The President of the Republic addressed an
event organized
by the Famagusta Municipality for the 40
years of the occupation of Famagusta
The President of the Republic, Mr Nicos
Anastasiades, addressed tonight an event organized by the Famagusta
Municipality, in Deryneia, for the 40 years of Famagusta’s occupation by
Turkish troops.
Speaking at the event, the President said
that “during these last 40 years, Famagusta was turned from a city that was to
be returned into a ghost-city. There is no logical explanation to justify the
insistence of the Turks to keep a European Union city under this inhuman siege.
Famagusta is a crucial test for all of us
but primarily for Turkey. The city is occupied exclusively by Turkish troops,
and through this the true elements of the invasion and occupation are clearly
shown. The case of Famagusta places Turkey before its heavy responsibilities
and demolishes the groundless argument that the invasion allegedly took place
for the protection of the Turkish Cypriots.”
The President welcomed those Turkish
Cypriots compatriots who attended the event and who “bravely support that which
can create prospects for peaceful coexistence.” He added that “the potential
return of Famagusta can probably become the strongest incentive for growth both
for the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots,” and stressed that the
priority for Famagusta is not an empty slogan but is perhaps “the catalyst for
the protracted Cyprus problem.” He pointed out that this is already
recognized in the United Nations, in Europe and in the Unites States where it
is presented as a priority issue.
The President noted that the return of
Famagusta can provide a new momentum in the negotiations for a solution to the
Cyprus problem; it would renew the hope that there is some movement after 40
years, and would give Turkey the opportunity to prove that it means what it
relates to third parties. “I wish and hope that after tomorrow’s elections (in Turkey)
we will witness a new policy, a policy that will, with Turkey’s contribution,
lead to the peaceful solution of the Cyprus problem, to the liberation of our
homeland from the occupation force, to the reunification of our island, and
will afford at last to all its lawful citizens the opportunity to enjoy the
same rights as the rest of the European citizens.”
The President also referred to his
proposal for the return of Famagusta and the rest of the confidence building
measures that he presented during the negotiations, and which could contribute
to the change of the prevailing climate and to address, at the earliest
possible, the problems faced up to now.
He noted that a solution based on a
bizonal, bicommunal federation, can create a peaceful and prosperous homeland
for all the lawful citizens of Cyprus and called on Turkish Cypriots to join in
the effort to reunify our homeland free of occupation troops.
Occupation troops, he added, “do not help.
To the contrary, they harm the rights of our compatriots, they violate the
rights of our compatriots.”
President Anastasiades reiterated that “we
are determined to work for the creation of a new era, a new relationship
between Cyprus and Turkey, if the latter contributes to the lifting of the
status of occupation, thus contributing to regional peace, stability and
prosperity.”
Referring to the discovery of hydrocarbon
reserves in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of Cyprus, the
President said that “it creates new geopolitical and geostrategic conditions in
the wider Eastern Mediterranean region and opens up prospects for our country
which we will exploit in the best possible way, while safeguarding our
sovereign rights as well as our economic and broader national interests.”
He added that the issue of energy must not
and should not be a source of conflict, but an opportunity for peace and
prosperity for all the lawful citizens of Cyprus, as well as for others. He
stressed that “all those who wish and have a need for us to exploit the
hydrocarbon reserves of the region, must at last decide that through the peace
and stability that can be safeguarded through the solution of the Cyprus
problem, they too can benefit.”
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