Menderes on the London Conference

Turkish prime minister Adnan Menderes addressed the Turkish delegation to the ATripartite Conference on the Eastern Mediterranean,@ better known as the London Conference, on August 24, 1955, just before they departed Turkey. The Turkish position at this point was to resist any change in the status of Cyprus, and this meant, of course, that Menderes supported full British sovereignty. Any attempt at changing the status of the island, even a mild change to satisfy the Greeks, was viewed as the first step toward enosis. This position was faithfully carried out at the conference by his foreign minister, Fatin Zorlu, whose speeches, apparently with the consent of British foreign minister Harold MacMillan, underscored the British position.

In reference to Cyprus, I should like to stress at the outset that reports published in today's newspapers concerning the matter of our having delivered a note to the British Government fail to represent completely the true nature of this note. In our note to the British Government we expressed our anxiety in face of the danger confronting our ethnic brothers in Cyprus. This is the significance of the note which, needless to say, in no way implies any interference in the duties and authority of the British Government.

I do not believe it is necessary to lay special emphasis here on the coolheadedness and caution practiced by the Turkish Government towards the Cyprus question, or in fact on the extent of the importance laid by the entire Turkish nation on Turco-Greek friendship in connection with this issue over Cyprus. A great many words have been spoken since the question came up. A great deal of noise has been made. What I have said about it until today, as responsible head of the government, isn't more than a few sentences. By keeping our coolheadedness so far we have given ample proof of the importance and value we attach to Turco-Greek friendship. Today still, while talking about Cyprus, I must say beforehand that we continue to attach the same value and importance to Turco-Greek friendship and alliance. In fact, I can say that I am making this statement today with the intention of cautioning our Greek friends and allies against making a serious mistake. I am talking in your presence in the hope that before events reach a stage beyond control, a fair solution might be found.

I believe that the patience and silence which we have maintained up to this point constitutes an important factor in warranting that these utterances be met with the importance they deserve.

When we examine the Cyprus "issue," we immediately see that this is an invention which only goes back a year or two. Men don't seem to be able to get rid of the habit of starting problems and of inventing troubles for no apparent reason. Our Greek friends have created a trouble which affects not only themselves but us and the entire world as well. According to the statements, claims and clamors of certain provocateurs in Greece and elsewhere, the very skies would fall down if Cyprus were not to become part of Greece. In reality, even if we only imagine that Greece acquire Cyprus, we can readily see that it would not enable Greece to gain any political, economic or military strength, but that, on the contrary', she would obtain from it a weakening of both herself and of the family of free nations to which she belongs.

The attitude adopted by and the utterances of provocators concerning the matter of Cyprus have driven us to justified anxiety. Although a certain portion of this anxiety pertains to the future, its source is composed of the rumors that are circulating to the effect that grave incidents could take place at almost any moment. We do not like to think that such developments are probable, and cannot see how they could be possible. Nevertheless they keep announcing in terroristic tones that the 28th of August will be a day of massacre for our brothers in Cyprus.

We believe that the British Government, whose presence and rule on the island is legally justified, will capably carry on its duties to the end. But it is being said that as a result of the extremely violent provocations which have been going on for some years, the Greek-speaking population of the island has been put in a state of agitation and that considerable advance has been made in the attempts to arm this population. Thus we have reached a stage in which we, unfortunately, have to consider even the possibility that a sudden move, an irresponsible attempt, could lead to certain irremediable results. The local government could be caught unprepared. Our people there might find themselves innocently, helplessly and without arms, facing a highly provoked and armed majority. But this doesn't imply that they will even for a moment I find themselves undefended. We would, in this respect, like to satisfy and reassure our brothers in Cyprus who are worried and upset.

You can easily perceive how far matters have been carried. I am obliged to point with profound pain and sorrow to the fact that lack of perception and prudence has created such regrettable situations, when friendship and alliance between the Turkish and Greek nations is as categorical and strong a reality as a veritable command of destiny in the critical and confused state of the world today, and despite the fact that this was the picture it presented Impelled by a fatal appeal, men of sagacity and intellect, persons who attach great value to friendship and alliance with Turkey, those who have assumed the responsibility of governing the country, all are being driven by provocators towards an inauspicious future.

As I express the sorrow which we feel, in the face of this situation, everyone in Turkey, including the government and myself, sincerely hopes that logic and common sense will soon prevail in our friend and ally, Greece. As if the existing cares facing the world were not enough, to create, for no apparent reason, such groundless worries for ailing humanity, cannot be reconciled with logic and common sense. This could only please those who plot against tranquility in the world.

