Nicosia: We will not stop fighting for justice until our return, Demetriou says on 2nd invasion phaseWe will not settle for half a homeland and we will not stop fighting for justice until the day of our return, President of the House of Representatives, Annita Demetriou, said in a post on social media regarding the second phase of the Turkish invasion on 14 August 1974 and Famagusta.
According to Cyprus News Agency, 'Attila II entered the city. Life came to an abrupt halt. Famagusta was transformed into a ghost town and its people were forced to flee. Fifty-two years on, our souls remain rooted there on its golden sands. Famagusta calls to us. All of our occupied land awaits justice. Together with those holding the line at Thermopylae, our people trapped there,' said Demetriou.
'The illegal invasion and the ongoing occupation constitute a continuous violation of international law. We have every right to demand what is self-evident. What applies to every other European citizen. We will not stop fighting for the liberation and reunification of our homeland. For a Cyprus free of occupying forces, free of anachronistic guarantees and free of interventionist rights', she added.
'We must support the UN Secretary-General's new initiative with seriousness and responsibility. We must utilise every diplomatic means and every step both within and outside the EU, through astute strategic manoeuvres in conjunction with Greece, to bring Turkey to the table for substantive negotiations. There is no room on this path for populism, empty slogans or ideological rigidity,' she stressed.
'We will not settle for half a homeland, and we will not stop fighting for what is right. Until the blessed day of our return,' concluded the House President.
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 due to Turkish intransigence. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whose term nears its end, announced he would convene another meeting in broader format, after adequate preparation, but gave no timeline. He secured to that end the consensus of both sides and of the guarantor powers. Mara Angela Holgun, Guterres' Personal Envoy on Cyprus, is tasked to engage with the parties. Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto acts as the European Commission's Special Representative for Cyprus, succeeding EU special envoy Johannes Hahn.