A number of unions, civil society organisations, and political parties have called for all parties to find a solution for the island and to begin and conclude negotiations, Kibris Postasi reports.
In a joint press statement issued in front of the Turkish Embassy in Nicosia, they argued that the island has been under ceasefire conditions for 50 years, and the existing status quo should not persist.
The statement claimed that a small segment of society is being exploited, becoming extremely wealthy through bribery, looting, plundering, and giveaways, while the general populace is impoverished. It also alleged that Northern Cyprus is being turned into a haven for squatters due to population policies, resulting in an increase in illegal and criminal activities.
The statement highlighted that young people are migrating and Turkish Cypriots are on the verge of extinction. It emphasised that the struggle against the disregard for Turkish Cypriots and efforts to eliminate their existence and will would continue.
“We do not accept the lack of resolution of the Cyprus issue, the disregard for international agreements on the matter, and the attempts to maintain the status quo under the guise of a ‘two-state solution’ and ‘equal sovereign states’“, the statement declared. It once again urged all parties to initiate and conclude negotiations to achieve a “solution and peace” on the island, as outlined in the letter from the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Representative, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar.
The organisations that signed the joint statement include:
BES, ÇAĞ-SEN, DEV-İŞ, EL-SEN, GÜÇSEN, HAKSEN, KOOP-SEN, KTAMS, KTOEÖS, KTÖS, TIP-İŞ, Arif Hasan Tahsin Foundation, Baraka, Peace Association, Peace and Democracy Initiative, Kyrenia Thought Association, Has-Der, Green Peace Movement Independence Path, BKP, YKP.
In an earlier report, Kibris Postasi writes that former Deputy Prime Minister Serdar Denktaş criticised the current government’s approach to the Cyprus problem and drew attention to the importance of talking and negotiating. Denktaş said, “If we don’t talk, there will be no negotiations, if we don’t negotiate, it is not possible to reach anywhere close to our goals. We can reach a point as we talk and discuss”.
Denktaş said that he was working on a project to achieve this end. “After working on this a little more, I need to get the contributions of our political parties, because this is a matter that concerns all of us”, he said.
