The Greek Cypriot leader of the House, Yiannakis Omirou has said that the invasion and occupation of North Cyprus has contributed to the South’s financial woes.
Following the euro bailout last March, the Eurogroup`s decisions on Cyprus have not taken into consideration the fact that Cyprus has been under Turkish occupation for 40 years, which has had a serious impact on the Cypriot economy, he said, ‘Famagusta Gazete’ reports
Addressing Thursday the graduation ceremony of the Cyprus University of Technology in Limassol, Omirou stressed that those who took the March 2013 decisions on Cyprus, “did not take into account that Cyprus is experiencing for 40 years now the consequences of the brutal invasion of a country (Turkey) that is even a candidate for EU membership”.
“They did not take into account that as a result of the invasion and continuous occupation, Cyprus lost 70% of its productive resources, had the obligation to support 200,000 displaced Cypriots who are still living away from their homes and their properties, and has had and still has the obligation to support the families of thousands who lost their lives or have gone missing ever since”, he said.
Noting that solidarity is a fundamental EU principle, he said that unfortunately, this principle was not applied in the case of Cyprus.
“The principles of solidarity, social and economic cohesion, mutual respect and equality between the EU partners, principles and values of the EU for decades which guarantee the peace, security and stability of the Union, making it attractive for the accession of new countries, have been undermined and need urgently to be restored”, he said.
The House President said that changes are needed in the Cypriot society as well.
“In a world that is rapidly changing and is becoming more competitive, Cyprus needs changes. Change is a pre-condition for the functioning of democracy, for the restart of the economy and for building a new network of social solidarity, “he added.
He pointed out the importance of education in tackling the economic crisis and congratulated all students who graduated after successfully completing undergraduate/postgraduate/doctoral programs, wishing them good luck in the future.
On March 2013 the Cypriot authorities agreed with the Troika of the EU Commission, the ECB and the IMF on a financial adjustment programme, which featured a haircut on banking deposits, to recapitalise its largest lender, Bank of Cyprus, which absorbed part of the Cyprus Popular Bank which in turn has been wound down.
