It is with great emotion that I address this year's conference of the Federation of Cypriot Organizations of America. Excitement, both because I am meeting with persons who have been fighting all their lives for the realization of our visions and goals on national issues, as well as for the development of ever closer relations with our great host country, the United States of America, and because this congress is taking place with a physical presence after the two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic and the adventure that humanity as a whole has had in this regard.
Every family has experienced difficult times, and our daily lives have been greatly affected because of the serious problems that the pandemic has brought to our economy and society. Let us hope that things will still evolve for the better, so that we reach a time when we will be allowed to say that this adventure is finally over for the whole world and belongs to the past.
So, along with the warm greetings of the President of the Republic of Cyprus Mr. Nicos Anastasiades and the deep gratitude of all of us in Cyprus for the great support you give us, I convey to you his wishes for personal and family health and happiness.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Compatriots,
In the very difficult international environment that is evolving from day to day, we are called upon to face our national issues. We are called upon to fulfil our duty to achieve a solution that will finally free us from the Turkish occupation and reunite our country in conditions of freedom, security and respect for the rights and fundamental freedoms of all Cypriots. A solution without foreign guarantees and guarantee rights, a solution that transforms Cyprus into a normal state that enjoys all the rights deriving from international law, as well as its protection.
From the very first moment of the termination of the process in Crans Montana, President Anastasiades had underlined to the UN Secretary General - and he has repeated this several times since - his readiness to continue the dialogue from where it had been terminated as a result of Turkey's non-acceptance of the basic parameters set by the Secretary General himself.
Since then, any efforts that have been made to resume the talks have come to naught, with Turkey escalating its intransigent policies and tactics and making its goal of imposing its control over the entire island more than evident. Every time the issue of resuming the negotiation process is raised, Turkey and its entrenched regime in the occupied territories demand that we recognise the so-called sovereign equality of the Turkish Cypriots and accept the solution of two separate states, which not only deviate from the parameters of the UN and the Secretary-General's mandate, but fall into the latter category of aspirations to achieve the impossible, as President Anastasiades has characteristically noted.
In the same period, Turkey has also greatly escalated its aggressive claims against Greece. It has gone so far as to accuse Greece itself of an expansionist policy in the Aegean in an attempt to counter international criticism of its own self-evident Blue Homeland aspirations, etc., massively violates Greece's sovereign rights with its illegal warplane flights and threatens to invade more Syrian territory, in addition to its expansionist aspirations regarding Libya and Iraq.
In the face of these unfavourable facts and also taking into account that the passage of time without progress increases the risk of perpetuating the occupation, and also given our position that we must never stop struggling to find a mutually acceptable solution, President Anastasiades sent on 23 May last year a letter to Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar attempting to convince him and the Turkish leadership that the discussion of confidence-building measures (CBMs) can reduce tension and help the process of resuming negotiations towards a settlement of the Cyprus problem.
In his letter, President Anastasiades also reiterates the main points of what has been agreed so far in the negotiation efforts, setting out the positions put forward by our side. Such as the rejection of at least one positive Turkish vote in the cabinet when the Cyprus problem is resolved, a position that amounts to a veto right that can probably be used to block any decision of the federal government.
In the context of our side's efforts to find a way out of the deadlock of the negative positions and approaches of the Turkish side, this letter and President Anastasiades' proposals represent yet another attempt to resume negotiations in the interests of both communities, as well as peace and stability in the region.
The Turkish side, through its occupation leader Ereshin Tatar, of course rejected this initiative of President Anastasiades, again highlighting the unacceptable positions of the Turkish side.
Friends,
In the multidimensional foreign policy that we have developed and are pursuing, focusing on the upgraded geopolitical and geostrategic role of Cyprus, I also note the trilateral meetings of Cyprus-Greece-Egypt and Cyprus-Greece-Israel, as well as our meetings with the leadership of other neighbouring countries, such as Lebanon and Jordan, with whom we are forging relations of close cooperation and friendship in the interest of the countries and the region.
Of particular importance is the contribution of the United States to the further upgrading of relations between Cyprus, Greece and Israel. On May 9 last year, the ministerial teleconference of the 3+1 format took place, which was attended by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Mr. Ioannis Kasoulides of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Nikos Dendias of Greece and Mr. Yair Lapid of Israel.
At the end of the meeting, the four Ministers reaffirmed in a joint statement their commitment to promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean.
At a critical time for Europe, the United States and the world, the Ministers reiterated their commitment to the 3+1 format and decided to intensify their cooperation in the fields of energy, economy, climate change, natural disaster response and the fight against terrorism, thus contributing to strengthening resilience, energy security and interconnectivity in the region.
I would, of course, be remiss if I did not mention in particular the great humanitarian issue of our missing persons.
This is the most tragic aspect of the drama our country experienced in the summer of 1974. Their families continue, all these years, to carry on their shoulders the heavy cross of martyrdom for the disappearance of their loved ones. Unfortunately, we are still confronted with the unacceptable behaviour of Turkey, which is not only not cooperating to the extent that it should in order to determine the fate of all the missing persons, but, quite provocatively and unacceptably, continues to put up obstacles, essentially aiming to conceal its great guilt. It refuses to provide information from the Turkish army's archives on the mass graves of our own people. It refuses to give information about the other great war crime it committed, that of moving bones from their original burial sites.
Turkey's responsibilities are immense. We are troubled and concerned by the dramatic decline in the number of missing persons' remains found in the occupied territories in recent years. The numbers are in front of us. Of the 1510 cases of Greek Cypriot and Greek Cypriot missing persons reported and included in the relevant list, the remains of 735 of our compatriots have been identified and handed over to their relatives for burial.
