Clerides to protest to UN about Turkish actions

GOVERNMENT Spokesman Michalis Papapetrou said yesterday said that President Glafcos Clerides will raise the issue of recent Turkish provocations when the UN-led proximity talks resume in Switzerland next week.

Papapetrou was referring to frequent violations of Cyprus’ airspace over the past few days during celebrations in the occupied area marking the anniversary of the 1974 invasion.

The UN-led talks are set to restart in Geneva on Monday after being interrupted in order for each side to examine a set of suggestions put forward by the UN special envoy for Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto.

Speaking after a commemoration service in Nicosia for those killed during the invasion, Papapetrou said that despite a plea by the UN Secretary-general for the two sides to avoid taking any action that might provoke the other, the Turkish side had carried out a greater number of violations of the Republic’s airspace than ever before.

"I am certain that this issue will be raised by the President of the Republic on Monday when talks resume, to demonstrate once again how each side responds to calls by the UN," Papapetrou said.

The statements came as the country commemorated and paid tribute to all those who were killed during the invasion.

Air raid sirens sounded at 5.30am yesterday, the same time Turkish troops landed on the northern shores near Kyrenia 26 years ago, flags flew at half-mast, and memorial services were held for the fallen and the missing.

Meanwhile, Greece yesterday reiterated its support for Cyprus’ settlement efforts within the framework of UN Security Council resolutions and pledged to help the island in its accession to the European Union.

In a message marking the anniversary, Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis said that in order for relations between Greece and Turkey to heal completely, a just and viable solution to the Cyprus problem must be reached.

"It will benefit both Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots if they show the necessary will and take the necessary steps that would break the deadlock of long years of unfruitful negotiations," Simitis said. "This is the time, in the light of rapid developments in the process of European unification and reforms in Europe, for an end to be put to the situation in Cyprus," he added

Greek President Costis Stephanopoulos called upon foreign mediators to exercise their influence on the Turkish side, Greek Parliament speaker Apostolos Kaklamanis made a similar plea, and all the country’s political parties issued statements denouncing the invasion.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.