Definitive Report - Report No 151, November 1975

Case No 798 (Cyprus) - Complaint date: 12-AUG-74 - Closed

1. COMPLAINT PRESENTED BY THE CONFEDERATION OF TURKISH TRADE UNIONS (TURK-IS) AND THE CYPRUS TURKISH TRADE UNIONS FEDERATION AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF CYPRUS (CASE No. 798) AND

1. 1. COMPLAINT PRESENTED BY THE CONFEDERATION OF TURKISH TRADE UNIONS (TURK-IS) AND THE CYPRUS TURKISH TRADE UNIONS FEDERATION AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF CYPRUS (CASE No. 798) AND
2. 2. COMPLAINT PRESENTED BY THE CYPRUS WORKERS' CONFEDERATION AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF TURKEY (CASE No. 799)

A. A. The complainants' allegations

1. 1. Case No. 798
2. 89. On 12 August 1974 the Director-General received a complaint from the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions in which it was alleged that at least three trade union officials of the Cyprus Turkish Workers' Federation had been held hostage since 20 July in Limassol and Larnaka by the Greek National Guard. Trade union premises in both of these towns, the complainants continued, had been broken into and ransacked by the Greeks. The trade union officials in question were named as Huseyin Gurcuoglu, Secretary of the Larnaka Union, Erdogan Niyazi of Limassol, both members of the Executive Committee of the Federation, and Dogan Hakki, President of the Royal Air Force Auxiliary Police and Salaried Employees' Union. The complainants added that no information was available as regards the fate of other trade unionists in these two towns. In further communications dated 23 August and 9 September 1974 further Turkish; trade unionists were named by the complainants as having been taken hostage and held as prisoners of war by the Greek forces, and more general information was supplied concerning the situation which prevailed in the Turkish sector of Cyprus where, it was stated, many towns and villages had been occupied by Greek forces.
3. 90. In a further communication dated 29 August 1974 the complainants provide a more detailed account of the developments which had taken place in Cyprus, in particular the situation which followed the coup d'état on 15 July 1974 by the Greek Cypriot National Guard and the subsequent intervention in Cyprus on 20 July 1974 by the Turkish forces.
4. 91. The above communications were duly transmitted to the Government of Cyprus which submitted its observations on the allegations in communications dated 30 August 1974, 25 September 1974 and 20 November 1974.
5. 92. Cyprus has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).
6. 93. The Government of Cyprus, in its communication dated 30 August 1974, refers to the military intervention in Cyprus by the Turkish forces, the destruction which followed and the fact that tens of thousands of Greek Cypriots were either missing or held as hostages. In particular, the Government states that a number of Turkish Cypriots who took part in the destruction were taken prisoner by the armed forces of the Republic, including Erdogan Niyazi and Dogan Hakki who, the Government states were in good health and treated well. The fate of Huseyin Gurcuoglu, adds the Government, is unknown.
7. 94. In a further communication dated 25 September 1974 the Government of Cyprus gives an account of the devastating effects which the military operations had on the economy of Cyprus and on the country itself and its population. In its latest communication dated 20 November 1974 the Government states that the trade unionists named in the complaint have been released under arrangements reached between the Governments of Cyprus and Turkey for the exchange of prisoners. A list of the trade unionists so released and the dates of their release is supplied by the Government with regard to the two trade unionists Huseyin Gurcuoglu and Osman Kaymakam, mentioned by the complainants, the Government adds that these persons have not been found on any of its lists. The Government emphasises that these Turkish Cypriots had joined the Turkish army of invasion and were taken prisoners as such. They were held, states the Government, as prisoners for their part in the invasion and not for any trade union activity.
8. 2. Case No. 799
9. 95. On 21 August 1974 the Director-General received the complaint of the Cyprus Workers' Confederation in which it was alleged that, following the invasion of Turkish troops in Cyprus, more than 200,000 Greek Cypriots had been displaced and trade union rights were being violated in the occupied areas. Trade union officials had been arrested and executed, full-time officials displaced, and more than 10,000 members of the Confederation forced to abandon their homes and jobs.
10. 96. In a further communication dated 24 February 1975, submitted by the Cyprus Workers' Confederation and signed by a number of workers' and employers' organisations in Cyprus, allegations were made concerning the undermining of the trade unions, the frustration of their normal trade union activities and the violation of trade union freedoms and rights in the Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus. The complainants also referred to the looting, destruction and unlawful possession and occupation of property and premises of employers' and workers' organisations and the prevention of the freedom of movement of employers' representatives and trade union officials and members in the areas occupied by the Turkish forces.
11. 97. The Government of Turkey, to which the complaint was transmitted for observations, replied in a communication dated 27 March 1975.
12. 98. Turkey has not ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87); it has ratified the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).
13. 99. In its aforesaid communication the Government gives its account of the military intervention of Turkey which took place on 20 July 1974 and the effects of military operations upon the population. It points out, with regard to the allegations made by the complainants, that these are completely irrelevant and baseless.

