President says current status quo cannot be Cyprus’ future, marking Turkish invasion anniversary (Update)

The current status quo is not and will never be accepted and cannot be the future of Cyprus, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Thursday, the 49^th anniversary of the first leg of the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus.

Sirens blared across the island at 5:20am, as a reminder of the first landing of Turkish commandos on the shores of Pente Mili in Kyrenia.  Christodoulides said that “this day brings back horrible memories of that dreadful morning of July 20, 1974, when the Turkish army invaded the island causing devastation.”

Speaking in the morning, the president said: “Our effort and struggle is for this year’s sad anniversary to be the last one that part of our country is occupied.

“We are struggling with all the political and diplomatic means at our disposal to reverse this unacceptable state of affairs and the fait accompli of the invasion and the occupation, to free and reunite our country, on the basis of the UN decisions and resolutions, the High Level Agreements and the principles and values of the EU, of which the Republic of Cyprus is a member state.”

He noted that today marks 49 years since the Turkish army forced 200,000 Greek Cypriots to leave their ancestral homes and left thousands of people dead and missing.

The president said that unfortunately the consequences still remain.

“Our homeland remains divided with the Turkish army having 37 per cent of our territories under its control, with the refugees continuing to be uprooted, while we continue to struggle in order to establish the fate of missing persons,” he added.

He added that the current status quo is not and will never be accepted and cannot be the future of Cyprus.

Christodoulides said that since his election, he began to make intensive efforts through initiatives and proposals to break the deadlock and resume talks from where they were left off in 2017 at Crans-Montana, with a view to reach a lasting and viable solution, with no foreign interventions and troops.

He went on to say that his proposal for a more active engagement of the EU in efforts to break the deadlock and resume talks, always under the UN auspices and within the framework of the UN Secretary General’s good offices, lies in this framework.

On July 20, Turkey launched the first phase of the invasion of Cyprus, while one August 14 the second phase occurred, and large areas of the Famagusta district were occupied, while Greek Cypriots fled the area of Varosha.

Since then, Turkey illegally occupies 37 per cent of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member state since 2004.

Various events have been organised in all towns of the state-controlled areas to honour the fallen and pray for missing persons.

Christodoulides attended at 8am the memorial service for the fallen officers and soldiers during the Turkish invasion, at the Tomb of Makedonitissa and at 10am the memorial service for those who died during the Turkish invasion.

Attendees at the first memorial service at Makedonitissa Tomb – a military cemetery and war memorial – in Nicosia, included Christodoulides, Archbishop of Cyprus Georgios, House President, Annita Demetriou, other officials, party and other organizations’ representatives. The Greek government was represented by the Deputy Minister of National Defence, Nicholas Hardalias, and the Hellenic Parliament by its First Deputy Speaker Ioannis Plakiotakis.

Many relatives of the heroes who sacrificed their lives to defend Cyprus’ freedom also attended the ceremony, during which Christodoulides and Hardalias laid wreaths. Moreover, participants observed a one minute silence while the national anthem was played.

In statements to the media after the ceremony, Archbishop Georgios said that the main message of this anniversary is that no matter how many years pass we will not give up on our homeland or accept the faits accomplis of violence, but we will seek to free our country.

After the second service, Greek Deputy Defence Minister Nikolaos Hardalias, who represented the Greek government, said that “we do not forget for a minute the painful consequences of this violent invasion. We do not forget that 49 years later, 37 per cent of our island remains under Turkish occupation.”

He added that Athens and Nicosia are working in coordination to reunite the island, to find a viable, just, functional solution based on the UN Security Council resolutions, which, he said, should ensure the withdrawal of the occupying troops and, above all, should free the Cypriot people from anachronistic guarantees.

“We are working feverishly and I think there will be progress in the next period,” Hardalias concluded.

Political parties have issued statements condemning the Turkish invasion and organised events of remembrance and honour for the fallen, emphasising the need for unity and reiterating their determination to work for a just and sustainable solution to the Cyprus problem.

Forty-nine years ago on this day Turkish soldiers were landing on the coast of northern Cyprus in a ‘peaceful operation’ as the invasion was described by the Turkish army, under the code name ‘Attila’.

Within three days the Turkish soldiers spread absolute havoc with brutal executions, rapes, arrests of prisoners, destruction of churches, uprooting people from their homes.

The government established after the coup five days earlier resigned on July 23, 1974.

The UN Security Council held a meeting in the afternoon of July 20, passing Resolution 353 which called for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of foreign troops from Cyprus, an end to any foreign military intervention, and the start of talks between the three Guarantor Forces of Cyprus (Greece, Turkey, and the UK) for restoration of peace and constitutional government on the island.

In Geneva, consultations begin to find a peaceful solution, but while they were ongoing, Turkey, in the early hours of August 14, withdrew its delegation, and a short time later proceeded to the second phase of its plans, by invading Cyprus again under the code name ‘Attila 2’ that resulted to the occupation of the beautiful areas of Morphou, Famagusta, and Karpasia.

The death toll reaches 3,000, the displaced Greek Cypriots were 162,000, refugees in their own country.

There were thousands of prisoners of war that were taken to Turkey and others still that were never found and were reported as missing.