The solution of the Cyprus problem must provide for the withdrawal of Turkish troops and the abolishment of the system of guarantees, Minister of Agriculture Nicos Kouyalis has said.
Speaking on Sunday at a memorial service in Pafos, the Minister stressed that the solution must abolish the dividing line, and secure the respect of human rights, including the right to return and to property.
He said that despite the huge difficulties, President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades, in full and close cooperation with the Greek government, attended the Geneva Conference on Cyprus in January with the aim to reach a peaceful, viable and functional solution of the Cyprus problem that would liberate and reunify the country.
Meanwhile, Presidential Commissioner Fotis Fotiou said that Turkey`s demand for Turkish citizens to enjoy the four fundamental freedoms is against EU treaties and would have a devastating consequences in the survival struggle of Hellenism in Cyprus.
Ankara, he said, insists on the unacceptable continuation of the anachronistic system of guarantees of 1960 and the maintenance of a number of Turkish occupation troops in Cyprus after the solution of the Cyprus issue for a non specific amount of time.
Referring to the humanitarian issue of the missing persons, he said that 43 years after the Turkish invasion against Cyprus we continue to bury our compatriots who lost their lives in the field of battle or who were tortured while under arrest. Fotiou stressed that around 1,000 Cypriots are still missing since 1974 and urged Turkey to finally cooperate so that the fate of each and every one of them is investigated and clarified.
The families of the missing persons need answers as to their whereabouts, he pointed out, noting that many relatives die before even receiving any information about the fate of their beloved ones.
The Republic of Cyprus has been divided by Turkish military troops since 1974, when Turkey invaded and still occupies 37% of this EU – Mediterranean island state. As a result of the Turkish invasion hundreds of Greek Cypriots and Greeks went missing. A Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) was established, upon agreement between the leaders of the island`s two communities, with the scope of exhuming, identifying and returning the remains of missing persons to their relatives.