A Turkish Cypriot journalist has shared his impressions from his visit to Varosha/Maras. Cenk Mutluyakali, journalist for Turkish Cypriot daily ‘Yeni Duzen’, was part of a group of journalists who were invited by the foreign office to take a tour of the fenced-off town, led by Foreign Minister Kudret Ozersay.
The journalist wondered what was the road map for Varosha? He wrote the following:
- There is no clear action plan with ‘a time table’.
- The wish is first to take Varosha from military control.
- It is said ‘gradually’, but what I saw is that the army does not intent to abandon Varosha.
- An effort exists to open the way of the ‘Immovable Property Commission’ (IPC).
- The thought is the following: Let the Greek Cypriots come and apply to the Immovable Property Commission.
- There is absolutely no intention as regards the return [of Varosha] to United Nations control.
- The formulas of the Commission (IPC) are the ‘exchange, compensation and return’.
- Ozersay gives no clear answer to the question: ‘By taking Varosha out of the scope of being a military area, will you open the way for the return formula’?
- His hands are not free on this issue.
- EVKAF could not persuade even the administrators of this country of the allegation that it owns Varosha.
- I ask one official ‘which of these buildings was constructed by EVKAF?’ ‘Not one’, he says.
- There is an intention for Varosha and I think that the intention of the UBP is different than the intention in the HP.
- There is still no ‘road map’.
Yeni Duzen
