The President of the Cyprus Parliament Annita Demetriou sent a letter, on Monday, to the President of the Council of Representatives of Bahrain, Ahmed Bin Salman AlMusalam, following an incident with the hanging of the flag of the illegal entity in the island’s occupied areas, during the deliberations of the 146th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. The Cyprus parliamentary delegation which attended the meeting, protested immediately and in addition to this, Demetriou addressed a letter on Monday to Ahmed Bin Salman AlMusalam, who replied by saying that it was an “unintentional error.” A statement from the Parliament says that the President of the House underlined that the hoisting of the flag of an illegal and separatist entity, subordinate to Turkey, which is the result of the Turkish invasion and continued occupation of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, is against international law and resolutions 541 and 550 of the UN Security Council. Such actions that seek to upgrade the pseudo-state cannot be accepted and have been repeatedly condemned by the United Nations, the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the international community, Demetriou noted. She pointed out that the member parliaments of the Inter-Parliamentary Union cannot violate UN resolutions and the principles and objectives of the Organization, which they are committed to promote and protect. Demetriou asked for Bahrain’s commitment that such unfortunate incidents, which are contrary to the essence of international legitimacy, will not be repeated in the future. In today’s reply letter, the President of the Bahraini Council of Representatives expresses regret for the incident, assuring Demetriou that it was an “unintentional mistake.” Ahmed Bin Salman AlMusalam emphasizes that the Kingdom of Bahrain opposes any violation of UN resolutions and underlines that under no circumstances could this mistake disrupt the close relations at all levels between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Republic of Cyprus. Cyprus has been divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion. Numerous rounds of talks under the UN aegis failed so far to yield results. An illegal breakaway state declared independence unilaterally, on November 15, 1983, in the areas of the Republic of Cyprus under Turkish occupation, an action condemned by the UN Security Council and the international community as legally null and void. The illegal declaration followed the partition of the island after the Turkish military invaded Cyprus in 1974, occupying one third of its territory ever since.
Source: Cyprus News Agency