London, United Kingdom. Thousands of emails urging renewed focus on the Cyprus problem have been sent to more than half of British Members of Parliament through #HandsOffCyprus, an annual campaign by the National Federation of Cypriots in the United Kingdom.
This year marks the 52nd anniversary of the Turkish invasion of and subsequent occupation of part of Cyprus.
Campaign call to MPs
The federation is calling on the United Kingdom to “do everything possible to get Turkey back to the negotiating table” for a solution based on “the agreed UN framework” and international and European Union law.
The #HandsOffCyprus campaign urges the Cypriot community in the United Kingdom to use an emailing tool on the federation’s website to send a letter to their MP. The federation says the email takes “less than 30 seconds of your time” to complete.
Federation appeal
“We must continue our efforts to spread the message that Cypriots want to see the end of Turkey’s illegal on-going occupation,” federation president Christos Karaolis said.
The federation also called on those who have not yet participated to send an email to their MP.
Recent diplomatic contacts
In the past month, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ envoy on Cyprus, Maria Angela Holguin, has held meetings with Cypriot, Turkish and European Union leaders with the aim of organising an enlarged meeting for talks to resume.