The death of Alexis Galanos leads to the premature erection of ballot boxes for the town hall of the occupied city of Famagusta. In the immediate aftermath, the debate over his succession began.
The proposal for support of a joint candidacy was put on the table in order to send a common political message in relation to the occupied city in response to the Turkish actions and illegal plans for the enclosed city of Varosia.
The effort, however, did not yield any results and as a result, the city of Evagoras entered into electoral rhythms.
Five candidates are running for mayor of their occupied city with a common vision of returning to Famagusta.
Simos Ioannou, Nikos Karoullas, Andreas Lordos, Linos Papagiannis and Georgios Stavri enter the battle for the Municipality of the city of Evagoras, present their views and proposals in view of the critical developments in the Cyprus issue.
Reports from the occupiers about attempts to unilaterally open the enclosed city by the occupying authorities have caused great upset in the refugee world of Famagusta. It was always different with Famagusta.
The image of the abandoned city projecting as a ghost behind the barbed wire was a knife in the souls of its inhabitants, but at the same time it was the symbol of return that nourished the hope of all the uprooted. With the misfortune of returning, Alexis Galanos also passed away a month ago.
Simos Ioannou: I submit my soul and my will
He served the Municipality of Famagusta as a Municipal Councilor for 26 years. He declares that he submits his soul and his will to fight. His candidacy is supported by AKEL and DIKO.
What is your proposal for Famagusta and why should the citizens of the occupied city choose your candidacy?
I served in the Municipality of Famagusta for 26 years as a Municipal Councilor and as Deputy Mayor. All these years I gave all my strength and I always worked in a spirit of consensus and unity. Of course, never in my life has the office been an end in itself. The town hall of Famagusta, especially at this time, is not an office at all. It is rather a martyr's cross, which all my fellow citizens carry every day for 45 years. But fully aware of the urgency of the moments, I lay down my soul together with all the people of Famagusta, not just to claim the town hall, but to claim together our city and our life, which was cut in two in 1974.
So beyond my soul, I testify before my fellow citizens, my will, but also my readiness to lead this enormous effort and the struggle that the people of Famagusta are carrying out, with the same passion and the same love for Famagusta, as in all these years. To demand the immediate return of the legal residents to their homes. To mobilize even more decisively internationally for the implementation of the UNSC Resolutions on Famagusta. To keep alive the hope for the reunification of our homeland and our people that will mean a return to our beloved city and the building, together with our compatriots Turkish Cypriots, of a peaceful future.
Why is it important for the people of Varos to go to the polls and how will you convince them to do so?
It is a fact that in the last Municipal Elections the participation of the people of Famagusta was very low, around 40%. I do not believe that there is a lack of interest from the Famagusta people for their city. On the contrary, there is great love and a deep personal relationship of every citizen of Varos with his city. The people of Varos are unfortunately disappointed and bitter. Disappointed and bitter by the constant denials and mockery. Despite the fact that this disappointment is largely justified, I believe that in these critical hours we must all seek the last glimmer of hope and mobilize in the struggle for return.
That is why I call on all my associates to participate en masse in the upcoming elections on August 25th. The mass participation in the polls of the people of Varosi, whatever their choice, will be a clear message that Famagusta remains a priority in our hearts and minds. Frustration must be involved. Dynamic participation in the elections, but also in all the action of our refugee municipality.
Nikos Karoullas: Let's prove that Famagusta counts
He calls on the people of Famagusta to support his own candidacy and to rely on their own forces to overthrow the occupation and return to their occupied city, noting that when you can not change the wind you adjust the sails. DISY supports the candidacy of Nikos Karoullas.
What is your proposal for Famagusta and why should the citizens of the occupied city choose your candidacy?
My candidacy is a call to build on our strengths. A call to see what we should do and not others. In Famagusta it is not appropriate to appoint a mayor. The town of Famagusta must be claimed. So the first concern is to awaken this feeling of loss and pride because we are from Famagusta.
The Municipality of Famagusta, as the largest occupied municipality, must embrace all other occupied municipalities and communities. It must also be next to the free municipalities and communities of Famagusta, like the metropolitan municipality. When you can not change the wind, you adjust the sails.
Together with my fellow citizens we will be ahead to pave the way for separation, to reach out to reconciliation, to listen to human suffering, and to invite the leadership to follow us.
We will raise the issue of occupation again internationally and at the same time we will ask for the support of the EU and the UN, with the aroma and vision of the reunification of our homeland.
I have a vision, to live in a homeland without barbed wire and roadblocks. To call my homeland the whole of Cyprus from Apostolos Andreas, Kyrenia, Morphou to Paphos. Not to mention that I come from Kyrenia or Varosi and now I live in Limassol or Larnaca. To give my children an entire homeland, to be able to overcome blind hatred and wiser than the mistakes of the past to dream of a better future in a common homeland.
Why is it important for the people of Varos to go to the polls and how will you convince them to do so?
We must prove to EVERYONE that Famagusta counts.
We need to send the message that WE ARE HERE. To our interlocutors, to Europe, to the UN, to our compatriots. That they can not proceed without us, nor can others decide for us.
That for us there are no substitutes. It will be a message to both sides, that we Famagusta residents, despite the many times they have made fun of us, always have our suitcases ready.
Perhaps the biggest stake is participation.
Andreas Lordos: In the front line for return
His independent candidacy sends a message of unity and solidarity of the Famagustans, as he states, emphasizing that in order to take their city from the Turks, they must first take it from the parties.
What is your proposal for Famagusta and why should the citizens of the occupied city choose your candidacy?
