PRESIDENT DEMETRIS Christofias yesterday slammed Britain and America for choosing Turkey over Cyprus and international law when it comes to efforts to solve the long-running division of the island.
Speaking to children from the Cypriot community in the USA during their visit to the presidential palace, Christofias singled out the two permanent members of the UN Security Council for criticism.
After briefing the children on the history of the Cyprus problem, the 1974 military coup and Turkish invasion, he said: “We are fighting to free the occupied part of Cyprus, reunite our homeland, live in peace with the Turkish Cypriots in a united federal state and cooperate within the framework of our common homeland.”
He added in reference to the three guarantor powers of Cyprus: “We do not need motherlands, guardians, Turkey, Greece or ‘stepmother’ Britain.”
When colonial rule ended, the British left Cyprus but “they left to stay”, he said.
“They imposed the bases on us. They call the bases ‘sovereign territory of the UK’. It is a state within a state. Cypriots do not accept this fait accompli on their territory. For now, our priority is not the bases, but the liberation of our country from Turkish troops,” said Christofias.
Christofias said the government works closely with expatriate Cypriots to convince foreign governments of the just cause to end the occupation of the island’s northern third.
He acknowledged, however, that this effort was not always successful in America, and less so in Britain.
Just a few hours before his meeting with US Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Gordon at the palace, Christofias told his young American Cypriot audience: “Sometimes, we are not satisfied with the US position (on Cyprus), because they are a close ally of Turkey and do not favour us. The British, unfortunately, continue not to favour us at all.
“In the UN, and other international organisations, they do not help us like they should, following the principles of international law and the UN Charter. We fight them, along with friendly countries, to secure UN resolutions that are a weapon for us to exert pressure on Turkey,” he said.
The president added that “the continuing influx of illegal settlers in Cyprus, the usurpation of Greek Cypriot properties and new faits accomplis to establish a separate illegal state are the greatest dangers facing the country at present”.
Cyprus Mail
