The Cyprus issue, common global challenges and matters relating to the Cypriot diaspora in the UK were the topics on the agenda of the meetings the President of the House of Representatives Annita Demetriou has been having during the first full day of her official visit to London.
Demetriou was welcomed to the Houses of Parliament by the Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle on Monday morning. Following an initial meeting with him and a tour of the Palace of Westminster, she held talks with the Chairman and members of the Commons' Education Committee, and attended a working lunch hosted by the Chairman Sir Roger Gale MP and members of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cyprus.
Following the lunch the House President said that the purpose of her visit was 'precisely to be able to update countries that have a special role, such as Great Britain, primarily about the current situation in our Cyprus, so many years since the illegal invasion and the continuing occupation; to give an update on issues on which we could further develop our cooperation, but also on possible challenges which we are currently called upon to jointly tackle.'
She said that updates on the Cyprus issue are the priority on her agenda: 'We are prioritising the briefing on the Cyprus issue and I am delighted that I am here with the Chair of the APPG for our Cyprus. You can see how clear their positions are regarding the Cyprus issue, regarding the illegal, the unacceptable situation that Cyprus continues to face and that's why we need such words, such interventions, especially from Great Britain, a country which up to now has had a particular response, to phrase it in a diplomatic way; (that's why we need the UK) to stand by us so that we are able to resume negotiations within the correct framework, that is to say a bizonal, bicommunal federation as set out in the UN resolutions - and that's why we consider such meetings so important.'
Referring to the earlier morning meetings she said: 'We had a meeting with the House Speaker and we'll see him again this evening, and then we met with the Chair of the Commons Education Committee. We have discussed issues relating to education, which have occurred particularly after Brexit and its consequences. One of the issues discussed was the tuition increase for our students (in the UK) and how we could potentially resolve it, perhaps through our membership of the Commonwealth.
'We have also raised the issue with regard to our teaching staff at the diaspora schools, and of course we examine how we can jointly manage multiple challenges facing us, relating to migration, climate crisis and the democracy crisis. Something that we particularly discussed with the House Speaker was our common initiate at the IPU summit in Vienna about the use of social media networks and what can be done with all this situation developing into a concerning phenomenon.'
Demetriou added: 'We are here precisely to stress that the Republic of Cyprus, our Cyprus, as a full member of the EU cannot but set as its primary goal the settlement of the Cyprus issue and the reunification of our land. That is why we are rightfully standing by Ukraine. We of course discussed this very important aspect as well and we will do everything in our power to really serve, as is right, the international law, with no double standards; and this is what we expect, at the least, from countries such as the UK or other member countries or other countries around the world that really want to serve democracy and lawfulness.'
Demetriou and the APPG members also discussed the developments in Varosha.
Sir Roger said: 'As the Chairman of the APPG for Cyprus it's been a huge pleasure for me and my colleagues to welcome the Speaker of the House of Representatives, also the leader of her party, to the House of Commons and to discuss the issues facing the island of Cyprus today. We are clearly absolutely as one in our determination to see a full and a peaceful and a rightful settlement to the island's problems. It is outrageous that there has been an army of occupation in a country that is a member of the Commonwealth and member of the Council of Europe for so long. We have to bring this to an end and that means getting people round the table, getting people talking again. We shall redouble our efforts to seek out to do that.'
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.
Source: Cyprus News Agency