Marking 47 years since the Turkish army’s seizure of Varosha

By Kiriaki Demetriou

Forty-seven years ago on Sunday time stood still in Varosha, the now-fenced-off area of Famagusta, following the second phase of the Turkish invasion, forcing people to abandon their homes and turning the once-popular resort into a ghost town.

Varosha was looted, sealed with barbed wire and put under the control of the Turkish army. For over four decades the town was left abandoned, reclaimed by nature. Green vines slowly consumed the once perfectly preserved buildings, streets were taken over by weed, reptiles and rodents.

Following a fact-finding visit to Famagusta in 2008, the Committee on Petitions of the European Parliament reported: “From the fence, which obstructs the stroller from gaining access to the Varosha shoreline, the sea-front hotels, apartment blocks and restaurants are no more than decaying concrete skeletons – massive urban gravestones standing resolutely against the march of time. The memories and the souls of the former occupants, many of whom were met by members of the delegation, still inhabit those walls”.

A picture taken by CNA’s photographer Katia Christodoulou captures the agony of the citizens’ of Varosha who were forced to flee Famagusta following the advance of the Turkish troops: “Open up, I’ve left my soul inside”, written on a paper, attached on a rusty fence prohibiting entry to the town.

Forty seven years later, Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side announced that they would reopen part of the sealed off section of Famagusta, aiming at changing the status of Varosha and creating new faits accomplis in Cyprus in violation of UN Security Council resolutions on the Cyprus problem and brushing aside international reactions calling for reversal of the decision.

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. 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.

Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, announced in July 2021 a partial lifting of the military status in Varosha, in an area accounting for 3.5% of the town’s total land area. The announcement was preceded on October 8, 2020, by an opening of the Varosha beachfront. Both the UN Secretary-General and the EU expressed concern, while the UN Security Council called for the reversal of this course of action.

However, calls from the international community have gone unheeded. Erdogan and Tatar carry on executing their plan to resettle Varosha, while its lawful inhabitants are only allowed to brief visits to see what’s left from their beloved hometown.