Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 07-10-01

Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC - INDEPENDENCE DAY

[02] EUROPEAN COURT - PROPERTY CASES - CYPRUS

[01] PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC - INDEPENDENCE DAY

In an address to the nation, on the 47th anniversary since independence from British colonial rule, the President said Cypriots have every right to be proud of their democratic nation, which has been further strengthened by joining the European Union in May 2004.

We can be cautiously optimistic. However there is no room for excessive expectations nor any place for fatalism or feelings of being defeated, he said, referring to efforts to find a negotiated settlement that would reunite the country, divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion, noting also that the road to a just and viable settlement has never been easy but unity on the home front will help overcome any problems.

The President stressed also his commitment to a bizonal bicommunal federal solution, as this term is interpreted in international practice, which means a settlement that will not violate the freedoms and the human rights of the citizens and which will be viable and lasting, balanced and functional.

Addressing the Turkish Cypriots, he assured them that their fate and their future is closely interwoven with a just and viable solution that will safeguard respect of human rights of all the citizens.

The national and natural survival of our people depends on the existence and the strength of our nation and the existence and the strength of our independence. As long as our nation exists and is valid, and its independence and international recognition safeguarded and strengthened, no design, no threat and no danger can ever kill hope and the prospect of surviving and prospering in this land, the President said.

The statehood, the credibility and the legal status of the Republic are not undermined by repeated attempts by the Turkish side to upgrade the illegal Turkish Cypriot regime, in occupied Cyprus, he pointed out.

He said everybody in Cyprus has a duty to safeguard and protect the nation, which supersedes everything - the government, the House, the political parties and each and every citizen.

On the search for a political settlement, Papadopoulos had this to say: No President of the Republic and none of its governments bears any responsibility for the absence of a solution. This lies squarely on the Turkish side which states, in the most provocative manner, that it is seeking a two-state solution.

The solution shall be a compromise, a mutual compromise, it needs good disposition and a spirit of consensus from all sides, not just our side and in that respect we should be careful not to provide Turkey with alibis and move responsibility to our side for Ankaras deeds, he said.

Papadopoulos underlined that only through reunification will Cyprus future be safeguarded and this reunification can be secured through a bizonal bicommunal federation, provided its content does not conflict with its title.

When we talk about federation, we mean that which international practice accepts with this term and that which is valid in all other existing federal systems. We mean a solution that will not violate freedoms and human rights of its citizens, it will not be unjust or harm any of the countrys communities and will not cause deadlocks in the functioning of the state, he explained.

Outlining his vision of a bicommunal federation, he said this means a fair share of power, a bicommunal settlement in which no community can impose its will on the other and no community shall have the right or the possibility to cause deadlock in the functioning of the state.

There are no magic recipes for a solution in Cyprus. The only path we have before us today to reach a mutually acceptable solution is the full implementation of the July agreement of last year and we remain committed to that and shall continue to work for its implementation, he stressed.

This agreement, he recalled, is backed by the UN, the Security Council and the EU. The agreement was reached under UN auspices between Papadopoulos and the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community.

Papadopoulos said that the solution he is seeking relates to the Turkish Cypriots as well as the Greek Cypriots, adding that a just and functional solution will serve all Cypriots.

On the anniversary of the Republics independence, we reiterate jour determination to continue our struggle, in the strong belief that we shall be vindicated at the end, irrespective of the difficulties ahead, he concluded.

[02] EUROPEAN COURT - PROPERTY CASES - CYPRUS

He also said that a forthcoming ruling by the European Court of Human Rights in a property case, involving a friendly settlement between a Greek Cypriot and a self-styled property commission in occupied Cyprus, does not necessarily mean that it will affect cases filed by other Greek Cypriots against Turkey, with regard to their property in Turkish occupied Cyprus.

It would not be wise on our part to issue title deeds to Greek Cypriots, who have built a house on Turkish Cypriot land in the southern government controlled part of the country, at a time when this is exactly what the illegal regime in occupied Cyprus is doing in relation to Greek Cypriot properties, the President stressed.

Replying to questions at Larnaca airport on his return from New York where he addressed the UN General Assembly, he explained that the government, wherever it was possible, either bought Turkish Cypriot owned land from the owners or has made other arrangements, in cases where Greek Cypriots have built on Turkish Cypriot owned land.

Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article