THE UNITED CYPRUS PARTY PROGRAMME

The World, The Middle East And Cyprus

Our homeland Cyprus situated in the Middle East, the crossroads of East and West and the cradle of millenium old civilisations is a small island but because of its geographic position a strategically important one. Because of its strategic situation it has been in the centre of economic-political-social developments affecting the world both in the Antique and Modern Ages and thus a target of the big powers.

Our island the importance of which increased when capitalist colonialism started to capture the world has been a target of imperial and colonialist powers since the 1500s. With the invasion of India and Africa, the opening of the Suez Canal in 1859 and of the East-West trade routes Cyprus became more important. Towards the end of the 19th Century, just when capitalism was evolving into imperialism, the biggest imperial power England, at the time, turned our island into part of its “Empire where the Sun Never Sets� in 1878.

After the Industrial Revolution especially towards the end of the 19th Century and during the 20th Century, when oil became the main source of energy Cyprus was exploited by the imperial powers as a means towards the end of capturing and controlling the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula. Cyprus which had to go through the ill effects of Colonialism and Neo-Colonialism has been suffering from these negative social consequences ever since.

With the 1917 October Revolution the main contradiction between Labour and Capital turned into a contradiction between Capitalism and Socialism. Being at the crossing point of the areas of influence created by the contradiction between Capitalism and Socialism our island was divided with the conspiracies of the imperialist powers.

The British Empire which has provoked ethnic and regional differences and applied its policy of divide and rule wherever it has been so as to continue its dominance, and the US imperialism which has taken over the world hegemony after 1945 in order to be able to continue to pursue its interests in the region and benefit from Cyprus which has been turned into an Unsinkable Aircraft Carrier with 8 big and small airtfields have turned the inhabitants of the Island against each other.

In 1960 when the Republic was being founded the island was divided as Cyprus Soil and 99 sq. miles of Sovereign British Bases. This was followed by another division in 1964 by means of Green Lines, this time separating the two main communities.

The two main communities making up the bulk of the population have been provoked to clash every ten years. The 15 July 1974 Greek Junta coup and the war which followed with the Turkish military intervention, while consolidating the geographic division of our country also deepened the division between the communities. These developments have made the efforts of recreating a common homeland more difficult while giving the chauvinist reactionary forces courage and new opportunities to hatch other conspiracies in order to perpetuate the division of the country.

The 28 year old status quo, a result of the intercommunal clashes which started in December 1963 and intermittently went on until the Greek Coup and Turkish military intervetion in July 1974 means.

- A divided island.

- An island turned into a weapons arsenal and a military camp.

- Thousands of lost lives from both communities.

- The fate of more than a thousand missing not yet been detected.

- Thousands of Cypriots having to leave their homes.

- Mistrust between communities and individuals reaching big dimensions.

- Unemployment in the North and fear in the South starting to corrode communities.

- Unemployment and emigration in the Turkish Cypriot community becoming the biggest social ills.

- A high cost of living, a result of the inflationist economic policies brought about by the replacement of the Cyprus Pound by the Turkish Lira, becoming unbearable.

-North and South Cyprus becoming more dependent on Turkey and Greece respectively.

With the pretext that there is a cease-fire in Cyprus, the status-quo is kept going.

Under these conditions, only rapproachment between the communities can restore confidence between the two communities and individuals. Contact and relations between the communities must be rapidly increased; the laying of the stones for the road to peace must not be left to the outside forces but laid by the Cypriots themselves. The confidence building measures which must be materialised on the basis of love of humanity and country and taking into account the international values of man must cover all the cultural, artistic, sportive, comnercial and economic fields.

The barricades must be removed as soon as possible and the two communities must hand in their reservations to each other with an agreement to be reached.

