By Nicolas Petros Kaparti
[/P]He expressed his strong concerns following the provocative new announcements by the pseudo-state to open the entire enclosed town of Varosha, expresses the Mayor of Famagusta, Simos Ioannou, who analyses the steps that have been and are being taken to address the new fait accompli, while he describes as "ineffective" the pressure exerted by the government on the international factor.
Speaking to the Cyprus Times about the pseudo-Prime Minister's announcements, Ioannou said that "in order to make a statement on the occupied side, one must surely be in agreement with the Turkish authorities. The pseudo-prime minister of the occupied territories, Unal Ustel, is also the chairman of the National Unity Party. He made this statement at a meeting of the candidates for 'mayor' and 'municipal councillors' in Famagusta province who belong to the coalition."
"Certainly," he noted, "to make this statement, the pseudo-prime minister used some nationalist slogans to create polarization in the elections, but there is definitely something behind it and certainly after the "elections" that will take place at Christmas they will take new steps."
"They are attempting in the way of salamisation to continue a further step."
"They are attempting in the way of salamisation to continue a further step. To open other areas, other roads, another part of the beach and to create these conditions so that the enclosed area can be definitively opened and used by the Turks and Turkish Cypriots," he added.
- Alert to deter Turkish plans in Varosha
- Parliament unanimously condemned the announcements of the Pseudo-state for the full opening of Varosha
Asked whether the city will be lost for good in case the Pseudo-state proceeds with the implementation of this announcement, Mr. Ioannou answered in the affirmative and explained that "if there is a complete violation of the resolutions of the SA. of the UN, yes the city is lost, because if they settle 15% of it and violate the resolution that must be given back to the legitimate inhabitants under the auspices of the UN, certainly there will no longer be a matter to discuss."
Asked to comment on what steps were taken by the E/C side to prevent new Turkish-Pseudo-state fait accompli, Mr. Ioannou replied that "the main role should be played by the government, because the Mayor of Famagusta cannot meet with the UN Secretary General, nor can he meet with the EU Council of Heads of State."
[/P]"We had meetings with the permanent members of the Security Council in Cyprus, who understand our right and said that they will put pressure where they can on Turkey not to proceed."
"We had meetings with the permanent members of the Security Council in Cyprus, who understand our right and said that they will put pressure where they can on Turkey not to proceed. We have seen Metsola (President of the European Parliament) some time ago and on 28 February we will go again to Brussels and have a meeting with senior members of the European groups in the European Parliament. Also at the end of September we went to Great Britain and had a meeting at the Foreign Office with the person in charge of the Cyprus issue, and we had a big meeting in the House of Commons in the presence of 23 MPs who support Cyprus," he said.
At the same time, the Famagusta Municipal Council met yesterday in plenary session and examined the whole issue and decided to contact the relevant government bodies so that the necessary steps can be taken by the government.
Ioannou also indicated that "we must not forget the Famagusta issue because we have presidential elections, but we must keep up the pressure".
Asked whether the pressure exerted by the government is sufficient, Ioannou replied "that it is not working and this is proven by the practice".
Beyond that, the Mayor of Famagusta pointed out that "the international factor does not seem to take us seriously, because we do not have a unified policy on the Cyprus problem either and it seems that we are still trying to go back to the past and cannot understand the current conditions that exist in Cyprus".
"Some politicians think that we are still before 1974 and I hope that we will not pay the ultimate price for this", the Mayor of Famagusta stressed.
In addition, Mr. Ioannou spoke of two measures and two weights using the example of Ukraine. "How can this thing be done? So far 9 sanctions have been imposed by the EU on Russia, on Turkey how many sanctions have been imposed on Cyprus?" he asked.
"If they go ahead again, it will be a new violation of the UN Security Council resolutions. I wonder what sanctions will be put on Turkey. Will they continue to call for restraint?", he stressed in conclusion.
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