I am running as a candidate because the parties involved Famagusta in their party plans, depriving us of our lives. In 1976 they offered us the city back with the lights on, with the houses intact, unconditionally and under Greek Cypriot administration. We declined a total of five offers, two unconditionally. We missed all the opportunities. The Turks are coming to our city today to see what they will do without us. The sad reality is that our city for 45 years remained a slave of the Turks and a hostage of the parties. To take our city from the Turks, we must first take it from the parties.
I will lead vigorously from the front line with all our fellow citizens in the struggle to claim the return, both inside Cyprus and abroad, in close cooperation with the UN, the EU, Greece and all the countries that support our struggle.
We will act to put aside the inaction of the UN regarding the implementation of Resolution 789 of the Return Out of the Fenced and through dynamic action, with 30 days notice. We ask the UN to invite both sides to the table, in order to stop the Turkish Cypriot side from planning our future. My family has probably won the biggest lawsuits against Turkey. I have many years of experience in technical matters and I will protect the sanctuary of each house from any technical design or political intrusion.
The choices of the parties were made without being asked, behind closed doors. Party executives with years of service declare themselves independent. I do not ask you to renounce your parties, but to send your messages to them with your positive vote for my independent candidacy, a message of unity and solidarity of the Famagustans. The parties are also called to support the priority of Famagusta, which will be the beginning of the solution of the Cyprus problem.
Why is it important for the people of Varos to go to the polls and how will you convince them to do so?
Turkey threatens to colonize our city. We are told that we have left our homes. They call us "the old owners", referring to new ones. They talk about casinos in areas that now have our homes on them. Our property is in immediate danger. Our leaders tell us that "the Turks are bluffing", but these complacencies for forty-five years have brought us here until today. These must be the strongest reason and these I come down to face.
With my election I will give up all my personal work and I will work day and night to turn the party introversion within the Municipality of Famagusta into a creative common vision, with the return being the goal of this municipality.
Linos Papagiannis: Return of the whole city
It states that we must demand the return of the entire city of Famagusta, as provided for in the relevant UN resolutions and not just the enclosed area. He is running as a candidate for ELAM.
What is your proposal for Famagusta and why should the citizens of the occupied city choose your candidacy?
Famagusta is my father's city. It is the city, without which I lived, I grew up with. I see it every day, but I can not visit it. What we propose for our city but in general for our occupied land, is the differentiation of our attitude both at the level of municipalities, but mainly at the level of governance of our homeland.
What is special about our city is that both the decisions of the Security Council and many resolutions clearly state that Turkey must return the entire city and not just the one enclosed to its legal inhabitants. This should be our main weapon on the international chessboard. We want our city to resemble Famagusta and not to allow the Turks to continue to alter the character of the city, which has dismantled everything reminiscent of Greece and Religion.
It is worth mentioning that all our occupied municipalities as well as the communities still have citizens who face problems in their daily lives. By no means do I want to convey that I recommend for the mother to be inactive. In a word, my vision is to return to Famagusta as we deserve and to be able to restore the whole city as a real Famagusta and not to what the conqueror wants to turn it.
Why is it important for the people of Varos to go to the polls and how will you convince them to do so?
The upcoming municipal elections are particularly important for another reason. The message that the people of Varos will give both abroad and at home is crucial, especially at this point in time. The apparent abstention can give wrong messages and in no case should we pass these messages abroad. One of the reasons I chose to be a candidate is this. I consider it an additional incentive for the new generation and those who disagree with the positions of the other candidates to exercise their right to vote.
Georgios Stavris: Time is our opponent
He is running again as a candidate stating that his proposal is the only complete and without generalities for Famagusta. He points out that it is extremely important to return to the occupied city and notes that time is a huge adversary.
What is your proposal for Famagusta and why should the citizens of the occupied city choose your candidacy?
My proposal is the only one complete from the generalities of my opponents and is based on the inalienable right of the legal residents of Famagusta to participate directly and effectively in the discussions and negotiations between our politicians and the Turkish Cypriot leadership to return to non-negotiable. From the Elections of 2016 I had come down to the Elections with the clear and essential position that "we do not accept decisions for us without us!" about our city.
The Security Council resolutions on Famagusta themselves testify to this. The Republic of Cyprus is our constitutional home, but it has no rights of exclusivity in matters of our property and our happiness. The tragic course of assigning the huge issue of returning to our city to politicians who simply do not have the mental, etc. supplies for such decisions is constantly a huge rift that froze us in time. It is of great importance for the legal residents of Famagusta to return, since time is now our great opponent, where we unforgivably let 45 years pass without ever escalating our struggle for the Great Return. The generations that created Varosi are leaving…
I have at my disposal all the required top-level academic knowledge (Stanford University, USA) and contacts in major decision-making centers internationally to be able to carry out my difficult task, having dealt with the Cyprus problem in all its manifestations for decades as an envoy Presidents, Prime Ministers, Archbishops, Patriarchs and others away from any publicity. I know exactly which door I will knock on and which I will not…
Why is it important for the people of Varos to go to the polls and how will you convince them to do so?
These elections are also a time of responsibility for the citizens themselves and it is inadmissible for them to insist on leaving the most important issue that concerns them as a local population to third parties, without them participating, and by voting, controlling the manipulation of any policy. their leadership, which we must emphasize have been tragically inadequate.
The salvation of the city depends entirely on us, the people of Varos, with our obsession, fighting spirit and stubbornness to return more than the State itself, which has proved many times its inadequacy in our cause for a myriad of reasons. My slogan in this election contest says it all:
"The greatest time is now!" The people of Varos must vote and give their practical support that after years of inaction they insist on being present and demanding more from all of us. The Achaean Coast invites us to be present at the election of a new mayor. Achaeans hurry up - You can all!
Source: Liberal