In the 20th century, with the retreat of the socialist wave and with the inner condradictions of the imperialist-capitalist system coming to the fore the world has been divided into three big imperialist-capitalist blocks and Cyprus continues to remain on the agenda as one of their targets of plunder, a result of their condradictions. Cyprus, because of its proximity to the Middle East oil and because of the British military bases (also used by the USA) which threaten our region from Aden to Baghdad and Teheran, from Crimea to Athens and Hartum can’t be shared and is directly influenced by the competition and clash of interests between the USA and EU blocks. As a result of these contradictions and clashes our homeland Cyprus has reached the threshold of a new phase in the years 2000.

Our island both in the world and our region which are being reshaped in the New World Order (or Disorder) is still preserving its geostrategic importance.

The contradictions between the blocks of capital, especially:

- The contradiction between the USA and EU and their efforts to expand their spheres of influence,

- The strategic agreement between the USA, Israel and Turkey,

- The attacks of Israel aimed at breaking the Palestian Resistance which is in the process of evolving into a state, being turned into an act of genocide by the Israelis.

- The efforts of the USA to seize the oil in Iraq by conquering that country with the pretext that it is manufacturing chemical weapons,

- The position of Turkey in the area,

- The Kurdish factor,

- The materialisation of the Baku-Jeyhan pipe-line which will carry the oil and natural gas of the Caspian region to the west and similar developments all affect our country directly and indirectly.

The Cyprus Problem :

The status-quo is consolidating the division of the island, causing its separation as North and South and preventing the two communities from coming together under a federal structure. The Cyprus problem which is almost half a century old must be resolved as soon as possible and the status-quo terminated.

Despite the negative effects of the USA interventions aimed at reshaping the region, the process developed by the impetus of regional and international conditions for EU membership holds its priority on the agenda. After half a century of clashes and division, now that the wishes and demands for a United Common Homeland have increased, the reunification of Cyprus is a duty as important as ever.

Struggling for a Democratic United Cyprus is the duty of every communist, every socialist, every democrat and every patriot.

The United Cyprus Party, considering all the possibilities and allying itself with all the revolutionary, democratic and patriotic forces will struggle against the pro-status-quo forces for the reunification of our homeland.

THE BASIC PRINCIPLES

The driving force of History is the class struggle. The class struggles and social upheavals are the driving force of Historical development. The clash of social classes show themselves in different ways and still continue.

Therefore:

* The United Cyprus Party, considers labour as the loftiest value. It struggles for the emancipation of human labour which is the mother of all values and the basis of living humanly. It supports the world outlook of equality, freedom and social justice.

* The United Cyprus Party is a left wing party which accepts Dialectial Materialism, the science of the working class and the toilers as its basis. Its primary goal is the restoration of peace through the resolution of the intercommunal problem and the creation of the United Common Homeland. Its ultimate goal is a United Socialist Cyprus.

* The United Cyprus Party is for an organised society: Accepting the fact that “An organised people are everything while an unorganised society is nothing� the United Cyprus Party supports and persuades the formation of organisations in every field of life by the people.

* The United Cyprus Party is for planned economy.

* The United Cyprus Party rejects slavery of man by man and struggles against all brands of reaction in solidarity and cooperation with the forces of peace and genuine democracy in the world.

* The United Cyprus Party supports local and international disarmament, supports and accepts the principle: Peace against war – War against Exploitation and Care for the Environment.

* The United Cyprus Party believes that the struggle against the destruction of the environment and nature should be carried out with the same seriousness and determinationstyle="mso-spacerun: yes" as the struggle against human exploitation.

* The United Cyprus Party sets itself the emancipation from division and isolation as its short term goal and threfore demands the early accession into the EU and solution of the Cyprus problem.

* The United Cyprus Party considers every Cypriot as a citizen with equal rights. The immigrats married to Cypriots and those born in Cyprus are Cypriot citizens. Those outside these categories are given the option to go back to their home country with a compensation or stay as an immigrant and acquire a working permit. Those who will work legally for the lawful period and fulfil the conditions of international law will become entitled to be naturalised.

