Famagusta Municipality is organising a demonstration on Monday evening, as Turkish President Tayip Erdogan arrives in the Turkish occupied north of Cyprus later Monday for an illegal visit, a day before the 47th anniversary of the Turkish invasion of the island.
Erdogan is arriving to the Turkish-occupied areas on Monday for an illegal visit and has already said that he will be making announcements as regards the status of the fenced off town of Varosha, Famagusta region. President of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, expressed hope that intense diplomatic efforts by the Republic of Cyprus will prevent further threats by the Turkish President during his illegal visit to Turkish-occupied Cyprus on the anniversary of the 1974 Turkish invasion.
The demonstration under the name “We are Famagusta” will take place at the municipality’s cultural centre in Dherynia, a few steps away from the Turkish occupied areas at 1900. The municipality has arranged for busses from all towns to transfer those wishing to take part in the demonstration at Dherynia.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and still occupies 37% of the island`s territory.
Numerous UN backed talks to reunite the island have failed to yield results. A 5+1 Informal Meeting that took place in Geneva, on April 27-29, failed to find enough common ground to allow for the resumption of formal negotiations in relation to the settlement of the Cyprus problem.
UN Secretary – General, Antonio Guterres, has said that he will convene in the near future another meeting of the 5+1, the five plus the United Nations, again with the objective to move in the direction of reaching common ground to allow for formal negotiations to start.
Varosha, the fenced off section of the Turkish occupied town of Famagusta, is often described as a ‘ghost town’.
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. UN Security Council 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.
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.
