President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades expressed on Wednesday afternoon the wish, this to be the last year that travel documents are required in order to travel freely around the country.
The statement was made at the President Palace, in the presence of a group of motorcyclists, who concluded a 3,000 km long journey from Berlin to Nicosia, honoring the memory of Tassos Isaak and Solomos Solomou, two Greek Cypriots who were murdered by Turks in August 1996 in the UN-controlled buffer zone, near the crossing of Deryneia, in eastern part of Cyprus during an anti-occupation demonstration.
The delegation of the “Isaac-Solomou Memorial Initiative” was joined by relatives of the dead and according to a representative of the group, the 3.000 km long journey was “a march to freedom”.
He added that starting from Berlin, the motorcyclists passed through Prague, Budapest, Sofia, Belgrade and Athens, ending up in Nicosia, which is the last point, were travel documents are not required.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. UN-led talks between President Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Akinci have been underway since May 2015, aiming to reunify the island under a federal roof.
CNA/AAG/AGK/GCH 2016
ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY