Cypriot President, Nicos Anastasiades, said on Friday that extreme positions aiming at two states in Cyprus and the division of the country, should not be the choice of any Cypriot patriot, in a televised message he delivered on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Cyprus, on October 1.
“I pay tribute of honor and gratitude to those who fought and gave their lives for liberation from the colonial yoke, to those who fought to defend the Republic of Cyprus and democracy in our country,” said the President of the Republic.
He noted that “we can be proud of what we have achieved since then, but at the same time unhappy because for 47 years, our small homeland remains under occupation with the risk of final division.”
“We are proud, because as a result of the hard work and dignity of the Cypriot citizens and the initiatives of all the governments, we have managed to transform a poor and underdeveloped colony into a modern European state,” he said.
After 61 years, said President Anastasiades, “we have s forged ahead in leaps, but we have also made fatal mistakes. And my reference is not limited to one, but to both communities. Unfortunately”, he went on to say, “the obsessions and perceptions that have been consolidated over time, did not allow faith in the newly formed state.”
“The interventions of those who were meant to guarantee the constitutional order and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus also contributed to this,” he added.
The President referred to the withdrawal of Turkish Cypriot officials from the Government, but also το the first inter-communal conflict after the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus, to the coup of Athens junta resulting in the invasion and the occupation of Cyprus by Turkey that continues since then.
President Anastasiades referred to the Greek Cypriot side`s efforts over the past 47 years with painful, as he said, concessions that failed to change the Turkish plans, which to this day remain unchanged with the aim of dividing and creating a Turkish protectorate in Cyprus .
He also pointed out that continuing the effort of his predecessors, from the first day of taking office, he sought in every possible way, to reverse the current situation and achieve the reunification of Cyprus.
President Anastasiades said that “in order to avoid the painful experiences of the past, what we seek is to ensure the functioning of the state that will guarantee a secure and creative future for all legal citizens of the Republic of Cyprus.”
“With these positions, I participated in the tripartite meeting convened by the UN Secretary-General in New York,” he said.
He added that once again, what was ascertained was the intransigence and unreliability of the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot leadership. “Persistence in refusing to resume talks, unless they are recognized in advance with sovereignty and a status equal to that of the Republic of Cyprus,” he said.
According to the President, equally provocative was the withdrawal from what was agreed after a proposal by the Secretary General for the appointment of a Special Envoy.
“My respect for the Turkish Cypriot community is demonstrated by the Government`s policies for the Turkish Cypriots, but also by the proposals that I have submitted and I’ m submitting in order the solution to meet their own concerns and expectations,” said the President of the Republic. Extreme positions, he added, aimed at two states, with the division of our country, is not and should not be the choice of any Cypriot patriot.
Anastasiades also said that the European Union, is the only one that can ensure peaceful coexistence, respect for human rights and the prospect “of a secure future for us and the future generations”.
Cyprus has been divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion. Numerous rounds of talks under the UN aegis failed to yield results.
