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- Ελληνικά
It is with great emotion that I participate again this year in the anti-commemorative event dedicated specifically to Famagusta organized by the occupied Municipality.
This year, for the first time, I am participating in the capacity of the President of the Republic of Cyprus, which is why I confess that the emotion and any emotional charge is outweighed by a strong sense of responsibility and duty.
Responsibility towards history, towards the people of Varosha, those who have left and those who are coming, towards the homeland, which from the highest office I have served with the sole aim of serving the interests of all Cypriots and legal residents of our homeland.
I owe first and foremost to our children, who, although they have not lived in Famagusta, know that it represents all that is important and great that our homeland can be: History, culture, faith, perspective, joy, hope.
Memorial Event today for Famagusta. The City that depicted in the most convincing and vivid way, everything that our place symbolizes:
The dynamism of the sea that embraces it, the hope of the light that surrounds it, the love for all that is good, with which its inhabitants built it and turned it into a jewel, not only of Cyprus, but also of the Mediterranean.
Famagusta, the Cosmopolitan Kingdom, whose fame has become a song, a poem, a hope and a vision. The city with the worthy people, the visionaries, the fighters.
Every time I return to this event, I notice and feel, I listened to the Mayor, I listened to the children, the intensely charged atmosphere, the feelings of bitterness, but also anger, caused by so many years of illegal occupation and alienation. This year marks 49 years, an unbearable number.
49 years of efforts, 49 years of expectations, 49 years of disappointments, an unjust historical reality that rightly causes anger and sadness.
However, under no circumstances do we accept the occupation and the state of anger and sadness. On the contrary, we are becoming more stubborn, working harder, so that we, the generation born just before and just after the brutal Turkish invasion, can be the generation that will reunite our country and make it free.
In this very context, from the first day of assuming the office of President of the Republic, I have pointed out, and I will not stop saying it, that the only way for us is the way of progress, cooperation and peace, the path of intensifying every effort to break the deadlock and to resume talks as soon as possible in order to achieve the longed-for liberation, the desired solution, the reunification of our country.
Despite the difficulties, which I know all too well, the frustrations, the challenges, despite the fact that the walls are still high and there is denial, the clear message I want to send tonight is that we will NOT accept the occupation, this is NOT the future we want to give our children, we can no longer tolerate the dividing lines, we want a reunited, European, free homeland.
For this reason, with realism, determination, perseverance, without any scepticism, defeatism, and introversion, far from sterile and sterile alleged confrontations, we strengthen our efforts even more in an international reality - the Mayor said it very well - that is constantly changing and that you do not know whether it will bring you new difficulties or opportunities. An international reality, which, as has been aptly said, we must be well aware of and adapt the means to achieve our sole ambition, which is none other than the reunification of our country.
Our concerns, our great concern over time, the new achievements that are unfortunately being promoted every day, but above all the desire for return and reunification, have led us to take the initiative in moving towards the resumption of the talks.
Both the Mayor and the members of the City Council receive frequent updates on developments, and on the fact that we are not prepared to sit on the sidelines because we know that we do NOT have the luxury of time and waiting. And we have made this clear from the first day in office. Our aim is to mobilise as much as possible important states, the international actor, the United Nations and the European Union itself and the institutions, knowing and using the facts at international level, as well as all the tools at our disposal, in order to achieve the lifting of the deadlock and the resumption of the talks. In this context, the immediate future, in particular the United Nations General Assembly and the European Council in October, will be decisive milestones for the development of our efforts.
Turkey's provocative stance and its illegal actions in Famagusta are met with our determination and perseverance that have a clear objective, through assertive realism, and away from any meaningless and unproductive communicative confrontations, which I consciously choose to refrain from, to create those conditions for the resumption of meaningful talks from where they were interrupted in the summer of 2017.
We will not compromise, Mr. Mayor, friends, compatriots, we will not stop and we will not compromise with the occupation and its tragic consequences. We will not tolerate the current unacceptable state of affairs and we will not remain inactive in the attempt to create new fait accompli.
The constant sight of the flag of the pseudo-state on the Pentadaktylos and the tragic image of the militarized city of Famagusta are in themselves facts that daily push us to strive harder for the end of the occupation and reunification, which will be the only vindication of the struggles and sacrifices of our people and our ancestors.
We know very well that we must not allow the passage of time to create new, even more unfavourable, facts for us, further distancing the prospect of a solution to the Cyprus problem, and in this context, we are using every diplomatic means to achieve the much desired solution.
We are working, I am working intensively with my colleagues, and I want you to have no doubt about this, for a solution on the basis of the relevant United Nations resolutions, compatible with the principles and values of the EU and the European acquis, a solution of a bizonal, bicommunal federation, with political equality, as provided for by the relevant United Nations resolutions.
A workable and viable solution, for a state with one sovereignty, one international personality and one citizenship, without occupying armies and guarantees.
