§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Greek Cypriot(a) men, (b) women and (c) children up to the age of 16 years are living in the Karpas area of occupied northern Cyprus; and if he will make a statement. [84951]
§ Ms QuinAccording to UNFICYP figures there are 450 Greek Cypriots living in the Karpas. We do not have figures showing the proportion of men and women. In addition to the 30 children who attend the Greek school in Rizokarpasso, there are a number of pre-school children in the, Karpas.
§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action his Department has taken in conjunction with the British High Commission in Cyprus to support projects to encourage contacts between Greek and Turkish Cypriots living in Cyprus; and if he will list the projects that have been supported in each of the last three years. [84963]
26W
§ Ms QuinUntil December 1997 bi-communal contact was possible but difficult. The High Commission worked hard in the period May 1996 to December 1997 to bring members of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities together. They created the Westminster group to promote the principles of democracy through bi-communal contacts with members of all professions and organised its meetings, arranged meetings of Chevening scholars, and brought members of both communities together through other events such as the Queen's birthday party and the Education fair. In addition, members of the High Commission have assisted with and participated in many other events sponsored by the UN and other bodies to bring members of the two communities together.
Since December 1997 most bi-communal contacts have been banned by the Turkish Cypriot side. We have therefore found it effectively impossible to arrange bi-communal contacts on-island. But we arranged a meeting on 24 March in London of Cypriot Chevening scholars in co-operation with the Friends of Cyprus. We also continue to support the work of other in this field, notably the Trade Unions.
§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when an official of the British High Commission in Cyprus last visited the Karpas area in occupied northern Cyprus; and what report of that visit has been produced. [84964]
§ Ms QuinA member of the British High Commission last visited the Greek Cypriot community in the Karpas on 7 May as part of a regular series of visits to that area. The High Commission reports no significant changes in living conditions since the previous visit in October 1998.
§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what surveys have been carried out to establish the number of Turkish Cypriots who were born in Cyprus, and still live in northern Cyprus; and if he will make a statement. [84939]
§ Ms QuinIn November 1997 the Turkish Cypriot authorities published the results of a census carried out the previous year which found that, of 200,587 people resident in the northern part of the island, 137,398 had been born in Cyprus.
These figures are accepted among Turkish Cypriots as generally accurate, but we have no means of independent corroboration.