Time is the greatest enemy. We expect the international community, especially the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and other countries, even now, 48 years later, to become more aware and to press Turkey to cooperate in resolving a thoroughly humanitarian issue.
The role and involvement of our expatriates over time in the well-being of our communities, in promoting the rights of Cypriot Hellenism and the promotion of Cyprus, is a central and constant arm of our common efforts.
The goals and objectives that have been set within the framework of our new multidimensional foreign policy and the role of Cyprus in the geopolitical context of the region, offer new opportunities for the approaches of the leaderships of our communities to the centres of influence.
We are successfully continuing our bilateral and trilateral cooperation with other countries and especially with our neighbours on Diaspora issues. These partnerships will substantially assist in the realization of our objectives and promote common interests and aspirations.
We ask you to further strengthen these partnerships by taking initiatives for actions and events with our partner countries, such as Israel, Egypt and Armenia.
The cooperation we have with the Greek Government is important and valuable, since Hellenism Abroad is one and together Cypriot and Greek organisations promote actions to exploit the potential of Hellenism in order to promote wider interests.
A top priority of our strategy is the encouragement and active participation of the expatriate youth who are the future of our diaspora.
A top priority of our strategy is the encouragement and active participation of the expatriate youth who are the future of our diaspora. By investing in the new generation we are investing in the future of our diaspora.
It is in this context that through specific and innovative actions we are trying to keep young people closer, so that they get to know their culture, history, language, traditions and, in general, their roots.
With our plans we also seek to bring the young generation of expatriates closer to their home country, our Cyprus, through hospitality programmes, exchange visits, internships and through our partnerships with various Universities in Cyprus.
The results so far are very good.
We continue and strengthen the various hospitality programmes, which concern young people from the age of 12-30 years old. Especially for the USA, there are the hospitality programs for the New York-based soccer team Eleutheria Pancyprios and the Hospitality for children 12-17 years old, which are your long-standing requests and are being implemented with great success.
Unfortunately, these programs were postponed the last two years due to the coronavirus pandemic, but this summer we will have the pleasure to host 10 children from the USA aged 13-17 years old.
At this point I would like to congratulate from the bottom of my heart the new generation of our expatriates, NEPOMAK USA, the Young Professionals for the initiatives and actions they are taking to achieve this goal.
One innovation that we are pleased to announce is the creation of an Online Platform for Cypriots in the Diaspora, which is important both for Hellenic Expatriates in the USA and around the world. It is for the first time that such an effort is taking place. The platform will consist of two sub-platforms, the Record of Diaspora Cypriots and Learn Your Roots.
The Record of Diaspora Cypriots aims, not only to provide a quantitative record of our Diaspora Cypriots, but more importantly a qualitative record. Our goal is to know every last Greek on earth!
With the creation of the Registry of Cypriots of the Diaspora, we will get to know, among others, the remarkable Cypriot Scientists, Academics, Entrepreneurs, as well as other specialties that excel abroad. These people are the best ambassadors of our Cyprus abroad.
I know that a similar project has been initiated by your Federation, which we have supported and strengthened. I am sure that the Platform of Cypriots in the Diaspora will be very helpful in your effort as well.
The second and important part is the Learn Your Roots Platform which is addressed to our Cypriots in the Diaspora and especially to the young generation of our expatriates, from pre-school age onwards, with the aim of getting to know and maintaining their links with their language, history, traditions, culture and roots. At the same time, we are already in the process of recording the revised National Strategy of Cypriots in Diaspora, including our vision, specific objectives, as well as actions and initiatives for their implementation.
At the same time, we are already in the process of recording the revised National Strategy of Cypriots in Diaspora, including our vision, specific objectives, as well as actions and initiatives for their implementation.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are always grateful for the fact that Hellenism Abroad has supported Cyprus and its people in difficult moments of its modern history through political, financial and material means.
On the Cyprus problem, the efforts and actions of the organized associations, under the leaderships of the POMAK, PSEKA and NEPOMAK, reflect and assist the efforts being made to end the occupation, ensure the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus and vindicate the Cypriot people for reunification through the achievement of a just, viable and workable solution.
In particular, I would like to commend the role of our Diaspora and our other friends in the United States for their contribution to the very important upgrading of our bilateral relations.
In this regard, I express our deep gratitude especially to Senate International Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez for his dynamic role in supporting Greece and Cyprus in their struggle against Turkish insurgency. Turkey, he believes, is the greatest threat to security and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
I would like to express my hope that in the near future, with your support and the very important work being done by fellow Members and Senators, better days will come for our national issues.
Let us also hope that international law will shine with its prevalence and the present picture of Russia's sad violation of the sovereign rights of countries like Ukraine, the destruction of towns and villages and the deaths of so many people will change for the better.
The invasion of Ukraine is justified by Russia, just as Turkey justified its invasion of Cyprus in 1974. With exactly the same arguments. Let us not forget it. And Cyprus today also participates in the measures and sanctions against Russia, while Turkey has chosen to balance and act accordingly, provoking with its attitude the countries that count it as an ally.
What we emphasize is that there should be no discrimination in the application of international law. The demand for an end to the invasion and the prevalence of peace should also cover our small homeland.
In conclusion, I would like to express my special thanks to His Eminence the Archbishop and the Church of America for the important role and the work they are doing to keep Hellenism abroad close to its roots and traditions.
I would also like to thank the President of PSEKA, my friend Philip Christopher, for his long-standing contribution and the struggles of our Cyprus and a big thank you to the Federation of Cypriot Organizations of America and especially its President and friend Kyriakos Papastylianou, as well as the members of the Federation for the organization and conduct of the Conference, but also for their long-standing work for the community.
Thank you very much.
(PM/NG)
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