INTERNAL & FOREIGN POLICY

With the understanding that internal and foreign policies dialectically complete each other (one emanating from the other and influencing each other at the same time):

Freeing ourselves from the unfavourable conditions prevailing in our country, reaching a Federal Cyprus within the frameworks of the 1960 Agreements, the UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions and the 1977-79 High Level Agreements and creating a contemporary, democratic structure for our community is our main goal.

Creating a Common Homeland which will live in peace is only possible by freeing ourseleves from the bases, troops and weapons brought to the island because of its strategic position.

Cyprus must be freed from military bases, troops and weapons.

To achieve this main goal, we must in a spirit of international solidarity cooperate with the forces of peace in our country, region and the world.

The forces in our region and the world against all sorts of oppression, exploitation, discrimination of race, colour, sex, language and religion are our allies. Within this framework it is our duty to pursue the international values of man and continue and develop our struggle against exploitation, oppression, racism, discrimination of colour, sex, language and religion.

In the process of restructuring we have to oppose every reactionary force with our democratic, peaceful, anti-imperialist, anti-chauvinist, anti-military, anti-racist and anti-hegemonistic policies and freeing ourselves from being objects to be ruled and manipulated and thus become subjects of our own history.

The speedy reunification of our country and the salvation of our community from extinction, the democratisation and restructuring of the social and political institutions under a Federal Cyprus are our short-term goals.

POLITICAL GOALS

I- FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS

I.1- The main short-term goal is to establish the Federal Republic of Cyprus.

I.2- Our party works with sacrifice in order to exploit every possible means towards this end.

I.3- To achieve a Federal Cyprus and peace our party demands that the on-going intercommunal talks be freed from the monopoly of one man and replaced with a team which will work a solution within the framework of the high-level agreements.

I.4- The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Cyprus must safeguard the rights and freedoms of every citizen based on the international values of man.

Union With Greece and Partition must be rejected and outlawed by the Constitution.

I.5- A bicommunal Constituent Assembly must be elected in order to draft the constitution ofstyle="mso-spacerun: yes" the Federal Republic.

The United Federal Cyprus should be a Republic with one citizenship, one Passport, one international representation, one currency and a common economy for all Cyprus.

II-ECONOMIC & COMMUNAL GOALS

Production is the foundation for existence of every society. It is a proven historical fact that societies which do not give priority to production become dependent and passive.

Economic and social enterprises and institutions will therefore be restructured away from consumption, towards production. The economy is vital enough not to be left to the blind forces of the so-called free-market. In our era, unplanned economy is out of question. Increasing production and productivity is not possible without rational planning.

Within this framework, until the Federal Republic of Cyprus is founded the United Cyprus Party undertakes to do the following:

II.1- Employment & Social Security

a- It is the primary duty of the United Cyprus Party to provide a job, maintenance and social security for all.

b- No-one can be employed without being a member of a union. The workers and civil-servants will be organised not in officially guided unions but in unions of their own, organised on the basic of workshops and work-branches. The right to strike and the right of collective bargaining are indispensable rights for all employees without any discrimination.

c- Enterprises which will not abide by the ILO agreements will not be allowed to function.

d- The public administration will be reorganised by investing in human resources and supported by new technology. The public administration the quality of which out of populist motives has been lowered, and artifically enlarged and rendered ineffective will be restructured so that it will become productive, effective and able to give good quality sevice to the people.

e- Our peasantry will be organised in production and marketing cooperatives and will have a say in the evaluation of their products.

II.2- Financial & Economic Policies:

 a- The economic structure will be reorganised giving priority to financial and fiscal policies.

b- The movements of currency will be brought under controll and the erosion of the pecuniary and registered values of the community stopped.

c- The Central Bank will become autonomuos and its president will be a Turkish Cypriot.

d- The banking system will be restructured and the off-shore banks brought under control.

e- The EURO will become the legal tender and the community will be freed from the negative effects of inflation emanating from the T.L.

f- The gambling houses which are sources of organised crime will be closed.

g- The centres of prostitution under the guise of night-clubs will be closed.

