Republic of Cyprus to inform Turkish Cypriots whose passports will be revoked by letter

Turkish Cypriots whose Cypriot passports will be revoked by the Republic of Cyprus will be informed about the relevant decision taken on Monday by the Council of Ministers by letters which the Interior Ministry’s Permanent Secretary will send them, a source has told CNA.

The source said that the letters will be sent to the addresses which these 14 “officials” of the Turkish Cypriot pseudo state, in Cyprus’ Turkish occupied areas, gave when they submitted their applications to get the passports and that the competent authorities of foreign countries will also be notified about this decision.

Moreover the same source said that the Cypriot passports of some of these “officials” are still valid, while these Turkish Cypriots also have Turkish passports.

As regards the decision taken to submit a 5th interstate appeal to the European Court of Human Rights of the Council of Europe (ECHR) against Turkey’s plans to alter the status of Varosha, the fenced off area of Famagusta, the source said that the Law Office of the Republic will discuss this issue with the legal experts with whom the Republic of Cyprus has been cooperating in order to get the necessary procedures underway.

This was one of the suggestions we had before us by the experts and now the preparatory work will begin. No one can tell right now when the appeal will be filed, the same source added.

There were some new developments after the 4th interstate appeal, which concern the fenced off area of Famagusta and the property issue, and the legal experts recommended that the Republic should move forward with this appeal and this is why this decision was taken, the source noted.

The government of the Republic of Cyprus announced on Monday that it will revoke Cyprus’ passports held by fourteen “officials” of the Turkish northern occupying regime as well as members of the “committee for the opening of the fenced-off city of Varosha” as they undermine the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and security of the Republic of Cyprus and promote the implementation of Turkey`s plans to change the status of the fenced off are of Varosha, in contradiction with the UN Security Council resolutions and more specifically resolutions 550 and 789, related to the fenced off area of Famagusta.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory.

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. Resolution 789 (1992) also urges that with a view to the implementation of resolution 550 (1984), the area at present under the control of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus be extended to include Varosha.

Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, announced in July 2021 a partial lifting of the military status in Varosha.

On October 8, 2020, the Turkish side opened part of the fenced area of Varosha, following an announcement made in Ankara on October 6. Both the UN Secretary-General and the EU expressed concern, while the UN Security Council called for the reversal of this course of action.