Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 10-06-11

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 PACE CONFERENCE SPEECH

[02] EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENTS OF PARLIAMENTS

[03] DOWNER SECURITY COUNCIL - REMARKS

[01] PRESIDENT PACE CONFERENCE SPEECH

He also reiterated his commitment to dedicate all his might to terminate the tragedy of the people of Cyprus, to reunite Cyprus so that Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriots may live again together, without guardians, in conditions of peace, democracy and implementation of human rights for all, without discrimination.

Addressing the opening of the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament, in Limassol, President Christofias said hosting the Conference was ``a great honour for Cyprus,`` adding that the challenges to be discussed ``concern all of us and every one of us separately.``

``The role of national parliaments, the role of international parliamentary organisations as well as their cooperation, has always been and remains critical as regards the rapid developments, both positive and negative, faced today by humanity,`` he said. President Christofias added that the delegates would be discussing an ``extremely interesting topic,`` namely the rights and responsibilities of the opposition in a parliament, noting that ``this has always been a public debate issue which touches upon the essence of democracy as well as the effort to consolidate democratic legitimation of the functioning and the decisions of parliaments, and the democratic control of governments.``

He said an equally important theme was ``national parliaments and international human rights law and the implementation of the principle of non- discrimination, noting that ``unfortunately, in the 21st century and in spite of the progress achieved by mankind, we cannot but admit that we still have a long way to go in order to achieve in practice the desirable degree of implementation throughout the world of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.``

``Your host country itself has been and still is victim of violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of its people as a result of invasion and occupation. Cyprus continues to struggle ceaselessly in order to restore the human rights and basic freedoms of its people as a whole, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Maronites, Armenians and Latins,`` he pointed out.

President Christofias also said that, regarding the principle of non-discrimination, ``as a global community we have yet many steps to take, before we are in a position to consider universal implementation of human rights as a global acquis,`` adding that ``national parliaments and international parliamentary organisations have an important role to play in this direction.``

``I am certain that through the discussion which will take place during the deliberations you will have a very productive two-day conference and that the general conclusions and results reached will contribute decisively to tackling these critical issues,`` he said.

Speaking ad lib and commenting on references by President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Mevlut Cavusoglu to the Cyprus problem, President Christofias reiterated his commitment to ``dedicate all my power to terminate the tragedy of the people of Cyprus, to reunify my homeland and for Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots to live again together, without guardians, either motherlands or any others, in conditions of peace, in conditions of democracy and of course in conditions of implementation of human rights for all, without discrimination.``

``There cannot be second class citizens in the united Republic of Cyprus. This is my vision. This is what I am working hard for and I wish and hope that the soonest possible, on this basis, we will find a common language with the new leader of the Turkish Cypriot community Mr. Eroglu, to reach a solution, the soonest possible,`` he said.

He added that ``it is in the interests of the people of Cyprus as a whole to solve the Cyprus problem, on the basis of justice, on the basis of international law, on the basis of human rights and the declarations and conventions on human rights.``

Cyprus, which joined the EU in 2004, has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third.

European Conference of Presidents of Parliament opens in Limassol

[02] EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENTS OF PARLIAMENTS

House President Marios Garoyian has said the House of Representatives is very honoured to host the conference.

Speaking during a press conference at the House of Representatives earlier this week, Garoyian said that Turkey will not participate in the two-day conference. Turkey had raised objections two years ago over the proposal by Cyprus to host the conference. However, those objections were rejected by the overwhelming majority of the PACE members.

Garoyian said that this conference is one of the greatest and most important conferences the House has ever hosted and it is probably the most important in terms of the number of House Presidents and Vice Presidents who will participate.

Some 50 Presidents and Vice Presidents of Parliaments from PACE member states, third countries, and international parliamentary organisations will attend the conference.

In addition, 30 Members of the Parliament and Senators, 35 Director General and Secretary Generals of parliaments and international parliamentary organizations as well as 200 officials will take part.

Garoyian and PACE President Mevlut Cavusoglu will co-chair the Conference and address the opening session today.

[03] DOWNER SECURITY COUNCIL - REMARKS

Downer was speaking at a press conference at the UN headquarters after having briefed the members of the Security Council on the latest developments in the Cyprus issue, ahead of the approval of the resolution on the renewal of the mandate of the UN peace-keeping force in Cyprus and on the Secretary Generals good offices mission.

After the briefing, the Council is expected to hold informal consultations with a view to adopt the resolution by Friday.

Downer said he briefed the Council on the state of the talks, particularly now when the talks have resumed following the illegal elections that took place in the Turkish occupied north of Cyprus, where Dervis Eroglu emerged as the new leader of the Turkish Cypriot community.

He said from the UN point of view we are very pleased with the continuing and strong support we have from the Security Council for the work of the Good Offices Mission and our endeavors to assist the two parties as the negotiations progress.

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