Cypriots who disagree with Turkey’s plans on the island.

In his speech at the gathering, Famagusta Mayor Dr. Simos Ioannou said division has never been an option for the people of Cyprus.

Addressing the people who attended the gathering, only a few kilometres away from the Famagusta, Ioannou said “we convey to all that division has never been an option for the people of Cyprus. We want a free and united country, without barbed wire and checkpoints. A country for all its people, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Maronites, Armenians and Latins”.

We must all understand that the only way to save Famagusta is to return to the negotiating table and for this reason our actions should aim towards this.

At the same time, he added, a decisive opening is needed from all of us to the Turkish Cypriot community and to the progressive forces which oppose the Erdogan-Tatar plans for Varosha and reject a two-state solution.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

Varosha, the fenced off section of the Turkish occupied town of Famagusta, is often described as a ‘ghost town’.

UN Security Council resolution 550 (1984) considers any attempts to settle any part of Varosha by people other than its inhabitants as inadmissible and calls for the transfer of this area to the administration of the UN. UN Security Council resolution 789 (1992) also urges that with a view to the implementation of resolution 550 (1984), the area at present under the control of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus be extended to include Varosha.

The Turkish Cypriot leadership announced in July 2021 a partial lifting of the military status in Varosha. A few months earlier, on October 8, 2020, the Turkish side opened part of the fenced area of Varosha, following an announcement made in Ankara on October 6. The UN Security Council called for the reversal of this course of action, while the UN Secretary General, in his latest report on his mission of good offices in Cyprus, reiterated his concern over developments in the fenced-off area, noting that the position of the UN on Varosha remains unchanged. The EU also expressed grave concern.

Source: Parikiaki.com