Mr. George Loucaides participated yesterday via internet in a meeting of the Political Affairs and Democracy Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), during which a draft report entitled "Call for the return of Famagusta to its lawful inhabitants" by the Rapporteur of the Committee, Italian MP Piero Fassino, was presented.
After refuting a number of allegations made by Turkish MPs, Mr. Loucaides pointed out that the issue of Famagusta is linked to the overall solution of the Cyprus problem, but at the same time it has its own autonomy as an issue as UN Security Council Resolutions 550 (1984) and 789 (1992) call, independently of the solution of the Cyprus problem, for the return of the city to its legitimate inhabitants under the administration of the United Nations.
Turkey's illegal actions in Famagusta and the opening of the enclosed city, Mr. Loucaides pointed out, undermine efforts to resume meaningful negotiations to reach a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem, on the basis of the agreed UN framework, which provides for a bi-zonal, bi-communal federal solution. These illegal and provocative actions, he added, to colonise the enclosed area of Famagusta, are part of Ankara's wider plans to impose a two-state solution in Cyprus, despite the categorical rejection of such a solution and perspective by the international community.
Just as Ukraine is today a victim of Russia, Loukaides said, so Cyprus is a victim of Turkey, which illegally invaded in 1974, violating the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus and any notion of international legitimacy. Loucaides also criticized Turkey's moves for full control of the occupied territories, noting, however, that a large part of the Turkish Cypriot community opposes this development. Mr. Loucaides called on Turkey to revoke its illegal decisions on Famagusta in order to facilitate the resumption of the peace process.
Fassino will soon pay a fact-finding visit to Cyprus.
In addition, Mr. Loucaides took part in a discussion on the challenges of far-right ideology to democracy and human rights in Europe. Agreeing with the main conclusions of the Report, Mr.Loukaides said that the far right is not yet a voice in democracy, but a threat and a voice against democracy. Pointing out the dangers of this extreme ideology and its disastrous consequences for social cohesion, Mr. Loucaides stressed that the causes that fuel it should be analysed. Widening inequalities within and between states, he said, reinforce these extreme ideologies and increase the penetration of the extreme right among young people and the most vulnerable groups of the population, who face disproportionate economic problems and experience social exclusion. The causes that cause and maintain inequalities at national and international level, in particular poverty, must be tackled in order to prevent the constant erosion of social cohesion and to establish in practice democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights.
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