Famagusta is here and unites us

Famagusta, he added, is not a ghost town, "it is a city-symbol. Purpose of life and the beginning of a better future ".

It can, he continued, be difficult times, and it is. However, he noted, "we are and remain Famagustans. No matter how many years pass, we claim our city. We extend our hand to our Turkish Cypriot compatriots and send a message of friendship and cooperation. To overcome the occupation, to abolish division, to prevent the nightmare and the curse of division ".

Famagusta is here and unites us, said Mr. Iliadis, adding that it is time to overcome the past once and for all. To move forward in the future with confidence and optimism, for a free and peaceful homeland, a homeland just for all its legitimate citizens. Famagusta is here ".

Referring to the Orange Day, the Minister of Defense said that since 1935, when it was organized for the first time in Famagusta, it continued uninterruptedly and was the top cultural event until 1974. It is in honor of the historic association of Anorthosis, he added. since then, he organized and revived the Orange Festival in exile.

The baton will be taken over by the Municipality of Famagusta from this year, as he noted, saying that with the Orange Festival, with tradition and culture we send a strong message that Famagusta is not a ghost, it is alive, it exists, it exists, it endures, it creates, it hopes , struggles, stares, stares, claims.

Moreover, in his statements on the sidelines of the Orange Festival, Dimitris Iliadis said that the return of Famagusta could be the first big step for the solution, reunification and return for a better future for the entire Cypriot people.