B. B. The Committee's conclusions

• Conclusions of the Committee
  100. 100 Having regard to the circumstances which gave rise to the complaints in the above cases concerning the situation of the Greek and Turkish trade union movements in Cyprus, the Committee considers it appropriate to reach certain general conclusions which, in its view, are equally applicable to both cases.
  101. 101 In accordance with the general principles followed by the International Labour Organisation in the examination of allegations relating to trade union rights, while situations which are political in origin may have social aspects which the International Labour Organisation may be called upon to examine by appropriate procedures, it is inappropriate for the International Labour Organisation to discuss political questions directly related to international security, as it would be inconsistent with its traditions and prejudicial to its usefulness in its own sphere, More particularly, in a number of other cases, the Committee has decided that even though cases may be political in origin or present certain political aspects, they should be examined in substance if they raise questions directly concerning the exercise of trade union rights. In these circumstances the Committee considers, as it did in certain previous cases' in which allegations were related to a state of siege or emergency, that it should confine itself to the purely trade union aspects of the case, while bearing in mind the principles recalled above and the general background of the political conditions prevailing in Cyprus.
  102. 102 The complaints made in both cases under examination are occasioned by an extremely grave political situation in Cyprus which commenced with a coup d'état which took place on 15 July 1974 and the subsequent intervention in Cyprus by the Turkish military forces. These events led to a military operation the effects of which on the country as a whole and its population were devastating. Throughout the country there was large-scale destruction of property and material and many thousands of people left homeless and displaced. The Committee notes that general allegations are made in both cases that the trade union movements suffered substantial material losses and that thousands of their members were amongst those displaced. In the case against the Government of Cyprus it is alleged more specifically that certain named persons were taken as hostage by the Greek forces. The Committee notes, in this connection, that most of these persons have been released under arrangements reached between the Governments of Cyprus and Turkey for the exchange of prisoners, and that two of the persons named cannot be traced.
  103. 103 As regards the specific trade union aspects of these cases the Committee considers that it is clear that, in the situation prevailing in Cyprus, where the entire population was gravely affected by the military operations which took place, the trade union movements and their memberships similarly suffered great losses and their activities were seriously curtailed. It is equally clear, however, that in neither case has it been established, nor was any allegation made, that the acts which gave rise to the complaints were specifically aimed at trade unions or their activities.
  104. 104 The Committee considers it appropriate to observe that the political aspects of the situation in Cyprus have been considered by the United Nations Security Council and the General Assembly which have adopted a number of resolutions on the subject. It is also appropriate to note than in a communication from a number of Greek Cypriot employers' and workers' organisations, addressed to the Director-General of the ILO on 27 October 1974, the International Labour Organisation was requested to intervene with the Turkish Government to withdraw its troops from Cyprus. It was also proposed that a joint Greek Cypriot/Turkish Cypriot Committee of employers' and workers' representatives be established, under the chairmanship of a senior ILO official, to work towards the various aspects of the restoration of peace and normality.
  105. 105 These proposals were duly communicated to the Secretary-General of the United Nations by the Director-General who indicated that some of the action proposed by the signatories of the abovementioned communication fell outside the competence of the International Labour Organisation, and that probably none of the proposals could be divorced from the over-all political settlement of the Cyprus crisis in which the United Nations had a key role to play. On the other hand, the Director-General pointed out that he was conscious of the potentially valuable contribution to peace which positive action by non-governmental bodies, in particular by employers' and workers' organisations, could make. The Secretary-General was informed that the officers of the Governing Body had agreed that the proposals which had been made be transmitted to the United Nations with an assurance of the ILO's readiness to assist in its implementation in any manner thought to be appropriate by the Governments concerned.
  106. 106 Subsequently, the Secretary-General of the United Nations informed the Director-General in a communication dated 7 December 1974 that he agreed that probably none of the proposals could be divorced from the over-all political settlement of the Cyprus problem, in which the United Nations has a key role to play. The Secretary-General also stated that it was manifest that the proposed joint Greek Cypriot/Turkish Cypriot Committee of employers' and workers' representatives under the chairmanship of an ILO representative could only be established with the agreement of those concerned, which in the circumstances might not be easy to achieve. The Secretary-General added that he had transmitted copies of the relevant correspondence to his Special Representative in Cyprus, Mr. Luis Weckmann-Munoz, who would be in a position to bring to the attention of the leaders of the two communities the proposals made by the Greek Cypriot organisations, the Director-General's comment about the potentially valuable contribution which the employers' and workers' organisations could make and the views of the Officers of the Governing Body.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 107. In these circumstances, the Committee, with regard to both cases recommends the Governing Body:
   • (a) to recall the principles set forth in paragraph 101 above;
   • (b) to decide, for the reasons set forth in paragraph 103 above, that the situation within which the questions raised in this case fall is essentially political in nature and that it is being dealt with by the United Nations; and
   • (c) to note, with regard to the proposal made by a number of Greek Cypriot employers' and workers' organisations to establish a joint Greek Cypriot/Turkish Cypriot Committee, under the chairmanship of an ILO representative, to work towards the various aspects of the restoration of peace and normality, that this proposal has been communicated to the United Nations.