Cyprus remains divided since 1974 counting wounds, dead, missing, refugees, enclaved persons, violations of human rights, the desecration of its cultural heritage and Turkish settlers, said House of Representatives President Annita Demetriou, pledging to continue efforts on the agreed framework and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

Speaking at the memorial service of Stelios Mavrommatis, she said that the results of the Turkish occupation stay with us on a daily basis. Sixty-five years after the events of the EOKA liberation struggle, we are reminded daily of what we have achieved and what we have lost, and what will happen in the future as we are under the continued threats of the Turkish side.
 
We come face to face daily with the provocations and intransigence of the Turkish president and his advisers, a stance which undermines efforts to solve the Cyprus problem and prospects to consolidate security and peace in the wider region, she added.

The refusal of the Turkish side and that of the Turkish Cypriot leader to commit to the agreed solution for a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality and their insistence for the creation of two states as a precondition to resume negotiations continually lead to a deadlock, Demetriou said.

The culmination, said Demetriou, is the recent provocative actions of Turkey to create fait accompli in the occupied areas by announcing further illegal actions in the fenced off area of Famagusta, known as Varosha, that violate the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

Just like the President of the Republic, so will the House of Representatives continue efforts to solve the Cyprus issue based on the agreed framework and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, in the framework of achieving a viable solution that will guarantee security, peace and prosperity for our island. It is the minimum duty towards our heroes, she concluded.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory. Numerous UN backed talks to reunite the island have failed to yield results.

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