The Cyprus problem cannot be seen as an isolated issue, but on the basis of broader developments, Parliament President, Annita Demetriou, said on Friday, noting that “we must not lose sight of the fact that both in our region and more broadly, large-scale conflicts are occurring that threaten stability throughout the world and remind us daily that there are no frozen conflicts.”
In her speech at a book launch on the testimonies of prisoners of war in 1974, in Nicosia, Demetriou said that it must be understood by everyone that only through a viable solution to the Cyprus issue that will reunite the island “we will be able to face future challenges and risks and build a hopeful future.”
She added that the only solution was “a single and indivisible homeland in accordance with United Nations resolutions, international law, European principles and values, and legitimacy.”
Demetriou also noted “we have every right and every ability to create the conditions for Cyprus to become a pillar of peace, security and stability for the entire region.”
The current situation in Cyprus and the perpetuation of the status quo, she added, daily create new risks “therefore, the current situation cannot be an option as regards a solution to the Cyprus problem, nor certainly the two-state approach.”
Referring to the book, Demetriou said that “this exceptional publication” was an opportunity to re-examine the events of 1974 and pay a tribute to the Greek Cypriot prisoners of war “who found themselves in the grip of events, to reflect on the past and to do – as we should – even more for tomorrow.”
Referring to the relatives of the missing persons, she said that they are left “with nothing but questions, with the endless pain of not knowing” and that is why it was a duty to shed light on the fate of every single one of the missing persons.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
Since 1974, the fate of hundreds of people remains unknown.
A Committee on Missing Persons has been established, upon agreement between the leaders of the two communities, with the scope of exhuming, identifying and returning to their relatives the remains of 492 Turkish Cypriots and 1,510 Greek Cypriots, who went missing during the inter-communal fighting of 1963-1964 and in 1974.
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Source: CNA/AAG/EAN/AGK/2024
