The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. James Callaghan)With your permission, Mr. Speaker, and that of the House, I shall make a further statement about Cyprus
Hon. Members will have been following with great anxiety the very serious situation in the eastern Mediterranean following the decision of the Turkish Government to land forces on Cyprus in the early hours of Saturday 20th July. Fighting has been continuous since then, including fighting between the communities, and the House will have heard with great relief that the Governments of Greece and Turkey have agreed that a cease-fire should become effective from 3 o'clock today, London time. In view of the assurances that have been given. I trust that the fighting still going on in Cyprus will now die down and that the suffering of the Cypriot people will be ended.
During the weekend, and in a period of intense diplomatic activity, our main purpose was to achieve a cease-fire at the earliest possible moment, to prevent the fighting from spreading or escalating, and measures to safeguard the lives of British dependants of our troops, British residents and British tourists. Dr. Kissinger and I held continuous discussions throughout Saturday and Sunday separately with the Prime Minister of Turkey and the Foreign Minister of Greece. I remained in touch with M. Sauvagnargues, the current President of the Nine, with the Secretary-General of the United Nations and with the Secretary-General of NATO, who supported our efforts.
It is now very important to look to the future. Under paragraph 2 of the Security Council Resolution No. 353 which was passed on Saturday, a call was made for a cease-fire and for maximum restraint. If things go well, that provision is now in the process of coming into effect Under paragraph 5 of the same resolution, there was a call for talks between the three guarantor Powers, and we must get on with them urgently. I have this morning invited the Governments of Greece and Turkey to meet with me urgently. The Foreign Minister of Greece has informed me of his willingness to attend talks in Geneva, and shortly 1043 before I came to the House the Prime Minister of Turkey spoke to me and indicated his agreement to Geneva as the meeting place. I trust that these talks will begin either tomorrow or on Wednesday.
The safety of British citizens in Cyprus has been given the highest priority by Her Majesty's Government since the crisis began. My hon. Friend the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was put in direct and personal charge of their welfare. My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence for the Royal Air Force has been in the sovereign base areas since Saturday. A large proportion of the British citizens together with a considerable number of other foreign nationals are now concentrated in the sovereign base areas.
Those British citizens still scattered about the island, and particularly those near Kyrenia, should now gain respite if the cease-fire holds. We are, however, continuing to make urgent arrangements for their protection and removal if they so wish.
I am sure that the House would like to pay high tribute to the excellent work of the British forces in Cyprus, the British High Commission and the United Nations forces—[HON. MEMBERS: "Hear, hear."]—and to the good co-operation between them. Among many outstanding operations, yesterday's convoy from Dhekelia to Nicosia and back was a remarkable achievement. The good sense and the good spirits of the British dependants themselves, the British residents and the British tourists have helped greatly the efforts to ensure their safety.
The House will have heard with sorrow the news of the death of the son of a British Service man in Cyprus and the accidental death of one of the British soldiers serving with the United Nations forces. We send our sympathy to their families, and, indeed, to the families of all those in Cyprus, Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot alike, who have suffered death, injury or loss in the tragic events of the last three days.
A great deal has to be done to ensure the return to constitutional rule in Cyprus, which was destroyed last Monday, and to devise arrangements 1044 which will produce the necessary confidence among all concerned that this will be maintained in future. We are at the beginning of the process of consultation and negotiation to that end. I assure the House that the British Government will continue to work strenuously and urgently in every way to achieve it.
§ Sir Alec Douglas-HomeThe right hon. Gentleman will understand that, through no fault of his, I have not had time to read his statement, but I have listened with attention. I echo the tribute which he paid to our forces in Cyprus. The evacuation from the country areas into our base areas was carried out by them in the most impeccable fashion.
There will be great relief in the House, following the critical days, that there is now better news. The right hon. Gentleman, seconded by Dr. Kissinger, the Secretary-General of NATO and others, worked very hard with the parties so that diplomacy could come into its own. This is the stage for which we have been waiting, when diplomacy can take charge. We hope that Greece and Turkey will recognise the fearful penalties which follow obstinacy over an internal political issue carried too far for too long. The penalty has been very high indeed.
One hopes that the three-Power talks—from what the right hon. Gentleman said. this seems likely—will begin in Geneva soon. That the Greeks and the Turks have agreed to that is good. I hope that when the talks take place it will be recognised by the right hon. Gentleman that the core of the matter is better treatment of the Turkish Cypriot minority in the island. Unless this is achieved and treatment is better than it has been over the past few years, we shall live with this trouble for a long time.
I must raise one matter with the right hon. Gentleman. It has been said that British tourists in the island were not warned as soon as tourists of other countries were warned and that, following the coup, tourists of other countries were able to get out before the invasion began whereas ours were not. I should be grateful for the right hon. Gentleman's comment on that.
Mr. CallaghanI am much obliged to the right hon. Gentleman. I agree that the core of the problem is to ensure that 1045 the Treaty of Guarantee, as well as the full constitution of Cyprus, is worked properly. There is no doubt that over a number of years now it has not been worked properly, and in any discussions in which I take part it will be my aim at any rate at the start to begin from those documents, which are on the table and which provide a basis for progress in Cyprus.
