Nicosia, Cyprus. President Nikos Christodoulides said the European Union’s involvement in efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem had become substantive rather than symbolic, reiterating that progress in EU-Turkey relations must be directly linked to developments on Cyprus.
Speaking on Wednesday at an event organised by Kyrenia municipalities, communities, refugee associations and organisations at the Makedonitissa Tomb, he said the government remained committed to a settlement that would end the occupation and reunite the island.
Kyrenia and displacement
Referring to Kyrenia, Lapithos, Karavas and other towns and villages in the north, Christodoulides said Kyrenia had paid and continued to pay an especially heavy price following the Turkish invasion and 52 years of occupation.
He said that 52 years earlier, the Turkish army entered Kyrenia, occupied the town and forcibly expelled its indigenous Greek residents.
Christodoulides praised displaced Kyrenians for rebuilding their lives while maintaining ties to their towns and villages through refugee municipalities, communities and associations.
International law and property rights
The president said Turkey continued to violate international law and the fundamental rights of Cyprus’ lawful residents while seeking to legitimise the consequences of the invasion.
Addressing arguments that the government should accept existing realities, he said the occupation itself was the reality that needed to be confronted.
He referred to the case of Titina Loizidou, whose successful application before the European Court of Human Rights established Turkey’s responsibility for denying her access to her property in Kyrenia.
According to Christodoulides, the ruling confirmed that illegality could not create legal rights, regardless of the passage of time or attempts to impose a position through military force.
Political negotiations
Christodoulides said the Cyprus problem would not be resolved in courtrooms but through political negotiations.
However, he said its legal dimension could not be erased and that the rights of citizens of an EU member state could not be surrendered.