GOC RESPONDS PREDICTABLY TO IRFR

UNCLAS NICOSIA 001762 SIPDIS SIPDIS SECSTATE FOR DRF/IRF AND DRL/SEA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: CY KIRF SUBJECT: GOC RESPONDS PREDICTABLY TO IRFR ¶1. (U) In an October 10 meeting at the Foreign Ministry, Second Secretary/Human Rights Officer Cristiana Tzika delivered the Republic of Cyprus,s (RoC) official response to the 2006 Department of State International Religious Freedom Report (IRFR). Not surprisingly, RoC objections on IRFR substance related mainly to the "Area Administered by Turkish Cypriots" section of the report. Tzika noted instances of church and graveyard desecration that had occurred there during the reporting period that were "incorrectly" noted either as "government claims" or "alleged." She called them "publicly documented and recognized by the UN." Tzika also mentioned several instances where harassment by "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" ("TRNC") officials had prevented enclaved Greek Cypriots from exercising their right to worship. On the section titled simply "Cyprus," Tzika raised no objections. ¶2. (U) Tzika,s main focus, however, was in voicing the RoC,s opposition to the perceived US elevation of the "TRNC,s" status. Her objections were two-fold. Firstly, splitting the IRFR into two parts was inherently "divisive," and secondly, the use of words and/or phrases in the report leant legitimacy to the "TRNC" regime. The RoC objected to "Areas Administered by the Turkish Cypriot Authorities," "the north," and "TRNC," for example, preferring instead "areas not under Government control," "Turkish occupied areas," or "occupied territories." Tzika concluded by repeating the RoC,s belief that our change in terminology, beginning with the 2005 reporting cycle, illustrated a not-so-subtle USG policy swing aimed at "upgrading the pseudo-state." ¶3. (SBU) COMMENT: Interacting with RoC officials, we attempt to stay on task, discussing, say, Kosovo final status or nuclear non-proliferation. Nine times out of ten, however, we end up arguing the Cyprus Problem, our interlocutors spewing "pseudo-state," "outlaw regime," and "occupation power" invectives. It was therefore no surprise the MFA,s IRFR response focused not on the issue at hand -- whether the island's residents could worship the God of their choosing -- but on our pick of descriptors that "legitimized" the "TRNC". With the split-report format our choice for the foreseeable future, we are likely to be called on the carpet loudly and often, despite Washington's oft-stated policy stance against any "creeping recognition" of the "TRNC." END COMMENT. SCHLICHER