Suleyman Ulucay, the Turkish Cypriot “mayor” of occupied Famagusta will not attend an anti-occupation event on Saturday in Deryneia, following an outcry by nationalist parties and politicians in the Republic of Cyprus.
Ulucay was invited to participate in the event by the municipality of Famagusta.
The Greek Cypriot mayor of the city, Simos Ioannou told CyBC on Friday, that Ulucay called him to say that he will attend the event, as he did not want his presence to become a distraction or cause problems in the efforts to restart a dialogue.
Earlier, House President Annita Demetriou stressed that she could not comprehend why Ulucay’s participation in the event is an issue, as Turkish Cypriots attend the anti-occupation rally for Famagusta every year.
“I don’t understand why the matter has taken on such proportions, there are always Turkish Cypriots in attendance, every year,” she said.
“We should neither divide people, nor sow ‘fear syndromes’ and undo positive developments towards restarting negotiations,” Demetriou stressed.
On Thursday far-right Elam and centre-left Edek issued announcements criticising Famagusta municipality for inviting Ulucay to the event.
“If we continue in the same vein this will be to our detriment. The politics of exclusion will cause us to lose the forest for the tree,” Simos Ioannou had said in response.
The event will take place on Saturday, 7:30 pm at the Deryneia Municipality Cultural Centre. President Christodoulides, as well as a Turkish Cypriot youth choir will be in attendance.
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Political controversy over Famagusta anti-occupation event continues
