On the 39th anniversary of the breakaway Turkish Cypriot regime, Nicosia on Tuesday again condemns the unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) in the Turkish-occupied north on November 15, 1983.
Various protests are taking place in the Cyprus Republic under the Pancyprian Student Coordination Committee (PSEM) and the Pancyprian Federation of Student Unions (POFEN).
Nine years after the 1974 Turkish invasion of the island, Turkey instigated and endorsed a unilateral declaration of independence in the north, announced by the then Turkish Cypriot leadership.
United Nations Security Council Resolutions 541 and 550 call upon all States to respect the Republic of Cyprus’ sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, unity, and non-alignment.
They also describe the UDI as “legally invalid.”
The self-declared ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ is only recognised by Turkey which invaded Cyprus in 1974 and still maintains troops in the north.
Numerous rounds of UN-brokered Cyprus talks to reunite the island under a federal roof have ended in deadlock. There have been no direct reunification talks since July 2017.
