The illegal influx of Turkish settlers in Cyprus’ northern Turkish occupied areas is the greatest danger the country is facing at present, President Demetris Christofias said here today.
The President renewed his pledge to continue fighting for a political settlement in Cyprus that would reunite the country, divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion, noting that Nicosia has secured UN resolutions to exert pressure on Turkey to withdraw its occupation troops.
Speaking to children from the Cypriot community in the USA, during their visit to the Presidential Palace, President Christofias said the government is working closely with expatriate Cypriots towards a solution and wished that its struggle is vindicated soon.
President Christofias after briefing the children on the history of the Cyprus problem, the 1974 military coup and the Turkish invasion, stressed that “we are fighting to free the occupied part of Cyprus, to reunite our homeland in order to live in peace with the Turkish Cypriots in a Federal Cyprus United country”.
“The continuing influx of illegal settlers in Cyprus means usurping Greek Cypriot properties and new faits accomplish to establish a separate illegal state,” he explained.
Referring to the three guarantor powers (Greece, Britain and Turkey), he pointed out that Cyprus does not need either Greece or Turkey as motherlands, nor does it need Britain as a “stepmother”.
The President was critical of Britain’s stance towards Cyprus, saying London does not help Nicosia at international organizations.
He also criticized US policy on Cyprus, noting that Washington, being a close ally of Turkey, prefers to serve its interests there.
President Christofias said that “the expatriate Cypriots help the government to convince the international community about the justice of our struggle and that this justice should prevail.”
Cyprus is divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied the northern third of the island. The leaders of the two communities on the island –the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot-are engaged in UN-backed negotiations with the aim to reunify the country under a federal roof.