According to the provocateurs so much of the island's population is Turkish and so much of it is Greek-speaking. Thus, as if all geographical boundaries in the world were drawn according to such principles, they claim that this should determine the fate of Cyprus. I will not, in this statement, try to expound the meanings of the picture presented by legal principles, political precedents and verities and, lastly, by world geography. Our delegation, which is leaving for London tomorrow, will efficiently and authoritatively explain and express the viewpoint of our Government and the views and thoughts of our country on these points. Let me say this much, however: the principle of determining the fate of a region according to the ethnic majority of its population, especially in a case where there is a geographic division, has hardly ever applied. A homeland is not a thing which can be cut wherever one desires, like the tailor's

piece of cloth. Even though it is based on ethnic facts, it is essentially a geographic entity, the boundaries of which are determined by geographic, political, economic and strategic factors which have been shaped through various causes and events in the span of history.

In today's world, it is possible to furnish hundreds of examples illustrating the fact that boundaries of countries are not absolutely and solely drawn according to racial considerations. Also, to claim that unless a piece of land, such as Cyprus, which is inhabited by a certain group of people, is per force united with a certain, specific country, its inhabitants will be unhappy and miserable, is utterly false and unfounded. Let them look and see how we, in our country, live with our Greek compatriots in complete brotherhood and in the joy of all of us being the children of the same motherland. It is easy to refute the demands based on population majority of the island, upon which the provocateurs are trying to base their claims today, by using their very own arguments. At one time, in Lausanne, we had asked that a plebiscite be held in Western Thrace. Greece had violently objected to this. One could easily bring up the arguments and proofs which they then set forth and use these against them today.

Furthermore, perusing the span of historic events, it is necessary to bring the following questions to their attention: Was their incursion as far as Ankara, only yesteryear, based on an assumption that they had a population majority? What was their business in Izmir, Aydin, Denizli, Eskisehir? Did they have a sacred mission there to realize the sovereign application of the rule of self-determination?

When we emerged from the unprecedented disasters of the First World War completely powerless, disarmed and even with our national unity lost, we were faced with events which endangered our very independence and our existence as a nation; all this we wish to forget and disregard, by conforming to the realistic viewpoint set forth by Ataturk and Venizelos. But the scene today, inevitably, brings back to our minds the boundless sacrifices we have had to make in order to safeguard our national existence, and the very dangerous and sorrowful years which we had to live through.

There can be various issues which constitute a source of enthusiasm for a young nation. But these issues and the enthusiasm that they arouse should be channeled into fields which can cause harm neither to others, nor, more particularly, to themselves, and which, in fact, can be beneficial to them- selves, their neighbors and the entire world. Greece started the whole thing with a kind of Irredentist policy. What's more, and despite its somewhat unbecoming nature, a degree of imperialism too was injected into it. It began with Crete, went hither and yon. Viewed from a certain angle, this Irredentist policy might appear to have succeeded. But given a true account- ing, it is impossible to deny that such a policy is ill-omened for Greece as well as for Turkey. They acquired Crete, they got this or that other place, and thought that title would be acquired also to many others. They advanced as far as Ankara, and developments culminated in the removal, unparalleled in history, of their ethnic brothers who had lived in those parts for centuries side by side and in mutual affection with the Turks. The fact that the methods used to acquire Crete are now being applied in Cyprus inevitably leads the Turks to recall the entire march of events from the beginnings of Greek Irredentism to the present day; and it leaves the Turks no alternative but to put the following question to those who rely on their handful majority in Cyprus in their attempt to burden the world with new problems: "What were you doing at the gates of Ankara?"

The fact should generally and clearly be known that a large portion of Turkey's coasts are surrounded by observation points and threatening rig-works belonging to another nation. Only the Cyprus area seems safe today. In this respect, Cyprus is only an extension of the Turkish mainland, and it is one of the main pillars of Turkey's security. Consequently, should a change in its present status come into consideration, that change must be based, not on ethnic grounds, but on other and far more important and permanent principles and realities, and these can only render it to Turkey. The Turkish delegation in London will defend the preservation of the status quo as our minimum condition. The preservation of the status quo makes for a state of affairs in which all complications can be avoided.

The fact that our country has, up to now, been quiet, while the provocateurs have been shouting to high heaven, should have no significance in the solution of the problem. We kept considering the events that took place up to now as caprices and issues raised for gaining prestige in internal politics. But it should have been remembered that the continuous pressure created by provocateurs during the past months couldn't be allowed to exert an influence on the reasonable policies of a government and the international prestige these policies obtain; and therefore, what sort of a government is this, that cringes and bows in the presence of a country priest, to the extent of treating him as a sovereign state?

The benefits and interests of men and of nations spring, not from enmity, but from friendship and affection. We shall continue, as we have done so far, to do everything in our power to prevent events from taking a turn which could have ominous results on, first of all, the Greek nation itself, whose attributes and merits we hold very dear. But let me firmly state the fact that this country will not tolerate any change in the status quo of Cyprus which might be against our interests now or in the future.