Labour Minister Sotiroula Charalambous expressed the government’s continuous commitment towards enclaved Greek Cypriots, living in the Turkish-occupied areas of the island.

The Minister’s address was read during an event of the Kormakitis Community Council, a Christian Maronite-populated village in the northwestern tip of Cyprus, currently under Turkish occupation.

Charalambous said that the government has taken a series of decisions to support the enclaved, like granting the pensioners’ public allowance in its entirety and providing incentives for resettlement in the enclaved villages, a measure benefiting mostly Maronite villages.

Moreover, the Minister noted the Cabinet’s decision to enhance the assistance scheme for students.

The aim of our decisions is to support those people from the enclaved villages to remain in their ancestral homes, Charalambous concluded.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.

Turkey occupied 36,2 percent of the sovereign territory of the Republic and forcibly expelled about 180.000 Greek Cypriots from their homes.

Another 20.000 Greek Cypriots, who had remained in the occupied areas, were also forced to eventually abandon their homes and seek refuge in the safety of the government controlled areas.

Today, fewer than 500 enclaved Greek Cypriots remain in the occupied areas