The Municipality of Famagusta condemned on Tuesday the actions of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side in Varosha, the fenced off area of the city, urging refugees from Famagusta to exhibit self-restraint in the face of Turkish provocations.
“The Municipality of Famagusta strongly condemns the actions of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side in relation to the fenced off area of Famagusta which aim to create concerns among the people from Famagusta, to cultivate a sense of permanent loss of their city and hurt the effort to restart talks”, an announcement by the Municipality says.
It calls on the people of Famagusta “not to give in to dictations, wherever those may come from, which are intended to alienate them from their properties and thus from the city of Famagusta”.
It also underlines the importance of adhering to relevant UN resolutions, and in particular resolutions 550/1984 and 789/1992, which provide for the return of Varosha under UN administration and calls on Turkey to comply with the above-mentioned resolutions.
Any initiatives and actions undertaken by Greek Cypriots to transfer or concede ownership rights and property they hold in the occupied territories to individuals and other legal entities / companies of foreign interests owned by Turks or Turkish Cypriots and foreigners, impede the Greek Cypriot side’s handling of the inter-communial talks and create negative faits accomplis with regard to the issue of property, says the Municipality.
It also urges the people of Famagusta to exhibit self-restraint in the face of the Turkish provocations and adds that the respective governments must take the necessary measures so that every refugee receives the necessary state aid and is not forced to take such actions.
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. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
Varosha is the fenced off section of the Turkish occupied town of Famagusta, often described as ‘ghost town’. UN Security Council resolution 550 (1984) considers any attempts to settle any part of Varosha by people other than its inhabitants as inadmissible and calls for the transfer of this area to the administration of the UN.
Efforts over the years for the legitimate citizens of Famagusta to return to the city have met with the refusal of the Turkish side, despite numerous decisions and resolutions by the UN, EU and other international institutions.