Our vision, and we must be clear and united in this, is for Cyprus to once again become the free and reunited homeland of all, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Armenians, Maronites and Latins.
Our vision, and we must be clear and united in this, is for Cyprus to once again become the free and reunited homeland of all, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Armenians, Maronites and Latins. All the legitimate inhabitants of this land.
Today, in response to what I was asked earlier, I want to reiterate what is my strong belief, by also sending a message to our Turkish Cypriot compatriots who are with us tonight and I thank them for their presence - presence at an anti-establishment event means that they embrace the messages of an anti-establishment event and I want to thank you warmly for being with us tonight - the vast majority of whom I am sure want reunification and the resolution of the Cyprus problem on the basis of the agreed framework:
Our message, then, is that we are not fighting to "win", but rather to right everyone, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, European citizens who do not need guarantors, who do not need occupying troops and invasive rights in their future and in their lives, in their homeland.
We are not fighting a battle to have winners and losers in Cyprus but for the recognition of the historical truth and the restoration of human rights and basic freedoms for all, so that we can freely live, work, prosper and hope for a Cyprus free of dividing lines and barbed wire.
Forty-nine years after the tragic summer of 1974, a few meters from the town of Evagoras, fully aware not only of the responsibility but also of the historical weight of the need to lead us boldly to break the deadlock and to a new effort to resolve the Cyprus problem, I repeat that the road for us has only one direction.
I said it in the past, I will repeat it today and as many other times as necessary until the blessed hour of reunification.
I am absolutely convinced, therefore, and I have no choice but to try to find a way out of even the most difficult issues. Within the framework of our approach, which is recognized and supported by the international community, our goal is to create a mutually beneficial state of affairs for all parties involved in the Cyprus problem. It is for this very reason that, in addition to the United Nations, in whose framework the negotiating process is taking place, we are today engaging much more the European factor, the European institutions and strong EU states, taking into account Ankara's wishes for positive developments in the full range of Euro-Turkish relations. And, yes, I am ready to discuss such a perspective in the context of the resumption of substantive talks for a settlement of the Cyprus problem, on the basis of the agreed framework and building on the convergences achieved so far. I am here, determined to take bold but beneficial decisions, disregarding any political costs. Decisions that will lead to the reunification of our homeland.
In addition to the readiness to discuss a positive agenda for Turkey within the framework of Euro-Turkish relations, yes, Mr. Mayor, I agree with the need to work also with our Turkish Cypriot compatriots who want the reunification of our homeland. And we do not agree in words, but that is precisely why I am in contact with organized and non-organized groups of Turkish Cypriots, and as a government we are working on a series of measures that will be addressed exclusively to our Turkish Cypriot compatriots, which we will announce soon. Measures that prove in practice that the Republic of Cyprus cares for the entire Cypriot people, and is genuinely interested in the concerns of our Turkish Cypriot fellow citizens.
Apart from what I have mentioned above and as a clear indication that our real concern and our highest priority is the resolution of the Cyprus problem, our actions are not limited to our efforts for the resumption of the talks and the resolution of the Cyprus problem.
Following consultation with the Chairman of the Rebuilding and Resettlement Council, a consolidated and updated study of the occupied city of Famagusta, with a focus on the enclosed area, is being prepared. The study, which is expected to be completed in September, will include the specific actions required to be taken immediately after the Cyprus settlement, by the State, by the public sector, for reconstruction and resettlement in the area. Action that demonstrates in practice that in addition to the efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem, we are working substantially for the next day of the solution. A study that we will share with the European Union, which has been involved in such cases in the past in other Member States.
The success of a viable and workable solution that will truly reunite our country and our people will be, I firmly believe and I will not stop repeating it, the success of all of us, it will mainly be the key ingredient for a healthy and hopeful future for our children, in a modern European homeland, without barbed wire and armies of occupation.
We must all aim together, united, for this success, without competition and barren confrontations between us. Let us not look for winners and losers, let us not look for patriots and non-patriots. I am here and I have a responsibility, with full respect for any criticism, to unite the Cypriot people. As long as there is no solution, we are all losers, all Greek Cypriots and all Turkish Cypriots.
I will conclude by repeating something that I consider a prerequisite in our effort for the reunification of our country. In order to achieve all that we envision, in order to achieve the lifting of the deadlock and the resumption of the talks that will lead us to the resolution of the Cyprus problem, in order to be able to prevent any new fait accompli, the existence of a strong internal front is an absolute prerequisite. Especially at this crucial juncture
We, especially the older ones, have experienced the disastrous consequences of internal divisions, of public and even characterised counter-confrontations, of barren debates for the sake of serving, unfortunately, other purposes. With all due respect to any different approaches, the goal is common and cannot be other than the return to Famagusta, to our occupied homes, for a promising future for all our people, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.
(PM/MB)
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