Occupied municipalities call for creation of a refugees committee

Occupied municipalities are saddened to have to stand by and wait for the ‘good news’ expected to be announced by visiting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, their president Petros Kareklas said on Monday.

He added that the occupied municipalities are calling for the implementation of UN resolutions concerning Varosha.

“We have made it clear that we as occupied municipalities, as refugees in our own country, will never accept such a solution,” he said.

Kareklas was speaking after a meeting between the union of occupied municipalities with President Nicos Anastasiades, during which they called for the creation of a refugees ministry in Cyprus.

“We believe that our government, as well as the rest of the world, should confront Turkey’s provocative attitude, as we have endured a lot since the invasion in 1974 and we still are threatened by Turkey’s actions,” Kareklas said.

The union submitted a memorandum to the President in April about the matter, which he has promised to send to various governmental departments and call meetings with the relevant ministries to deal with the situation.

Kareklas said the difficulties faced by the union of occupied municipalities are reflected by what is happening in the fenced-off town of Varosha.

“It breaks our hearts that we have to wait for ‘the conqueror’ Erdogan’s announcements on Varosha. More than once we have stressed the importance of implementing UN Resolutions 550 and 789, which are now more important than ever,” he concluded.