International Coordinating Committee Justice for Cyprus (PSEKA) President Philip Christopher has called on the Biden administration to put an end to the 50-year occupation of 37% of the Republic of Cyprus.
In a message marking 50 years since Turkey’s invasion of the island Christopher said that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere and 50 Years of occupation is enough.”
Turkey, he noted, “NATO’s rogue state must be held accountable”, calling on the Biden Administration to “put an end to the 50-year occupation of 37% of the Republic of Cyprus.”
‘Fifty years ago on July 20, 1974, the Greek-American community watched in disbelief as American made arms paid for by our taxes, were utilized by Turkey to invade, kill and rape thousands of Greek Cypriots and conduct ethnic cleansing by expelling 200,000 people from their ancestral homes and create a puppet state (trnc) in the occupied 37% of the island,’ Christopher said.
He added that during these past 50 years, the Greek-American community has s
pared neither time, effort or money in mounting collective action in the United States Congress and achieving an embargo on Turkey that was subsequently lifted with the promise that Turkey will abide by UN Resolutions and withdraw its 40,000 occupation troops from Cyprus.
According to Philip Christopher the Greek-American community of two million, first in education and second in income, has contributed in immeasurable ways to America.
‘Unfortunately, we failed to convince any administration to bring pressure to bear on Turkey who continues to occupy 37% of the Republic of Cyprus, a member of the United Nations and European Union. We are often told by the State Department and our elected officials that in foreign policy, there are no allies or enemies, but simply protection of National interests. For fifty years, our country, the United States of America, the greatest Democracy in the world, has compromised its Democratic values for the sake of interests and expediency’ he noted.
Cyprus has been divided si
nce 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. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar of Columbia as his personal envoy for Cyprus, to assume a Good Offices role on his behalf and search for common ground on the way forward in the Cyprus issue.
Source: Cyprus News Agency