Today’s sad anniversary of the declaration of the pseudo-state in occupied Cyprus serves as a reminder to the international community that an independent state, a member of the UN and the EU, continues to be under foreign military occupation for 34 years now.
This unilateral and illegal act constitutes a flagrant violation of the fundamental rules and principles of International Law, which, in combination with the ongoing military occupation and illegal settlement, impede the reaching of a mutually acceptable solution to the Cyprus issue. Moreover, it perpetuates the violation of the human rights of all Cypriots and the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community, which is under Turkey’s stifling political manipulation.
We make the reminder that, in Resolutions 541/1983 and 550/1984, the UN Security Council expressly condemns this illegal, secessionist and void action. Through these Resolutions, the international community demands the withdrawal of the unilateral declaration and of other actions, or threats of actions, aimed at further consolidating the purported independent state and the division of Cyprus. The Security Council also calls on all states not to recognize, facilitate or in any way assist the entity that calls itself the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.”
Unfortunately, Turkey and certain people in the Turkish Cypriot leadership are attempting to impose new illegal faits accomplis in the occupied section of Cyprus and promote partition-based “alternative solutions” that simply demonstrate contempt for international law. The international community should never abet the legitimization of the consequences of the ongoing Turkish military occupation of Cyprus.
Greece will never accept the faits accomplis of the Turkish invasion and occupation and will continue to work responsibly to restore international legality through the reaching of a viable solution within the framework of the Resolutions of the United Nations. The reunification of Cyprus and the transformation of the Republic of Cyprus into a normal state can be achieved only through the abolition of the anachronistic system of Guarantees and the withdrawal of the occupation forces.
November 15, 2017