The attempt to legitimise the faits accomplis of Turkey's invasion will once again fail, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said on Friday, adding that we are proceeding steadfastly to action, because, as he explained, inaction on the Cyprus problem is neither a solution nor an option for the Christodoulides government.
Addressing the event "Famagusta Remembrance Day", under the auspices of the President of Cyprus, held at the "Thalassa" Municipal Museum of Ayia Napa the Minister said that "for 49 years since the Turkish invasion, our goal remains unchanged, the liberation from the illegal Turkish occupation and reaching a viable and functional solution within the framework of the United Nations. A solution that reunites the island and our people and creates conditions of peace and prosperity for all its legitimate inhabitants."
"Our will remains unwavering and absolutely sincere, despite the series of unacceptable actions of imposing faits accomplis on the ground by the Turkish side, actions which undermine the effort to revitalise the negotiations and advance its intention to change the status quo in the enclosed area of Varosha," he noted.
Ioannou said "Turkey's attempt to usurp the property of the Greek Cypriot residents is only part of its effort to create two states. This attempt to legitimize the achievements of the invasion will once again fail."
The Cyprus problem, the Minister said, "is a European problem, the solution of which also concerns our European family. The initiative of the President of the Council of Europe for a more active involvement of the EU in the solution efforts and in the reunification of our homeland has been met positively by his interlocutors," he said, expressing the hope that "soon Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side will come to the negotiations within the framework of a positive agenda, without provocations, tensions and faits accomplis on the ground, as in Varosha".
Ioannou also referred to the refugee policy, saying that "the refugee world has borne the greatest pain and has carried on its shoulders a huge burden of the consequences of the Turkish invasion". For this reason, he noted, "our goal as a government, until the Cyprus problem is resolved, is to be able to support our refugees in the best possible way, through an approach that is as fair, comprehensive and equitable as possible".
In his address, the Mayor of Famagusta Dr. Simos Ioannou said that "Famagusta can be the key to the overall solution of the Cyprus problem, the consensus point that will lead to the resumption of talks for a solution that will free our country from occupation, division and foreign interventionist rights."
For us, he continued, "the hope of return is a one-way street. Even though Turkey and the nationalist section of the Turkish Cypriot leadership have been slowly but steadily re-entering the enclosed area of our occupied city for the past two years, our determination to return remains unshakeable," he said.
Referring to the construction of the Famagusta Library hosted at the "Thalassa" Museum in Ayia Napa, which houses 140 works of art from the Famagusta Municipal Gallery, the Mayor said that "our cultural heritage is non-negotiable treasure which we must preserve as the apple of our eye, as, along with so many memories and recollections, it keeps the memory of our city alive."
Source: Cyprus News Agency