THE PARTY ASSEMBLY STUDY REPORT

During the time since our last General Assembly which was held on the 21 December 2002 many important political developments have taken place in both our area and Country.

The bloody conflict continues in the Middle-East. Wars and terrorist activities continue and as a foremost result children are dieing. The destruction of the environment is increasing the corruption of natures balance.

As a Party opposing war, PUM (YBH), continuing solidarity with other war opposing organisations has opposed ongoing wars in both our area and all over the World.

New Members have joined the European Union in the expansion process. In this frame Cyprus has also become a member of the EU. However, because there was no solution to the Cyprus problem, part of Cyprus is still under the occupation of Turkey.

PUM (YBH), which has struggled without any stipulations since its establishment for Cyprus’s EU membership, has celebrated Cyprus’ EU Membership with activities. The attacks on PUM (YBH)  in those days, made by those who seem to be EU medallists today, stand as a clear indication of what the executives of those organisations want and do not want in this Country.

In the meanwhile some of the control points which divide Cyprus have partially been opened, almost three quarters of Cypriots, refuting claims that “if the two communities come together, they will massacre each other, they can not live together” have crossed to the opposite side, contrary to their administrations obstructions.

In defending insistently the thesis that Cypriots can live together, another of PUM (YBH)’s foresights has materialised. Thus in spite of all negative conditions since its establishment, the Party has organised countless activities, pioneering the unification of Cypriots, in the meanwhile it has encouraged the unification and meeting of Cypriots and fully supported the thesis that Cypriots can live as one.

With the activities it organised the This Country is Ours Platform (TCOP), declared the Turkish Cypriot Community’s will for peace and a solution to the Cyprus problem to whole world, thus enabling the community’s awareness of its own strengths. If Turkey’s Military presence was not here, this Peoples movement in which nearly three quarters of the Cypriot people filled the squares on numerous counts would have no doubt overthrown both Denktash and his regime. However during this phase, political parties, especially CTP used the atmosphere created by TCOP to their own political benefits, causing this movement to withdraw from the streets and confine it to the elections, and therefore eradicating this uprising altogether. They later on took this Platform under the control of their own subsidiary organisations therefore totally neutralising it.

PUM (YBH) which contributed to the establishment, and gave its slogan as a name to this Platform, supported its actions for a long period and took part in its activities as a contribution. But now due to the fact that this Platform is under the control of a political Party and that it has strayed from its establishment aims the PUM (YBH) has frozen its ties with this Platform.

During the past period the “elections” were carried out. Turkey’s civil and military executives which have always intervened and dominated the picture of the elections in our Country, this time showed their support in favour of RTP (CTP). They decorated the RTP (CTP) and presented them “as if the status quo had changed”.

PUM (YBH) did not participate in the elections, due to the facts that a democratic environment for the elections was not present at the time; in connection with this “none of the criteria in order to enable a democratic election” that was previously put forward had been satisfied. PUM (YBH) did not participate in the elections also because of the existence of the people who were brought from Turkey and given citizenship contrary to International Law due to the fact that it would not be possible for the Turkish Cypriot Communities to reflect their own free will. Each and every presumption made prior to the 2003 elections, about the elections have materialised and are still materialising.

During this period the Annan Plan came to our agenda. The two sides made as if they were compromising lengthily on the plan. But as a result at the final point they reached it became apparent that both sides had bad intentions. UN executives interfered far too much with the Plan in order to satisfy Turkey, therefore allowing many matters which were against Human Rights and International Law to be included in the Plan, as a result making the plan appear as if it were in the favour of the Turks. This led to increasing the suspicions and doubts of the Greek side. In the North of Cyprus months long efforts were made to inform the people about the plan, whereas it later became apparent that there had been no such effort made to inform the people in the south. The Greek Cypriot side’s not making any proposals to make the Plan any more balanced during the procedure of talks later on prepared excuses for them not accept the Plan.

In the end the Referendum took place; it was a referendum against Human Rights, the referendum was carried out with people who lavished on loot and that were mostly under the influence of Ankara. Even though it was open that one side would say “no”, the referendum was carried out with persistence, therefore leading to the situation of being divided continuing today.

