Famagusta citizens will call on the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to demand from Turkey to implement, without any further delay, the implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions providing for the return of the fenced-off city of Famagusta (Varosha) to its legitimate citizens.
A peaceful rally will be organized to his effect by the Famagusta Municipality on September 26, outside the UN-protected area of the now-defunct Nicosia airport.
A press release issued by the Municipality said that “now that everyone opposes the explosive and unacceptable announcements made by Ankara, now that the President of the Republic of Cyprus will put forward this issue during his speech at the UN General Assembly in New York, now it is the time for the citizens of Famagusta and others, to do everything possible with a view to prevent the implementation of the new unacceptable manoeuvres of Turkey and its representatives on the island, against Famagusta, and against the struggle to reunite our homeland, within the framework of the UN parameters.”
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in the summer of 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana, ended inconclusively.
Varosha is the fenced-off section of the Turkish occupied town of Famagusta, often described as ‘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.
Efforts over the years for the legitimate citizens of Famagusta to return to the city have met with the refusal of the Turkish side, despite numerous decisions and resolutions by the UN, EU and other international institutions.
(Cyprus News Agency)