II.3- Energy, Tourism, Agriculture, Industry, Transportation and Foreign Trade.

a- Renewable, cheap and non polluting solar and wind energy will be exploited to the utmost.

b- Light industry in coordination with agriculture, tourism and foreign trade will be encouraged for internal consumption and external trade.

c- The quality of tourism will be improved to the level of internetional standards and enabled to compete internationally.

d- Foreign trade will not be left to individual capabilities and ‘unrestricted liberation’ will be brought under control.

e- Regular and secure air and sea transportation to and from our island will be provided, the roads in North Cyprus will be improved and every means of contemporary technology will be made use of in communications.

II.4- Agriculture, Water, Animal Husbandry, Fishing.

a- Agriculture will be reorganised in accordance with the principles of planned economy.

b- Agricultural produce will be improved in quality, quantity and variety taking into account its importance in the economy of our community bearing in mind the water resources, climate, land owership and soil make-up of the country.

c- The water resources belong to the public. The watering methods will be modernised, the waste of water will be prevented and the scarce water resources will be protected and improved.

d- The state will lead the way by creating rational and profitable farms and meet the needs of the farmers.

e- The tools and machines used in agriculture will have to be of a certain standard and spare-parts will be compulsory.

f- Traditional and agricultural products like olives, carobs and citrus fruits will be supported from the stage of production upto the stage of marketing. Industrial enterprises which will produce olive-oil and refreshments will be encouraged.

g- Animal husbandry will be modernised, meat, milk and milk products will be increased and the nutrition of the citizen taken care of.

h- Bee-keeping, cultivation in hothouses, chicken-rearing will be encouraged and improved.

i- The fishing industry will be encouraged, fisheries established and fish-food provided.

j- The forests will be protected and improved with the participation of citizens.

k- The technologial know-how for the producers will be provided by the argicultural experts, veterinary surgeons and technicians.

II.5- Small shopkeeps & Artisans:

a- Small shopkeepes & artisans will be supported with low rate interests and the traditional handicraft protected.

b- The artisans will be organised in co-operatives and the marketing of their products will be provided for.

II.6- System of Cooperatives

The true owners of the Cooperatives Central Bank are the village cooperatives and producers. The Cooperative Central bank the General Congress of style="mso-spacerun: yes" which has not convened for years and been exploited by interest groups will be handed back to its true owners.

II.7- The Environment and Nature

a- The environment will be carefully protected and the destruction of nature prevented.

b- The Development Plan will be revised in order to stop speculation and prevent the country from turning into a concrete jungle.

c- The water resources will be rationally used and new ones created.

d- The slaughter of wild life which is an element of natural balance will be prevented and hunting will be turned into a sport.

II.8- Education & Sports

Knowldge and education are the chief factors in the sustenance of communities and the development of their living standards. Knowledge which doesn’t come out against any sort of taboo on the side of freedom cannot be scientific.

The only way to raise free generations with free minds and free consciences is through the teaching of scientific knowlodge which is the most powerful force of our age to the young generations by the best possible means. The communities which are not aware that this is an age of Knowledge and Information are doomed to remain passive and dependent and lose.

The contemporary state is the state which creates facilities of education and teaching for the young with modern means, in proper buildings and a healthy environment.

