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Key developments since May 2000: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that legislation for the ratification of the Mine Ban Treaty would be put before Parliament following elections in May 2001. The Ministry of Defense stated that “forward steps have been taken in the spirit of the treaty such as demining, exclusion of antipersonnel mines [from] our armament programs, [and] schedule of destruction of the stocks” of antipersonnel mines.
The Republic of Cyprus signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 4 December 1997, but has not yet ratified the treaty. In December 1999 Cyprus stated that it “fully subscribes to the principles enshrined in the [Mine Ban Treaty], the ratification of which will take place as soon as conditions relating to the implementation of its relevant provisions are fulfilled.”[387] On 12 October 2000, the Permanent Representative of Cyprus to the United Nations, Sotos Zackheos, stated that “despite the continued foreign occupation of almost 40 percent of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, we decided to sign the relevant Convention, as an expression of our determination to join the international community in its efforts to eliminate this totally inhumane method of warfare. Against a background of constant threat posed by the 36,000 occupation troops stationed on the island...we consider our decision as a further demonstration of our strong commitment to disarmament and respect for multilateral norms as the one set by the Ottawa Convention.”[388]
On 23 April 2001, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that ratification of the Mine Ban Treaty would be made “as soon as the relevant internal procedures are completed.” However, no date could be given for ratification.[389] The draft approval law will be put before Parliament following elections and “the assumption of duties of the new House.”[390] Furthermore, “the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will cooperate closely with the other Ministries concerned (Defense and...Interior) in order to make the necessary preparations to implement the Ottawa Treaty as well as the amended Protocol II on landmines. An important element of these preparations will be also the drafting of a national plan for de-mining of antipersonnel mines in the government-controlled areas. For this reason an Interministerial Committee will be formally set up (this has already met several times in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) to discuss issues relating to the Ottawa Treaty and the Amended Protocol II. It is noted that Cyprus would have to request outside assistance for demining.”[391]
On 30 April 2001, a Lieutenant Colonel from the Cypriot Ministry of Defense stated that the government of Cyprus had “already taken the decision to ratify the treaty on the prohibition of antipersonnel mines,” and that it was “working on this issue with priority. Although the treaty has not been ratified, forward steps have been taken in the spirit of the treaty such as demining, exclusion of antipersonnel mines of our armament programs, schedule of destruction of the stocks etc.”[392]
Cyprus attended the Second Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in September 2000 as an observer. The delegation was led by the Ambassador of Cyprus to the UN, Alexandros Vikis, and included Major Theodoros Efthymiou from the Ministry of Defense.
Cyprus, represented by Major Efthymiou, for the first time participated in the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in May 2001.
At the UN General Assembly in November 2000 Cyprus voted in favor of Resolution 55/33V, which supports universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty. Cyprus voted for similar resolutions in previous years.
Cyprus has not ratified Amended Protocol II to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW). In April 2001 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that ratification legislation would be put before Parliament “in the second half of this year.”[393] A Cypriot delegation attended as observer at the Second Annual Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II in December 2000. In May 2001 an Amended Protocol II Article 13 transparency report for the year 2000 was produced in advance of ratification.[394]
In view of the Turkish military presence in the northern part of Cyprus, [395] the position of Turkey vis-à-vis landmine policy and practice is also relevant. Turkey has not signed the Mine Ban Treaty and has not ratified the Amended Protocol II of the CCW. However, Turkey announced on 6 April 2001 that it would start the process of accession to the Mine Ban Treaty. The announcement was made jointly by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ysmail Cem, and his Greek counterpart, George Papandreou. Turkey has stated that landmines have not been used on its territory since 1998 and that there has been a moratorium on transfers since 1996.[396] Inquiries were made on 5 January 2001whether this applies to northern Cyprus where Turkish military personnel are stationed, but no response had been received as of July 2001.
Cyprus stated in 1999 that it does not produce or transfer antipersonnel mines, but there appears to be no legislation regarding their production, transfer or use.[397] The first official information on stockpiles was given in April 2001, indicating that Cyprus does not possess Claymore-type mines, nor antivehicle mines with antihandling devices or “sensitive fuses.”[398]
A press report suggested that the National Guard has at least four warehouses where landmines are stockpiled, and that, “recruits to the mines division are still trained in the use of the US-made M14 and M16, and the VS50 and VS1.4. Although there is a ban on the sale of US weapons to Cyprus, it is believed that the Cyprus government has, in the past, bought American-made landmines from Greece as well as those produced in Singapore, China and Taiwan.”[399]
Clarification of this press report was requested in January 2001. In April 2001, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that no mines were purchased from Singapore, Taiwan or China in 2000, although a purchase from Singapore in 1998 “has been recorded.”[400] The Ministry also stated that the transfer of antipersonnel and antitank mines is not part of the military pact between Greece and Cyprus, and none has been transferred.[401]
On 4 March 1999, together with twenty other countries, Turkey and Greece submitted a working paper to the Conference on Disarmament on a possible ban on the transfer of antipersonnel mines.
