The people of Famagusta demanded peace during the MEPs' visit to the beach of "Glossa" (PICTURES)

With tears in their eyes and shouting "peace", "peace", "barış", many Famagusta residents today accompanied the MEPs members of the Committee on Petitions during their visit to the beach of "Glossa" in Famagusta.

The people of Famagusta arrived early in the area in front of the hotel "Constantia", waiting for the MEPs who arrived about a quarter before noon by bus, accompanied by members of the Office of the European Parliament in Cyprus.

Earlier, MEPs went to the parish of Agia Zoni to see the house of Loizos Afxentiou, who had made the reference to Famagusta in 2004 to the European Parliament.

The European Parliament's Committee on Petitions was composed of MEPs Cecilia Wikström (Sweden), Chair of the Committee - Head of Committee, Alberto Cirio (Italy), Member, Rosa Estaràs Ferragut (Spain), Member, Sofia Sakorafa (Greece) Igor tesoltes (Slovenia), member, Teresa Jiménez-Becerril (Spain), member, Dimitris Papadakis (Cyprus), member, and Taki Hadjigeorgiou (Cyprus), member. The last three MEPs participated ex officio. The Cypriot MEPs Lefteris Christoforou and Neoklis Silikiotis and the Mayor of Famagusta Alexis Galanos were also present.

Particularly moving were the moments when the people of Famagusta spoke to the MEPs, while they were on the beach of "Glossa" about the pain they are experiencing for 44 years away from their city, asking them to do everything they can to return home. . "We want to go to our homes," shouted one of them, while the audience began to sing "Land I walked, land I long for, land you resurrected me, Famagusta", making the signal of peace, while around them were gathered Grays Wolves, who formed their own signal with their own hands.

Specifically, people from the occupied territories holding flags of Turkey, "flags" of the pseudo-state and the Gray Wolves, had rushed to the area in front of the beach since the morning, which entered the beach area during the visit of the MEPs there. They even hung such flags on the wicker umbrellas on the beach. Besides, "deputies" approached the MEPs, handing them a letter, saying that the Turkish Cypriots also have rights on the island.

In their statements to the Greek media that went to cover the visit, the people of Famagusta expressed the strong feelings they feel for the ongoing occupation of their city.

Andreas Klonis, 73, said he grew up in Famagusta within eight years, where his first childhood friends and first school were. "I want both the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots to hear this," he said. He said that the house where he was born is 50 meters from the area where the people of Famagusta gathered today and that in 1958 he left Famagusta with his family inside the walls and settled in Agios Memnon.

Giannis Kyriakidis, Director of LGR, said that he was born in Varosi where he attended schools. All my friends are from Varos, he said, noting that "it hurts us that the city is empty and has been taken by the Turks. "We came here hoping something would happen," he said. He said that they had no problems with their Turkish Cypriot classmates then and expressed the wish that something be done "so that we can move on".

Costas Loukas said that he grew up in Famagusta and lived there until he was 27 years old. "I am 71 years old today and I came here to remember," he said. He invited everyone to participate in such gatherings, so that we might see, as he said, a better day for Cyprus and the sea-loving Famagusta.

Meanwhile, one of the nine people, who were found early in the morning on the beach, to participate in the event in Famagusta, and were briefly detained in a cage for control, said: “At 9.30 we came to Glossa as we had said and after 10 minutes two men in political garb approached us. "They said it was a military area and we were not allowed to be there and follow them to the hotel in Constantia."

"Coming to Constantia they told us that you can not stand here either and they told us to follow them. They brought us in front of the hotel entrance. There was a "police" cage. They asked us for our cameras and cell phones. We delivered them. They put us in the cage. "After about five minutes, they told us that they would not take us anywhere else and that they would look at our mobile phones on the spot," he said.

He, he noted, deleted two photos I had taken and told us that we are not allowed to come to the area again because it is military.

He told us, he added, that they would take us to a "police station" then a phone call was made and their plan changed.

Famagusta.News / KYPE