So, in order to raise the standards of quality in education and teaching the United Cyprus Party will see to the following:

a- Free education is a fundamental right of every Cypriot citizen. Education will be freed from commercialism and rendered free and productive.

b- The kindergartens, primary and the bottom three classes of the secondary schools will be united under a primary curriculum. Primary education will be compulsory.

c- The present boring system which depends on learning by heart will be replaced by a creative one which will help the students seek the good, the correct and the beautiful through modern approaches.

d- Education and teaching will be rendered autonomous and the three basic elements of education, the student, the teacher and the parents will be given the say under the guidance of the state.

e- Chauvinistic material will be eradicated from the curriculums of the elementary and secondary schools.

f- The universities will be freed from being producers of an army of unemployed and will be reorganised. Their present structure which only transfers and sells knowledge will be changed so that they can produce knowlodge and become real centres of science. Education for Cypriot citizens will be free of charge.

g- Private teaching centres will be closed.

h- If the first prerequisite of healthy living is proper nutrition the second is sports. Exercising all along is indispensable for good health. Individual and collective sports will be encouraged by every means.

II.9- Health

Health sevices include service to the sick as well as preventive medicine. With this in mind:

a- The share for the health services from the budget will be increased.

b- To protect the community from diseases, to increase the life span of the individual, to strengthen her/him physically and mentally, to provide her/him healthy nutrition the food stores will be inspected, vaccination campaings speeded up and the screening in search of thalassamia, T.B., diabetes and HIV will be intensified.

c- For the health services to be carried out unhindered the working conditions for the doctors will be reset on the basic of full-time and voluntary private practicing will be controlled.

d- The public health units will be freed from repression, partisanship, bribery and the like and rendered autonomous.

e- The health system will be developed so as to serve every citizen equally, , sufficiently and in a balanced manner and not only those who can afford it.

f- To render the system functionable family doctoring will be institutionalised.

g- The deficiencies of the health insurance will be removed so that every citizen can benefit efficiently and widely.

II.10- Youth and Women

Our party attaches special importance to our future the Youth and our tomorrow the Women.

a- Special precautions will be taken in order to save the youth from emigrating. Jobs will be created for them. Enterprises which will employ university graduates will be subsidised. All youth will be educated and employed and the employment of young people below the age of 15 will be prohibited.

b- Women will be freed from the ‘slavery’ of housework and with positive discrimination and every other support enabled to respectfully, actively and dynamically participate in social life.

c- Organisations for the emancipation of women especially working women treated as second-class citiziens will be supported and encouraged.

d- Laws with elements of suppressive traditions will be abolished and the equal participation of women in social life together with men will be made possible.

II.11- Culture and the Arts

Cultural and artistic activities which render life meaningful will be supported. The common values of our country embodied in the works of art (literature, music, plastic works, painting etc.) will be preserved, supported and institutionalised.

With this in mind:

a- The Goverment will increase the share to Culture and Arts from the budget and will form special funds for the same purpose.

b- The “Antonomous Council of Culture and Arts� will be materialised, culture and arts will be freed from the narrow official mentality and opportunities created for the inviduals of art to create freely.

c- Buildings of culture (libraries, museums and concert and exhibition halls) will be erected in all towns and villages.

d- The cultural heritage of the country will be exhibited and properly protected.

e- The Ministry of Culture will financially support the organisations of Culture and Art and employ proffessionals for this purpose.

f- Our local cultural and artistic works and activities will be protected against Cultural Imperialism.

g- The products of Culture and Art will be exempt from all sorts of taxation.

The Press-Publications-Communication:

Every opportunity will be created to make it possible for the citizens to benefit from the local press, means of publication and communication as means for the expression of thought, facilitating social and individual communication.

With this in mind:

a- The rights of the labourers of the media will be protected by law and opportunities will be created for them to work freely.

b- The local Press-Publications-Communications means will be protected against every imperialistic and hegemonistic attacks.

c- Local Press-Publications-Communications will be protected against chauvinist, militarist and fascist elements endangering human life.

d- The social and professional rights of the people working in this field will be protected by law and opportunities will be created for them to produce and publish freely.

e- The public advertisements will be distributed to the local papers, periodicals, radios and TV stations evenly, with no discrimination.

f- The organisations related to the media will be financially supported and provided with professionals.

g- The local papers, periodicals, TV channels, radio stations, printing offices and bookshops will be exempt from taxation in order to keep the prices down.