[MGSA-L] Article: EU to become more involved

[ifestos]

Panayiotis Ifestos Comments

It is obvious that the ebb and flow of prons and cons regarding the
international and European rule of law go on. Allow me state my judgment
that what is at stake here after all is not only the survival of Cypriot
sovereignty and the Cypriots as free society. What is at stake is the
attachment of Europe to its laws and principles and the ability of its
system to sustain the momentum in furthering and sustaining its
legal-political acquis. As argued in another occasion owing to diversity the
Community lacks a political mind proper similar to other (sovereign)
organizations. It is precisely its legal acquis which provide to the EU
political features. These features build-expand or shrink depending from the
state of affairs as regards the supranational regulations forming the
underpinning of its sociopolitical existence as a formidable civilian power,
its European Convention of Human Rights, the attachment to the fundamental
principles of international law and the attachment to all other
international and European acquisitions which shape the map of European and
International rule of law. 
	Cyprus in this regard is a test ground and I have always being
saying this as early as 1990 when in some books and essays I had to face
ELIAMEP's publications opposing applying for membership. Now Cyprus thanks
to the resistance of its people to international blackmail safeguarded
European acquisitions and international rule of law. It remains to expand
them to occupied part of the Republic of Cyprus. Still some oppose. Why?  

Indeed: Why so much fanaticism in some quarters against applying European
and international rule of law in a demilitarized Cypriot Republic? In order
to satisfy the often stated claim of the Generals of Turkey for strategic
control over Cyprus in the name of "vital space"? (a concept introduced long
ago introduced by Nazicism but hopefully morally and invalid nowadays). Some
strategic considerations base their logic on precisely this ground.

Furthermore and in relation to the political polemic in the context of the
aforementioned "ebb and flow" of prons and cons to which inevitably we are
all involved what are the limits? Can we debate within civilized boundaries
if some arguments run contrary to acquis of human civilization such as
freedom, Human Rights, basic democratic values and the rule of law with
regard to international crimes defined in the Geneva Convention?
Sometimes I do feel that the debate -and not only in this forum - moves
towards an intellectual and political mine-field where rule of law, freedom
and other acquis are for some strange incomprehensible reasons overlooked.
Because the one or the other "important" person said so or implied so or
voted so are no valid arguments if they run contrary to the legal-normative
and moral grounds. Specifically some acquis such as human rights are over
and above factors such as personal views, majority vote, political regimes
and sentimentalism.  

As regard the scientifically vulgar position lately taken by some in Greece
and Cyprus supporting that claiming rule of law is "legalism", I shall
revert in due time.

Regards to all

Panayiotis Ifestos

    

-----Original Message-----
From: mgsa-l-bounces at uci.edu [mailto:mgsa-l-bounces at uci.edu] On Behalf Of
Despina Christodoulou
Sent: Monday, May 09, 2005 11:56 PM
To: Pavlos Andronikos
Cc: MGSA-L at uci.edu
Subject: Re: [MGSA-L] Article: EU to become more involved

The article from the Cyprus Weekly, that Pavlos Andronikos cites 
below, is a good example of the distortion and misrepresentation that 
goes on in the Greek Cypriot media. I will just point out a couple of 
things in relation to supposed decisions taken by the Parliamentary 
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). I searched on the 
Assembly's web site (http://assembly.coe.int) for more information on 
these supposed decisions, and found none. Perhaps Pavlos could send 
us some more details from actual Council of Europe sources. The 
Council of Europe is currently very critical of the Greek Cypriots 
and full of sympathy for the Turkish Cypriots, so the supposed 
decisions that the Cyprus Weekly refers to seem quite unlikely to me, 
at least in the tone and language which it uses to describe things. A 
search of PACE press releases for the term "cyprus" came up with this 
as the latest entry:

23/02/05	FranËais

	PACE President welcomes result of elections in northern part of
Cyprus

Strasbourg, 23.02.2005 ? Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly 
President RenÈ van der Linden today made the following statement:
 
"I welcome the results of Sunday's elections in the northern part of 
Cyprus. This shows the European orientation of Turkish Cypriots, and 
clearly signals their wish to end the division of the island. I hope 
these results will contribute to developing the confidence and trust 
of the Greek Cypriot population in the positive attitude of Turkish 
Cypriots. Since January of this year, the Assembly has enabled 
elected representatives of the Turkish Cypriot community to take part 
in its work. This was our contribution to involving Turkish Cypriots 
in European affairs. The Assembly will continue to do all it can to 
find a lasting solution to the Cyprus problem."


(There is also a link to Resolution 1376 (2004) on Cyprus, which can 
be taken as the Council of Europe's official position on the Cyprus 
issue, and which I shall send in another email.)

Despina Christodoulou



Pavlos Andronikos wrote:

>http://www.cyprusweekly.com.cy/default.aspx?FrontPageNewsID=304_5
>
>EU to become more involved with Cyprus says EU official
>
>Angelos Marcopoulos reports from Strasbourg

[snip]

>Cyprus figured in two other important developments here this week. One
>was the appointment of Swiss MP Andreas Gross as the rapporteur of the
>Council of Europe to monitor the respect for the human rights of the
>Cypriots living within the British Sovereign Bases on the island.
>
>The other was the strong criticism of Turkey during a meeting of a
>special CoE committee on the missing for its refusal to assist in the
>tracing of the hundreds of Greek Cypriots who went missing in the wake
>of the 1974 Turkish invasion.
>
>
>
>
>
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