement extremely dangerous plans both in our countries and the Balkans and particularly in the Middle East in Arabic Countries, we are conscious of the fact that establishing permanent and close coordination is a must along with contributing decisively to the anti-imperialist struggle. We call upon the working class and the popular strata for common struggle against the imperialist barbarity which results in crisis and wars. We furthermore call upon all peoples of the region to stay alerted and to create a counter-weight against the imperialist plans.

In this context, we want to emphasize our decisiveness to keep on holding our trilateral meetings annually, the first one having been held in 2010 in Mytilini/Greece and the second today in Istanbul/Turkey, and we express our common intention to hold the third meeting in Nicosia/Cyprus next year.

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We held our trilateral meeting in a period when Syria is in the midst of bloody clashes. As the peace movements of three countries, we believe, that the basic cause of these dramatic clashes in Syria is the plan of imperialism, especially by the USA, to impose changes following the imperialist plan for the “New Middle East”. As part of this plan the powerful imperialist forces have tried with the support of Turkey, to take advantage of the internal social problems in Syria, which are result of the government’s policies and mistakes, arming the reactionary forces and leading the country into a civil war. However, the argument that the opposition in Syria consists of those who defend the democratic liberties and the rights of labourers is totally unfounded. On the other hand, the representatives of the world capitalism do not even hide that Iran will be next in the line if the imperialist plan against Syria is successful.

As peace-loving anti-imperialist movements of Turkey, Greece and Cyprus who are struggling within the World Peace Council, we are warning the Turkish government not to participate in the militarist plans against Syria. A military operation against Syria could pave the way for a general conflict and bloody war in the region. The resistance expressed inside Turkey against these plans, which has been initiated and steered by the peace-loving forces in Turkey along with the anti-imperialist forces, is expressing the positions of the global anti-imperialist movement.

By integrating the opposition movements in the Middle East into its plans, establishing a new religionist and totalitarian regime in Egypt, by bombing Libya and using the opposition forces which were former collaborators of Ghaddafi, the imperialist powers USA, France, Great Britain, Italy, NATO and the EU are aiming at the full control over the region, in competition with other big forces.. The main responsible for the bloodshed is imperialism which tries to seek pretexts for military intervention.

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The reunification of Cyprus is a much bigger necessity today where Turkey has enhanced the policy of altering the demographic character of the Island by increasing the number of settlers in Cyprus, thus turned Turkish Cypriots into a small minority in their own Country. The great need of reunification is expressed also by the intensification of the multiyear common struggles of the progressive Greek and Turkish Cypriots, for unity and peace. On the other hand, EU and US put pressure on Cyprus and seek ways by interfering to impose a solution that will serve their interests in the best possible way, so the imperialist status quo will be preserved. We condemn the recent pressure especially from inside but also from outside the island on the Cyprus Republic to apply for the NATO Project “Partnership for Peace”, which was successfully blocked by the Presidency of Cyprus in accordance with the interests of all peoples of the region. We condemn furthermore the efforts to overthrow the democratically elected President Christophias.

At the same time Ankara’s war threats and manipulation of the legitimate activities of Cyprus to search natural gas or hydrocarbons as a pretext to escalate the tension is unacceptable. We condemn these efforts to escalate tension while threatening Cyprus militarily. The problem is not in the accessibility to natural resources by Cyprus as a sovereign State, but in the ongoing for 37 years division and occupation of 37% of the Island.  The Cyprus problem has not been created by the sister communities that make up the people of this country, nor by the peoples of Turkey and Greece, but by imperialism to keep its stronghold and to strengthen its hegemony in the region against the peoples.

Our trilateral meeting supports the solution of Bi – zonal Bi – communal Federation with political equality, as set forth in the UN Resolutions regarding Cyprus, top level agreements between the leaders of two communities in 1977 and 1979 and the principles of International Law.

It is necessary to intensify the struggle for a solution that leads in reunited Country with one Sovereignty, one citizenship and one entity that will ensure the fundamental freedoms, popular interests and humanitarian rights for all Cypriots; a Country free of all foreign armies and bases. We remind that this is the basic demand of both Greek and Turkish Cypriots, and the unique way for a just under the circumstances solution to the Cyprus problem. As emphasized also last year in our Lesbos meeting peace loving forces of Cyprus, Turkey and Greece should form “a culture of common struggle” among peoples of three countries, in order to contribute to the solution of Cyprus problem also.

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As peace-loving and anti-imperialist movements of three neighbouring countries, members of the WPC, we observe the critical situation regarding Kurdish problem in Turkey and we do emphasize our support for a just and peaceful solution on the basis of equality and fraternity of all the peoples of Turkey.

First of all we call an end to the bloodshed by a mutual ceasefire. We express our solidarity with the elected Kurdish representatives both in the National Assembly and in the local councils, who have been arrested for political reasons and we demand freedom for them. We condemn the attitude of the Turkish government to raise barriers against the legitimate representatives of Kurds so to accelerate tension.

We consider that Kurdish problem can nevertheless be described as a problem between peoples who have lived together for centuries, but as one created by the ruling classes and imperialist forces. We call the peace-loving Turkish and Kurdish peoples to stand shoulder to shoulder for peace and equality, against nationalist and imperialist forces in attempt to divide them.

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As anti-imperialist peace organisations of Cyprus, Turkey and Greece, together with World Peace Council demand the abolition of all nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and every means of mass destruction, first of the ones all of the major imperialist powers. We are against the installation of the so-called "anti-missile shield" in Europe, promoted by USA, and to avert any possibility of the Aegean Sea being used for its reinforcement. We are also against the installation of nuclear power plants. We demand the implementation of the International Convention of the Law of the Sea in 1982 and the definition of the EEZ - Exclusive Economic Zones. No involvement, no participation of our countries in the imperialist plans and actions against the peoples of the region. We fight for the immediate abolition and withdrawal of the NATO-US and all other foreign bases from our countries, for their disengagement from NATO and other imperialist organizations. We demand the return of all military troops and police forces from overseas. We expose and confront state terrorism and repressive mechanisms and laws against the peoples. We fight for the protection and real support of refugees and immigrants. We are alongside with all our brothers and sisters raising the struggle against the imperialist war, occupation and aggression, and resisting to the offensive mounted by the bourgeois classes and their governments.

In our common region from the Balkans to Middle East, the common demand and aim of our three organisations is the end of the imperialist occupation in Afghanistan and Iraq, the end of the aggression against Libya and of the blackmail and intimidation Syria is facing as well for the end of the occupation and division in Cyprus. We call on the international community to recognize the independent state of Palestine with the borders of the 4th June 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital.

EEDYE, Cyprus Peace Council and Peace Association of Turkey, having met in Istanbul in September of 2011 with the support of WPC, and decided to create a program of common action, do emphasize that the struggle for peace and against imperialist war and for the benefit of the peoples is inseparably tied to the struggle against the imperialist-capitalist system and call upon all the peoples of our region to strengthen solidarity and the common struggle for the overthrow of the imperialist plans, against the big capital and its representatives, against NATO and the EU.

The peoples shall resist with all their forces against the interests of their exploiters and open their way for the society which will satisfy their needs and interests.