A delegation by the UK Famagusta Association held a meeting Thursday with British Shadow Minister for Europe, Labour MP Gareth Thomas.
The delegation, which was headed by its President Vasilis Mavrou and in the presence of the President of the Turkish Cypriot Association for Democracy Hassan Raif submitted to Thomas a petition for the return of the Turkish occupied town of Famagusta to its lawful residents.
The petition has been signed by 50,000 people.
Mavrou expressed his satisfaction from the meeting, noting that the messages he received were “very encouraging”. The British Shadow Minister for Europe agreed with the principle of a single sovereignty, a single nationality and a single international personality as regard a future solution of the Cyprus issue, he said.
The delegation asked the Labour MP to work so that Britain actively supports the return of the city of Famagusta to its lawful residents.
The meeting took place in the context of the association’s initiative to meet with all major British parties. The delegation has already had meetings with Conservative and Liberal Democrat officials.
On Wednesday, the delegation met with Foreign Office officials and handed over the petition. The same petition has been handed over or sent, inter alia to British Prime Minister David Cameron, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Parliament President Martin Schulz.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.
Varosha the fenced off section of the Turkish occupied town of Famagusta is also known as a ‘ghost town’. Varosha remains to this day deserted, abandoned to the elements. 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.
Previous UN-backed efforts to reunify the island have failed. Cyprus talks resumed, under UN auspices, in February, following an agreement on a joint declaration by the leaders of the island’s two communities, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu.
The two leaders are set to meet at the end of March while the negotiators of the two sides, who held meetings in Ankara and Athens, meet periodically at the UN Protected Area in Nicosia
