|
Newsletter
March 2009
President Christofias Makes Appeal for National Unity
Nicosia,
Apr 2 - The President of the Republic Demetris Christofias appealed for
national unity, yesterday, in statements to the press after the memorial
service at St John's Cathedral in Nicosia, on the occasion of the 54th
anniversary of the EOKA struggle of 1955 -1959. President Christofias said that Cypriots must draw lessons from the EOKA
uprising and from its outcome that led to an amputated independence and
noted that "it is our duty, united, to focus our efforts in liberating the
occupied part of our homeland in order to vindicate the heroes of all the
liberating struggles of the Cypriot people."
To Read the Entire Article Please Click Here
House President Marios Garoyian Says Turkey
Violates International Law in Cyprus
Bucharest,
Apr 2 - President of the House of Representatives Marios Garoyian has said
that the principles of the UN Charter are being violated in Cyprus due to
the Turkish occupation of one third of Cyprus' territory.
Mr. Garoyian, who was addressing Wednesday in Bucharest the members of the
Romania – Cyprus Parliamentary Friendship Group, stressed that in Cyprus,
which became an EU member state in 2004, there are 45,000 Turkish
occupation troops, around 160,000 illegal settlers from Anatolia and noted
that "every day human rights are being violated in Cyprus by Turkey."
To Read the Entire Article Please Click Here
Oli
Rehn Says Transitional Periods for Derogations for Cyprus, Exceptional
Brussels,
Apr 1 - EU Enlargement Commissioner Oli Rehn stressed Tuesday that
transitional periods for derogations from EU principles and treaties in a
Cyprus settlement could be "a few and in exceptional cases."
"I am not marketing derogations from the principles the treaties of the
EU," Commissioner Rehn said during a meeting of the Turkey- EU Joint
Parliamentary Committee.
To Read the Entire Article Please Click Here
Cypriot Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou
Says Turkey Must Contribute to Cyprus Talks
Nicosia,
Mar 31 - Minister of Foreign Affairs Marcos Kyprianou has said that the
Republic of Cyprus stresses to its interlocutors abroad and its partners in
the EU that Turkey must be convinced to contribute in a positive manner to
the efforts to reach a solution of the Cyprus problem.
In statements on Tuesday at the House of Representatives, Mr. Kyprianou
told reporters that the Republic of Cyprus stresses to its interlocutors
abroad and its partners in the EU that "Turkey states, on the one hand,
that it supports the direct negotiations between the two communities in
Cyprus, but when Ankara refers to the solution and the substance of the
Cyprus problem, it has negative positions."
To Read the Entire Article Please Click Here
Spokesman: Basis of a Settlement Already Agreed
Nicosia,
Mar 18 - The basis of a political settlement in Cyprus has been agreed and
is defined in joint statements, issued by the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish
Cypriot community leaders, Government Spokesman Stephanos Stephanou
stressed in Nicosia today.
Commenting on remarks by the Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat at
yesterday's signing ceremony of the Cypriot Chamber of Commerce and
Industry and the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Industry, Mr. Stephanou said
"it is of no importance what each side says and presents at the negotiatingtable."
To Read the Entire Article Please Click Here
European Parliament Calls on Turkey to Facilitate Climate for
Peace Talks by Withdrawing Occupation Troops
Nicosia, Mar 13 - The European Parliament adopted Friday resolutions on the
three candidate countries for EU accession, namely, Croatia, Turkey and the
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and their progress in 2008. The resolution on Turkey's 2008 progress report was drawn up by EP Turkey
Rapporteur Ria Oomen-Ruijten (EPP-ED, NL) and passed by 528 votes in favor
to 52 against with 43 abstentions. MEPs note with concern the lack of
progress in talks with the EU and the "continuous slowdown of the reform
process" in Turkey for the third consecutive year. They also state that
freedom of expression and freedom of the press are still not fully protected
in Turkey.
To Read the Entire Article Please Click Here
House
President Marios Garoyian Says Support for Turkey's EU Accession Depends on
its Stance
Nicosia,
Mar 19 - Acting President of the Republic of Cyprus and House President
Marios Garoyian has warned that if Turkey does not fulfill its EU
obligations, it should not expect Cyprus to continue being supportive
towards Ankara's EU accession negotiations. Mr. Garoyian, who met Thursday the heads of the EU diplomatic missions in
Nicosia, informed the Ambassadors on Cyprus' positions regarding Turkey's
European course, saying that Ankara has undertaken some obligations, "which
unfortunately since 2004 has not fulfilled."
To Read the Entire Article Please Click Here
Cyprus Government Concerned with Destruction of Cultural
Heritage in Occupied Areas
Nicosia,
Mar 19 - Government Spokesman Stephanos Stephanou has said that the
government is concerned with the destruction of Cyprus' cultural heritage
in the Turkish occupied areas of the country.
The Spokesman was replying to a question as to whether the Republic of
Cyprus would ask Holland to return to Cyprus four icons, of great
archaeological value, stolen from the Church of Antifonitis in occupied
Kyrenia and now found in private collections in Holland.
To Read the Entire Article Please Click Here
|
