Forty-eight years ago to this day the Turkish military launched its second offensive against the Republic of Cyprus, in full violation of international law, including the UN Charter, despite the ceasefire that had been agreed.
The Turkish army invaded Cyprus on July 20, 1974, and launched the second phase of the invasion on August 14 of the same year, occupying the best part of Mesaoria, Famagusta, Karpasia and Morphou.
The Turkish side continues to disregard calls by the international community relating to Cyprus and continues to hold the city of Famagusta hostage of its illegal military occupation.
Turkish troops invaded Cyprus on July 20, 1974, five days after the legal government of the late Archbishop Makarios III was toppled by a military coup, engineered by the military junta then ruling Greece. Two unproductive conferences in Geneva followed; the first between Britain, Greece and Turkey and the second with the additional attendance of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot representatives. Three weeks after the ceasefire of July 22, and despite the fact that talks were still being held and just as an agreement seemed about to be reached, the Turkish army mounted a second full-scale offensive. As a result, Turkey increased its hold to include the booming tourist resort of Famagusta in the east and the rich citrus-growing area of Morphou in the west.
All in all, almost 37% of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus came under Turkish military occupation. Nearly one third of the population, some 200,000 Greek Cypriots, were forcibly uprooted from their homes and properties, thousands were killed during the hostilities, over 1,000 persons were listed as missing while thousands of Greek Cypriots and Maronites remained enclaved.
Numerous UN resolutions have demanded respect to the independence, unity and territorial integrity of Cyprus, the return of the displaced to their homes, and the withdrawal of foreign troops from the island, but all resolutions have been ignored by Turkey.
The latest effort to reach a Cyprus settlement was concluded in summer 2017 in the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana without a result. Cyprus is a full EU member state since May 2004. The Turkish occupied part of Cyprus is also considered EU territory, where the acquis communautaire is suspended until the solution of the Cyprus problem.
The Greek Cypriot side says it will never tire of working to create the conditions and mobility to resume negotiations for a solution to the Cyprus problem.
Representing the President of the Republic at the annual event for Famagusta, Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said the only way forward is dialogue, and the only choice is a solution of the Cyprus problem based on the UN parameters and urged the Turkish Cypriot leadership to respond to the expectations of its community.
We remain, Kasoulides added, “committed to the efforts to find a viable solution to the Cyprus problem, on the basis of an agreed framework of a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, as provided by the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. A solution that will reunite the country and its people, end the occupation and its fait accompli”.
Referring to Turkey’s illegal actions in the fenced off area of Varosha, he said they are “part of a policy to create and consolidate new faits accompli on the ground. These are actions which are against the spirit and the letter of the UNSC resolutions 550 and 789 and all the presidential statements of the SC on Famagusta as raised during the Council’s closed sessions”.
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.
The Cypriot FM said the government has welcomed the recent UNSC resolution renewing UNFICYP’s mandate because it repeats all Cyprus resolutions and urges the sides to find a solution based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation, according to the UN framework and condemns the non-reversal of Turkish actions in Varosha.
Noting that Turkey cannot be allowed to continue ignoring international law and implement a double standard policy, he said that in all his contacts in the last seven months he has received support from his interlocutors who have condemned Turkey’s illegal actions.
Kasoulides referred to the package of Confidence Building Measures which the government has promoted in the last few months, noting the measures are generous and bold while their implementation will mutually benefit both communities.
However, he said the package of measures were rejected by the Turkish Cypriot side which insists on a two-state policy, recognition of the sovereign equality status of the Turkish Cypriot community in order for negotiations to resume, “positions which are unacceptable and are contrary to the goal of reunification.
The Cypriot FM said the Turkish Cypriots made counter proposals in a letter to the President of the Republic, and “we will examine these proposals carefully to ascertain if there is mutual will for a dialogue between the two sides”.
Kasoulides further said that what worries the Greek Cypriot side is stability and an impasse. “This is what’s causing disappointment and concern”, he added.
We want our town back, he said, adding “condemnation and UN resolutions and decisions are not enough. We want Famagusta back, we want all our towns and villages back”, the minister said and called on the Turkish Cypriot leadership to respond to the Turkish Cypriots’ expectations, to listen to their voices and not try to alter the secularism and social orientation of the Turkish Cypriots.
We urge the Turkish Cypriot leadership to abandon its irrational and maximalist outbursts for a two-state solution and exhibit the required will to start a dialogue based on the CBMs, the minister concluded.
President Anastasiades conveyed a proposal on Confidence Building Measures through a letter to the Turkish Cypriot leader and the UN, last May, including provisions for the operation of the airport, located in Turkish-occupied Tymbou, under the UN, and the return of legal residents to Varosha, the fenced off part of Famagusta.
The proposed package of measures also provides for European Commission involvement in trade through Famagusta port and the implementation by Ankara of the Additional Protocol, allowing Cypriot-flagged vessels to access ports in Turkey. An escrow account for revenues from hydrocarbon activities, to be accessed by the Turkish Cypriot community is also proposed, provided that Cyprus and Turkey delineate their exclusive economic zones. The Turkish Cypriot side dismissed the package, proposing instead a set of “cooperation proposals” between two “states” in areas such as electricity, renewable energy, water and hydrocarbons.
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has asked for the revocation of all illegal Turkish actions in the fenced – off area of Varosha, stressing the EU’s support for the UN Security Council resolutions on the status of Varosha.
According to a written statement by Government Spokesman, Marios Pelekanos, in her reply letter to the President of the Republic, Nicos Anastasiades, the President of the European Commission, shares President Anastasiades’ strong concerns regarding Turkey’s illegal actions in Varosha.
She reiterates the EU’s condemnation of the Turkish side’s decision to open the closed city of Varosha and the extension of its coastal front and asks that all illegal Turkish actions in Varosha from October 2020 are revoked.
In addition, she reaffirms the EU’s support for the UN Security Council resolutions on the status of Varosha, underlining that any attempt to settle any part of the area by persons other than its legitimate residents would be unacceptable. Furthermore, she requests the transfer of this area to the UN administration.
The President of the European Commission underlines the need for all those involved to contribute to the effort for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus issue, including its external aspects, on the basis of the agreed UN framework, as well as the European acquis communautaire and the EU values. The letter states that the European Commission will continue its efforts for the creation of a climate that will favor the resumption of negotiations.
She reiterates the European Commission’s support for the Confidence Building Measures proposed by the President of the Republic, which, among other, would be helpful in restoring the trust between the two communities and would facilitate efforts to return to the negotiating table, with the aim of reaching a solution of the Cyprus issue on the basis of a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions.
The Commission’s President expresses hope that the Turkish Cypriot side will respond constructively to the proposed Confidence Building Measures, the Government Spokesman’s written statement says.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. 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: Cyprus News Agency