The 1974 buffer zone dividing the island contains an estimated 17,000 antipersonnel and antitank mines, described as equivalent to one every ten strides along its 180-kilometer length.[402] The UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNIFCYP) responsible for supervising the buffer zone has refined its estimate of the number of minefields to a total of forty-eight, with additional mined areas on either side of the zone.[403] There are roads close to the buffer zone and minefields, and about “8,000 mostly Greek Cypriot farmers cultivate the land inside the zone at points stretching up to three kilometers wide.”[404] The Ministry of Defense has asserted that all minefields in the buffer zone and in the government-controlled area are adequately marked. Some of the minefields are very close to where people live, including beside civilian housing in one village.[405]
UNIFCYP has also been reported as saying that “some minefields laid down in the buffer-zone 27 years ago no longer have any tactical benefits.”[406]
Refurbishment of minefields outside the buffer zone by Greek-Cypriot and Turkish forces has been reported previously by UNFICYP. In one case during 2000, where a minefield lay partly inside and partly outside the buffer zone, the National Guard refurbished the antitank mines in the part of the minefield lying outside the buffer zone.[407]
A report of the UN Secretary-General on the UN’s operation in Cyprus stated that, in the six months prior to December 2000, “the National Guard continued to carry out field works along the ceasefire line” and “the Turkish forces also carried out minor construction.”[408] No specific reference is made to landmines.[409]
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that, as well as refurbishment, “full minefield clearance is also pursued,” and three minefields will have been cleared in the village of Pyla by the end of 2001.[410] The Ministry of Defense has reported that in the last ten years “a great number of minefields has been removed.... 3,000 mines (1,500 AP and 1,500 AT) have been removed and the mine clearance program is being pursued.” There is “a technical report concerning the laying for every minefield and...metallic bases have been placed by plastic mines so that they can be located easily by mine detectors.”[411]
Cyprus has received no external funding for mine clearance and has its own budget for this purpose, with one team trained in demining.[412] The government considers that removal of mines on territories occupied by Turkish forces is the responsibility of the Turkish army.[413]
Cypriot Defense Minister Socrates Hasikos is reported to have said that the government “would not unilaterally remove its landmines as long as the Turkish Cypriots did not do the same.”[414] The Ministry of Defense also stated that they would like to see all the mines inside the buffer zone removed, but any demining operation would have to include minefields laid by the Turkish forces.[415] The Turkish authorities have repeated previous statements that they will only deal with the issue of demining within the context of the 1996 “further de-confrontation measures” put forward by UNFICYP.[416]
A UNFICYP spokesperson has been quoted as saying that the UN “attempts to spur both sides into giving the go-ahead to clear the buffer zone of mines have so far been spurned.” In the same press article, the Canadian High Commissioner is reported to have said that, “Canada is willing to help with de-mining efforts in any way it can when both sides are ready to do so.”[417]
According to the authorities, the civilian population is informed about the danger of mines in the framework of training programs held by the Cypriot Civil Defense.[418]
During 2000 and early 2001 no new civilian or military casualties have been reported as a result of landmines in the buffer zone or in government-controlled areas.
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[387] See Landmine Monitor Report 2000, pp. 761-762.
[388] Statement by Sotos Zackheos, Permanent Representative of Cyprus to the UN, to the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly, New York, 12 October 2000.
[389] Fax and email from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 23 April 2001.
[390] Ibid.
[391] Ibid.
[392] Email to Landmine Monitor researcher from Lt. Col. Antonios Demetriades, Defense Policy Department, Cyprus Ministry of Defense, 30 April 2001.
[393] Fax and email from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 23 April 2001.
[394] CCW Amended Protocol II Article 13 report, for the period 1 January-31 December 2000, (date of submission unknown).
[395] This has been condemned by the UN Security Council and General Assembly, see UN Security Council Resolutions 541 (1983) and 550 (1984).
[396] See the Report on Turkey in this edition of the Landmine Monitor.
[397] See Landmine Monitor Report 2000, p. 762.
[398] Fax and email from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 23 April 2001.
[399] Jean Christou, “ Mines Deadlock,” Sunday Mail (Cypriot newspaper), 21 January 2001.
[400] Fax and email from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 23 April 2001.
[401] Ibid.
[402] Menelaos Hadjicostis, “Still Keeping a Fragile Peace,” Toronto Star, 4 February 2001.
[403] Interview with Capt J.J. Simon, Mine Fields Records Officer, UNFICYP, Nicosia, 27 February 2001. For details of the buffer zone, the UN role and marking of the minefields see Landmine Monitor Report 2000, pp. 762-763.
[404] Menelaos Hadjicostis, “Still Keeping a Fragile Peace,” Toronto Star, 4 February 2001.
[405] Interview with officials from the Ministry of Defense, Nicosia, 27 February 2001.
[406] Menelaos Hadjicostis, “Still Keeping a Fragile Peace,” Toronto Star, 4 February 2001.
[407] Interview with Capt. J.J. Simon, UNFICYP, Nicosia, 27 February 2001.
[408] Report of the Secretary General on the United Nations Operations in Cyprus (for the period 1 June-27 November 2000), UN doc. S/2000/1138, 1 December 2000, p. 1.
[409] Report of the Secretary General on the United Nations Operations in Cyprus, 1 December 2000, pp. 1-2.
[410] Fax and email from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 23 April 2001.
[411] CCW Amended Protocol II Article 13 report, Forms B and C, reporting for calendar year 2000.
[412] Interview with officials of Ministry of Defense, Nicosia, 27 February 2001.
[413] Fax and email from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 23 April 2001.
[414] Jean Christou, “We won’t remove landmines unless the Turks do the same,” Cyprus Mail, 20 January 2001.
[415] Interview with officials of Ministry of Defence, Nicosia, 27 February 2001.
[416] Interview with Osman Ertug, Nicosia, 28 February 2001.
[417] Menelaos Hadjicostis, “Still Keeping a Fragile Peace,” Toronto Star, 4 February 2001.
[418] Fax and email from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 23 April 2001.
