As part of its international campaign to save the sealed-off city of Famagusta and for the reunification of Cyprus, AKEL, in cooperation with the Turkish Cypriot political parties, the United Cyprus Party (BKP) and the New Cyprus Party (YKP), informed political forces internationally.
So far, 45 parties from all over the world have signed a Joint Declaration denouncing Turkey’s actions in Varosha and supporting the struggle of the Cypriot people for the reunification of its homeland.
(Note: Attached the Joint Declaration)

JOINT DECLARATION
Condemning Turkey’s illegal actions in Varosha and the urgent need for the resumption of talks

We recall that the ongoing military occupation of Cyprus by Turkey for forty-seven years is unacceptable and we assert that it must immediately be terminated. We extent our wholehearted support and solidarity to the struggle of all Cypriots, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, seeking to reunify their state through the agreed basis of bicommunal bizonal federation with political equality, as this is prescribed in the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions.
We condemn the intensified adverse activities of Turkey against Cyprus, as expressed through the creation of new fait accompli in and around the island. The recent and escalating negative developments at Varosha, the sealed-off part of Famagusta, are extremely alarming and we support all efforts aiming at their reversal. We stress that the Turkish provocations and illegal activities serve solely the permanent division of the Cypriots and of their common homeland.
We condemn the unacceptable interventions of Turkey within the Turkish Cypriot community that aim to silence the democratic will of the Turkish Cypriot community; to threaten its communal existence; to implement its socio-economic and cultural assimilation and silence the voices of Turkish Cypriots that contradict to the Turkish government’s preferences.

With regards to the issue of Varosha we recall, inter alia:
– The illegal occupation of the city of Famagusta since 1974, a section of which was sealed-off and has remained uninhabited and under the direct control of the Turkish military ever since then;
– The core principles of international law and the UN Charter, the 1979 High Level Agreement between the leaders of the two communities in Cyprus, as well as the relevant UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions, in particular Resolutions 550 (1984) and 789 (1992);
– The UN’s position that the responsibility for the status quo at Varosha belongs to Turkey, including the responsibility for any effort to alter its status contrary to the 1979 High Level Agreement and the relevant UNSC Resolutions 550 (1984) and 789 (1992);
– The inclusion of Varosha among the areas to be transferred under Greek-Cypriot administration following the comprehensive solution, in all the maps which had been introduced in previous rounds of negotiations.
– The Presidential Statement of the UNSC of 23 July 2021 which condemns the recent announcement by Turkish and Turkish Cypriot leaders on the further reopening of a the sealed-off section of Famagusta (Varosha), calls for the immediate reversal of that course of action and for the reversal of all steps taken on Varosha since October 2020. In addition to expressing its regret over those unilateral actions that run contrary to previous Council resolutions and statements it reaffirms its commitment to the agreed basis of the solution.
– The UNSC’s statement of 9 October 2019, which reminded the importance of the status of Varosha as set out in its previous resolutions and reiterated that no actions that are not in accordance with those resolutions should be carried out, as well as its declaration of 9 October 2020, which deplored Turkey’s unilateral action of ‘opening’ part of the area on 8 October 2020;
– The decisions of international organisations which call on Turkey to transfer the sealed-off area of Famagusta to the UN in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and to refrain from actions altering the demographic balance on the island through any policy of illegal settlements;
– The statements of international organisations and states expressing their regret over the unilateral decisions of Ankara to proceed with the ‘opening’ of Varosha, initially as of 8 October 2020 and more recently as of 20 July 2021;
Considering the urgent nature of the situation in Varosha and its vast implications on the comprehensive solution of the Cyprus problem, we demand,
1. The immediate termination of all deplorable unilateral activities which alter the temporary status quo of Varosha in violation of the relevant UNSC Resolutions and seek to prepare the area for its illegal settlement.
2. The return to Varosha of its lawful inhabitants following the unequivocal transfer of the sealed-off area under the control of the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus, as prescribed in the aforementioned Resolutions.
3. The termination of all Turkish illegal activities that raise further tensions on and around the island, create new divisionist fait accompli and undermine the prospects for the resumption of meaningful direct negotiations, which constitutes the only available path for the reunification of Cyprus and its people.
4. The immediate resumption of substantial negotiations on the basis of the agreed solution of bicommunal bizonal federation with a single international legal personality, single sovereignty and single citizenship, as well as with political equality between the two communities, as this is defined by the relevant UNSC resolutions, and from the point they left off at Crans Montana in 2017; therefore, on the basis of the Common Declaration of the two leaders of 2014, of his Six Points Framework of 30 June 2017 and of the convergences achieved by the end of the Conference. The backtracking of the past four years has been counterproductive for the resumption of the talks, while at the same time it has led to the rise of nationalism and chauvinism.
In concluding, at this extremely crucial juncture for the future of Cyprus, we would like to reiterate our support towards its people, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, who continue to fight for bringing peace on their war-torn island, to curb any hegemonic interferences and reunite their country to provide a hopeful and prosperous future to the generations to come.
Published 30.9.2021 – signed by 45 foreign parties