The path of the late President Archbishop Makarios III should be a beacon and a valuable guide in the difficult times we are going through, said Tuesday Government Spokesman Nicos Christodoulides.
Speaking at a memorial service for Archbishop Makarios III at the late leader`s birthplace, Panagia in the Paphos district, Christodoulides said the current unacceptable status quo constitutes
a permanent source of demographic imbalance and security on the island and “for us there is no other alternative but to end the occupation, reunite our country and bring peace at last to our island”.
We are obliged, he said, to reevaluate the meaning of understanding, cooperation and discussion and ponder on the destruction that division and conflict will lead us to and become responsible and consensual. The Spokesman added “we should learn from our history but also from our mistakes”.
This is what our national interests dictate us to do, he said, “together to fight for the reunification of our country and for the recovery of our economy, just like Makarios would have wanted…”
The Government Spokesman said that despite the different approaches which are completely welcome in the framework of democracy, we need to maintain high the dialogue level and through a collective effort to fight to achieve the common cause.
The current state of affairs does not allow any citizen of the island to “enjoy the rights, freedoms and prosperity that all other citizens in the rest of the European Union consider indisputable. On the contrary, he added, the current status quo is unacceptable that is causing a permanent upset of demographic balance and security.
This situation, he added, should definitely terminate.
We look forward to a solution that will comply with the principles and values of the EU which we will continue to be a member after a solution to the Cyprus issue.
Archbishop Makarios III was first President of the Republic of Cyprus 1960 until his death in 1977.
He was also the political leader of the EOKA liberation struggle against British colonial rule and the primate of the Orthodox Church in Cyprus.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. UN-led talks, aiming to reunite the island under a federal roof, resumed last May.
