The assistance of the European institutions in order to put pressure on the Turkey to prevent new steps to change its regime Famagusta, requested a representation of the Municipality of Famagusta in the contacts he had in Brussels with officials of the Commission and the European Parliament.
Speaking at a press conference at the Permanent Representation of Cyprus to the EU, the Mayor of FamagustaSimos Ioannou stated that in the contacts the members of the mission had, they conveyed the history of the illegal actions of Turkey and the Turkish side in Varossia, and that they explained that the city does not belong to Tayyip Erdoğan but to the Turkish and Turkish legal residents .
The interlocutors of the Municipality of Famagusta agreed that the key is to start the process of solving the Cyprus issue from where it left off, and that the positions for a two-state solution cannot be accepted, while they admitted that the situation is currently difficult due to the attitude of Tayyip Erdogan .
Mr. Ioannou particularly focused on the participation of two young Famagusta residents at the opening of the Famagusta photo exhibition at the European Parliament on Tuesday, who shared their experiences and thoughts on the future of the city.
As he pointed out, the residents should be given the opportunity to cooperate and restore the city to the position it had in Cyprus, but also in the Eastern Mediterranean region, before the invasion.
Asked about the expectations he has from the new Cypriot Government, the Mayor of Famagusta pointed out as a positive fact that the new Minister of Foreign Affairs in his first statements referred to the priority of the issue of Famagusta. He admitted that in the past on the government side we were seen as "insistent and not proactive" and that mistakes were made, but that time will be given for the Government to proceed with its plans.
The Mayor of Famagusta referred to the contacts that the representatives of the Municipal Council had during the week with the Cypriot Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakidou, as well as with Despina Spanou, head of the office of the Vice President of the Commission Margaritis Schina.
Mr. Ioannou spoke of a good meeting with Ms. Spanou, pointing out the importance of the support from Mr. Schinas who also attended the opening of the photo exhibition for Famagusta on Tuesday.
The delegation also met with Hugo Sobral, director of the Cohesion and Reforms Commissioner Elisa Ferreira's office, the European Parliament's rapporteur for Turkey's accession progress report, Nacho Sánchez Amor (Social Democrats, Spain), the secretary general of his parliamentary group of the European People's Party Simon Busoutil, the vice-president of the European Parliament Dimitris Papadimoulis (Left, Greece), the co-chairman of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee Sergei Lagodinski (Greens, Germany) and the coordinator of the members of the Social Democrats in the foreign affairs committee (AFET) Tonino Picsula.
The Mayor of Famagusta made a special reference to the meeting with the head of the Parliamentary Committee on Petitions (PETI) Dolor Montserrat (EPP, Spain), due to the open petition submitted in 2004 to the parliamentary committee, and for which there were two visits by MEPs to the enclosed city of Varosia in 2007 and 2018.
In fact, he mentioned that the possibility of a visit of Mrs. Montserrat on behalf of the petitions committee to the region was discussed so that she could find out for herself the prevailing situation. Asked to comment on whether there are thoughts of pursuing a new report of the petitions committee for Varosi, Mr. Ioannou and the member of the municipal council Andreas Vrahimis agreed that this would not necessarily be positive as today's report fully satisfies the Municipality and the side.
The Mayor of Famagusta also noted that during the meeting with the Commissioner Kyriakidou, the possibility of a joint event of E/K and T/K youth from Famagusta at the House of Europe in Nicosia was discussed, which can be held under the auspices of the Cypriot Commissioner.
Regarding the assistance of the new Cypriot Government in the effort for Famagusta, he underlined that the Municipality considers it a duty to propose the issue at the European level, since as he said, if Varosi is lost, this will be the tombstone of the Cypriot, warning that Famagusta is being salamized as the Turkish side gradually opens up parts of the closed city.
He emphasized several times that he disagrees with the argument about the non-Famagustaization of Cyprus, stressing that the fate of other cities and municipalities of the occupied territories that can no longer be returned under military administration was already experienced by areas of Famagusta itself and Varosia to remain the last point.
Asked what can be done practically and what was discussed during the contacts with the European officials, Mr. Ioannou noted that there is an agreement that there should be an effort from the base of the population to force the political leaderships to take steps for the Cyprus issue.
In relation to the contacts that the Municipality of Famagusta has with the T/k Municipality of Famagusta - which, as he reminded, is foreseen by the Constitution - Mr. Ioannou stated that after the freezing of cooperation by the previous mayor, Ismail Arter, contacts are now being made with the new mayor Suleiman Ulutsai and that a meeting is expected soon.
Mr. Ioannou pointed out that the election of Ulutsai by the left-wing CTP party is an indication that the majority of the city's T/Cs want the solution.
Source: KYPE