For fifty years now we are waiting for the time to return to our occupied city, Mayor of the Turkish occupied city of Famagusta, Simos Ioannou, said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the extraordinary open session of the Famagusta Municipal Council, he said that it is with great sadness and pain that for another year, 50 years now, we await for the time “which I hope will not be too late, to return to our city.”
Today, he continued, “an extraordinary open plenary session of the Municipal Council of the occupied Municipality is being held, on the occasion of the abandonment of the city by its residents on August 14”.
“Everyone knows that the Turks entered the city and occupied it on the 15th of August, but the people on the 14th, under fear of bombardment both from the sea and from the air, and knowing that since 10 o clock in the morning the line of Mia Milia was broken, fled from Famagusta believing that they would return soon.”
Ioannou also said that everyone knows “who are the ones who abandoned the city. It i
s not the people of Famagusta, as some had once criticised the people for leaving the city, because the reality is completely different.” One day, he added, “those who left the city defenceless must be held accountable while they are still alive.”
He talked about his personal experience saying ‘I know precisely what happened that day, because I was a conscript soldier. I know that we passed the night of August 14, from Famagusta and started shouting to the Battalion Commanders ‘why go to Anglisides and not stay inside Famagusta?’ Unfortunately the orders were different.”
The Mayor read out a statement which stresses that “today, August 14, marks 50 years of Turkish occupation of our city, 50 years of being refugees. The Municipal Council pays tribute to the people of Famagusta, who fell fighting for the defence of our homeland, but also to all our fellow citizens who died as refugees.”
The Municipal Council stresses that “the people of Famagusta remain loyal to the struggle for return, freedom and reunific
ation and that the achievement of this goal is a guarantee for the future of Famagusta, Cyprus and all Cypriots.”
It also reaffirms its “firm position in favour of reaching a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem, on the basis of a Bizonal, Bicommunal Federation, with political equality of the two communities, as determined by the relevant resolutions of the United Nations and which provides for a state with a single sovereignty, a single international personality and a single citizenship.”
Moreover, it “condemns Turkey’s illegal and provocative actions in Famagusta, which create new faits accomplis that work against the prospect of a return to our city in violation of the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council”.
“Turkey’s goal is to perpetuate and legitimize the division, which cannot be achieved as long as the possibility of returning to our city remains feasible and realistic,” it adds.
For this reason, the announcement says, the Municipal Council “looks forward to the immed
iate resumption of negotiations, from the point where they were interrupted in 2017 in Crans Montana, based on the Guterres Framework and all the convergences achieved to date. The resumption of talks, under the auspices of the UN Secretary General, is the only way to save our city and reach a peaceful resolution of the Cyprus problem.”
It is added that “the return of Famagusta to its legitimate residents can be the key that will unlock and give impetus to the whole process.”
“Despite the pain that we as Famagusta residents have been carrying for 50 years, we have hope that Famagusta will once again be a centre of flourishing and creativity in a free and reunited Cyprus,” the announcement concludes.
Cyprus has been divided by Turkish troops since 1974 when Turkey invaded and since then occupies 37% of its territory.
Today marks the 50th anniversary since the second phase of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
The Turkish military forces that invaded the island on July 20, 1974, following a coup orchestrated
by the Greek Junta five days earlier, seized more areas of the Republic of Cyprus, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes.
On August 14 1974, the Turkish forces, despite the truce that was agreed launched the ‘Attila II’ operation during which they captured 37% of the Cypriot territory. They occupied the Pentadaktylos mountain, the Mesaoria plain, Morphou and Karpasia and in the early hours of August 14th they bombed Famagusta.
The city, once the pride of Cyprus, with a huge port, booming tourist sector and rich culture, was closed by the Turkish troops and no one was allowed to enter. It gradually became known as the ‘ghost town’.
The status of the fenced off area of Famagusta (Varosha) is being protected by UN Security Council resolutions 550 and 789. Moreover the UN has, with many resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council, demanded respect to the independence, unity and territorial integrity of Cyprus, the return of refugees to their homes and the withdrawal of foreign troops
from the island. But all resolutions have provocatively been ignored and violated by Turkey.
Source : Cyprus News Agency