PUM (YBH) brought attention to matters in the Annan Plan that were contrary to Human Rights during the negotiations over the Annan plan and during the campaign for the Referendum, as well as opposing ethnic separatism, but as a result we said “Yes” to the Annan Plan in the view that the Plan was a stepping stone on the route to reunify Cyprus and the Cypriots emphasizing that each and every component could be changed later on in the future in a united Cyprus. Our party which participated in many activities together with many pacifist organisations in the South for years experienced the sorrow of their last minute vote of “No” which led to the continuation of the division of the Island. After organising the “We will demolish the walls” activity during the referendum, our Party’s Central Office experienced an attack in which it was burnt.

As it is well known PUM (YBH) has continued to function under very difficult circumstances in this Country which has been under occupation for fifteen years. Our Party has enabled people to talk about many matters that were previously taboos in our Country. Its future foresights have been proved one by one. Its slogans have become the slogans of widespread people’s masses and the name of Platforms of exertion.

Our Party is not represented in the “parliament” which has no meaning, but even though it has attracted more respect than them, both domestically and internationally. Seeing how much politics has been eroded in our Country, acrobatic politicians changing costumes everyday and competing with each other in order take orders from Ankara, our party has managed to stay outside all of these intrigues continuing its honourable struggle.

Now the circumstances in the Country have changed, Cyprus is a member of the EU but the reunification of Cyprus and the Cypriots has not yet been achieved. In the period ahead of a very important struggle awaits us: “The reunification of Cyprus and the Cypriots” this requires persistence that is far from seeing getting into the “Council” which has no meaning left as a target and blatantly refraining from giving any promises to please personal benefits that will lead to social degeneration.

Under the changing circumstances we have renewed our Party program thus offering Cypriots a new alternative, a new target. With its new program and new statue, the Party, is now beyond making politics in just a corner of Cyprus which is a member of the EU, it is also structured to be open to all EU citizens, all Cypriots and is making politics for the whole of Cyprus and all Cypriots. 

The need for the renewal of the Party program came as a result of the changing circumstances in Cyprus.

The developments in the Cyprus problem have entered a new phase since Cyprus joined the EU on the 1^st May 2004. In this new atmosphere, we have the mission of making evaluations with the new Party program and at the same time protecting the Party’s political foundations and cleaning out the politics of the past that have now been exhausted.

Cyprus is in the EU from now on, but as two separate areas and it is left to live with the dishonoured problems that the new situation has left behind. The primary problem is uniting Cyprus and the Cypriots as a whole, also to encourage the idea that the whole Island of Cyprus is our Country, and then to enable our politics to be focused on this matter.

In these circumstances our Party will lead the way with its uniting, enlightening and pioneering politics to enable that this transition period is surpassed in peace. One of our aims is to enable political Parties to transform into Parties that welcome all Cypriots and to enable unbound relationships between Parties in Cyprus. Furthermore our main target will be to support the political Parties of Cyprus in joining political organisations within the EU in order to support politics in favour of peace and in opposition of politics of economical and political exploitation.

By collaborating within the EU the Party will acquire the possibility of pursuing its purposes universally within its own political point of view. In order to be prepared for this it is in a position where it must change both its program and its decisions.

During the preparation of the new program opinions of other Europe socialists were also taken into consideration. In this approach as we have included in our new program “We oppose a Europe with closed borders that pursues neo-liberal politics. We want a another Europe. That’s why; together with the socialists in Europe we are defining a new Europe. We want a Europe that adopts an alternative social and political model to that of capitalism. In such a Europe, it would be able to create politics autonomous of USA’s hegemony. We demand a Europe that opposes militarism and war actively, whilst on the other hand defends peace ferociously. We want a Europe that supports worldwide progress that is continuous, actively fights poverty, defends just distribution and that makes a contribution to the struggle for equality, democracy and peace for all nations of the World. And we believe that if we are united a new Europe is possible…”

As a target our struggle will be to unite Cyprus and the Cypriots as a whole, to repeal all types of separatism, and will be to ensure EU politics contribute to the world and that the socialist opinion becomes effective in both our Island and in the World.

The new program has been dealt with and prepared in this frame of mind.

In the meanwhile our Party’s activities have continued abroad. We have participated in various political invitations and our opinions have been expressed in those meetings. We especially took part in political activities in London.