As regards our tourists, I have heard the criticism which the right hon. Gentleman has raised but, having examined the situation carefully, I do not believe that it is at all justified. There are nationals from many countries now gathered in the sovereign base areas. I remind the House that the airport itself was closed on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and part of Thursday last week, and it was opened on Thursday afternoon and the whole of Friday, being closed again on Saturday and Sunday and today. A large number of tourists accepted advice to leave in the day and a half when the airport was open. A number chose, no doubt for good reasons, not to do so, but I am satisfied that the tour operators and the Foreign Office gave proper advice in the circumstances, without compelling people to leave. I am glad to say that the tour operators themselves have no complaint about the advice which the Government offered.
§ Mr. StonehouseWhile the United States—and Mr. Sisco, in particular—deserves congratulation for the successful negotiations which ended in a cease-fire, is it not a matter of regret that the American Secretary of State appeared to be withdrawing support from the legitimate régime in Cyprus some days ago? In the debate in the Security Council, will the Foreign Secretary take steps to ensure that there is no censure of Turkey for the invasion of Cyprus, which was not only legal but in the circumstances entirely justified?
Mr. CallaghanI agree with my right hon. Friend that Mr. Sisco and the United States administration, including, of course, Dr. Kissinger, have worked extremely hard and effectively during this weekend. As regards events during last week, I have no knowledge of the United States withdrawing support from President Makarios. Indeed, as far as my information goes, that was not the position.
1046 As to the future, I do not know whether there will be a debate in the Security Council. My regret is that the diplomatic possibilites were not exhausted at the time of the invasion by Turkey. There was still room for talks, talks had been arranged, and they could have gone on. However, there is no point in looking back unduly on that now. We must start from where we are, which is that a ceasefire has been declared, and I hope that all sides will take advantage of it.
§ Mr. AmeryI wholeheartedly welcome the right hon. Gentleman's action in convening the guarantor Powers. He will remember that the Republic of Cyprus is a member of the Commonwealth. Will he assure us that at the appropriate point the legitimate leaders of Cyprus—namely, the President and the Vice-President, Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot—will he called into consultation? When the London talks took place Cyprus was still a colony but nevertheless Archbishop Makarios and Dr. Kutchuk took part in the talks. Will the right hon. Gentleman give an undertaking that the interests of this Commonwealth country will not be overlooked?
Mr. CallaghanI will give that absolute undertaking. I have made clear that it is the Cyprus people we are talking about. The action we are taking is under paragraph 5 of the Security Council's resolution which calls on the guarantor Powers to meet first. I am taking an early opportunity of informing President Makarios and our Ambassador at the United Nations of the meeting that I trust will take place within the next 48 hours. I shall keep the Archbishop informed of what happened at that meeting. I will certainly take up the right hon. Gentleman's suggestion. I had not thought of that, but it is a very valuable suggestion and I will take it into account.
§ Mr. Russell JohnstonThe Foreign Secretary expressed regret that the Turks had invaded before diplomatic possibilities were exhausted. Will he say, first, how much of Cyprus Turkey now controls, and what, if any, indication have the Government given to both Greece and Turkey of action by the United Kingdom in the event of the cease-fire not being sustained? Will the Foreign Secretary assure the House that in his view any 1047 long-term solution of the Cyprus problem can be achieved only if we so arrange matters that neither Greece nor Turkey is directly physically represented on the island?
Mr. CallaghanAs for the area now controlled, I understand—I have no more information on this than has appeared in the newspapers, which appears to be accurate—that the Turks now control an area around Kyrenia, not necessarily the harbour. They have not secured control of Nicosia airport so far. As to what happens if the cease-fire breaks down, I have not got round to thinking about that yet. I am trying to make the ceasefire work. As for the future, in a conversation literally less than a hour ago with Mr. Ecevit we discussed whether it would be possible for the United Nations forces to play a greater part in enforcing the cease-fire. We would need to consider what additional support they might require in doing that. Perhaps I may reserve my judgment about the longer-term future until I have met the Greek and Turkish representatives.
§ Mr. LeeIs not the real effect of the cease-fire to entrench the odious régime that took over last week, and to that extent is it not a matter of great regret that there has been a cease-fire?
Mr. CallaghanMy hon. Friends idiosyncratic views are well known, but I cannot join him in hoping that the bombardment, which up to 45 minutes ago was continuing in Nicosia and killing women and children, should be continued.
§ Sir Derek Walker-SmithI welcome the cease-fire. May I ask two questions? First, will the Foreign Secvretary ensure that every effort is made and every precaution taken to safeguard the British in Kyrenia and the adjacent villages, so far from the sovereign bases, where the problem is not solely or mainly one of tourists but of the 500 or so British residents? Secondly, will he undertake that the consultations called for under Article 5 of the United Nations resolution are not confined to the three treaty Powers but extend to consultation within Cyprus, particularly to men of moderation and good will, both Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot, with a view to resuming as quickly as possible intercommunal talks, hopefully leading to a successful outcome?
Mr. CallaghanThe situation of British residents and other subjects in Kyrenia is the most serious in the island. There were proposals which have not been carried through. If the cease-fire holds, many of our anxieties will be relieved. The latest information I had a short time ago was that a number of residents were intending individually to make their way to the sovereign base area at Dhekelia. On the second part of the question, the right hon. and learned Gentleman will have noted that paragraph 5 of the resolution is in two parts. First, it calls upon us to enter into negotiation over the restoration of peace, and secondly it calls for the restoration of constitutional government in Cyprus. That must involve consultation with the constitutional authorities in Cyprus.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. In view of other business we must move on.