Brussels, Belgium. Cypriot MEP Loucas Fourlas said Turkey “controls things in Cyprus” as the European Parliament’s petitions committee discussed Famagusta and the fenced-off area of Varosha in the presence of the town’s mayor-in-exile, Simos Ioannou.
Fourlas criticises access to Varosha and EU policy toward Turkey
Speaking on Wednesday, Fourlas, of Disy, described as “sadism” the idea of charging people as tourists to visit their own homes in Varosha, including to walk around, buy a drink, and see their dilapidated houses. He said that if the resolutions and support received so far were put together, they “would stretch from here [Brussels] to Varosha”.
Fourlas also referred to Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, who has not addressed Varosha since taking office last October, after the area was opened to the public by his predecessor Ersin Tatar. Fourlas said Erhurman does not act on Varosha because “Turkey controls things in Cyprus”, adding, “Turkey and Ankara”.
He criticised the European Union for pursuing closer relations with Turkey while Varosha remains abandoned, saying it is the same Turkey Europeans want to include in the Security Action for Europe Safe programme. He said the EU wants to give Turkey a role in institutions while forgetting that Cyprus is a European territory which is occupied, adding that continued rapprochement with Turkey would lead to “a lot more Varoshas in Europe”.
Ioannou cites international law and UN Security Council resolutions
Ioannou said Varosha is “a symbol of a violation of international law” and said that since 1974 Turkey has not allowed the return of its illegal residents. He referred to United Nations Security Council resolutions 550 and 789.
Resolution 550 states that the Security Council “considers attempts to settle any part of Varosha by people other than its inhabitants as inadmissible” and called on the Turkish Cypriot authorities to transfer control of the area to the UN.
Resolution 789 called for the area controlled by the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (Unficyp) to be extended to include Varosha.
Croatian MEP draws comparison with Eastern Slavonia
Croatian MEP Gordan Bosanac, of the country’s ecologist We Can! party, compared the situation in Varosha to the reintegration of Eastern Slavonia into Croatia, which remained outside Croatian control after the end of the Croatian war of independence in 1995, with Serbs in the region operating a breakaway entity.
What steps do you think the European Union should take regarding Varosha and relations with Turkey?