Our collaboration and contacts with political parties and civil society organisations in the south of Cyprus have also continued.

Together with İKME in the south of Cyprus and German FES which are similar establishments to BILBAN which is a subsidiary establishment of our Party various socio-economic meetings took place, members of the press also participated in these meetings and mutual projects were brought to life.

Educational studies and language courses within the Party continued.

Our Party did not manage to group the organisation to a sufficient and satisfactory level.

A huge effort was and still is being put in to regularly publishing our only medium of expressing ourselves, the Yeniçağ (New Era) Newspaper. During this period even though the necessity for the need of the Yeniçağ Newspaper was made more obviously, unfortunately it is a fact that our Party members and supporters did not show the same support and interest in the newspaper. Therefore in order to keep our Party’s publication alive, which has been the main source of expressing ourselves to the public for the last 14 years, there is a need for very serious efforts to be put into this subject in the following term.

YBH Youth

Since December 2002 YBH Youth has been carried out various activities in both Cyprus and abroad.

During this period YBH Youth has organized various conversation sessions, seminars and has published various publications to involve the youths of our Country. Also YBH Youth has actively taken part in and participated in activities during the period in which both the Cyprus Problem was at its peak and during the “elections” that took place in December 2003. In this period YBH Youth did not confine itself only to the Cyprus Problem, they protested the violence which continues in Iraq and Palestine by either organizing rallies alone or by participating in other activities and therefore sending out a message of solidarity, through the activities organized in Cyprus, to all of the large anti-war protests organized world-wide.

Together with youth organizations from all around Cyprus, YBH Youth carried out various activities and published joint announcements both here and abroad.

In the meantime YBH Youth was the first Turkish Cypriot youth organization to become a full member of the Cyprus Youth Council (CYCIC). YBH Youth also became a member of Cyprus Youth Board Advisory Committee in this period. In this way YBH Youth went one step ahead of other youth organizations by actively taking part in phase of European youth organizations practicing politics by materializing its ideas concretely…

In this context, YBH Youth participated in the White Book Debate in Crete, the European Youth Forum Council Meeting in Rome and the celebrations of expansion with the contribution of the Youths in Germany in the Cyprus Delegation.

Together with all of these efforts YBH Youth continued its activities in connection to near past experiences, under two main headings; the first main heading being “we will not allow them to be forgotten” by continuing to commemorate the progressivist patriotic Cypriots that were murdered in 1958, 1962 and 1964. Furthermore they continued to give the message of “No more blood for Nationalism” by commemorating the innocent civilian people who were killed in 1974 with activities organized both in the north and south of the Island. These activities deeply disturbed the representatives of the regime. An event that was organized in July last year was prevented last year by the mobilization of paramilitary organizations. We were able to carry out a bi-communal press statement at the entrance of Muratağa (Maratha) Village. This year however, upon those playing the role of the government, not giving Greek Cypriots permission due to the excuse that they were not citizens, protesting this situation we carried out a bi-communal demonstration and made another press statement defending last years views at Ledra Palace.

Final Word

During the last five years, in a country that has been under occupation, our Party which has survived its struggle under very harsh circumstances has continued to work with the same decisiveness. The last two years have been very important in the fact that targets drawn up many years ago finally materialized. Our Party has continued to expose the “council” that has no meaning and other decorative ideologies in this period. In an environment in which politics in our Country has been eroded, acrobatic politicians change costumes everyday and competing with each other in order take orders from Ankara, our party has managed to stay outside all of these intrigues continuing its honourable struggle against this regime.

This struggle is a long time taking struggle. Various different difficulties were and will be encountered during this process. But there is one thing that is clear and open, as those who have sweat and paid a toll in the struggle over so many years in this cause before, and have not let the struggle get out of hand, degenerate and become similar to politics of other parties of the regime, we also shall not allow this to happen in the future.

We thank all followers from various sections of the society, all that have given support and our members that have contributed to this tough and difficult, but honourable struggle for many years.

 Now, this tough and difficult, but honourable struggle sets out on a new historical journey for the whole of Cyprus and Cypriots. May good fortune be with us.

FINANCIAL REPORT

1.11.2002-30.09.2004 TERM FINANCIAL REPORT

Yaşar Karakaş

Patriotic Unity Movement

Finance Secratary