Matsakis calls for moratorium on all parades

MEP Marios Matsakis wants an end to all military parades in and around Cyprus, and has requested the European Parliament to appeal to EU governments to put a stop to them.

In a letter to President of the European Parliament Hans-Gert Pottering yesterday, Matsakis said every year the “sides” in the Cyprus dispute hold large military parades and various military exercises.

“I believe that while efforts are being made to create a climate of trust and good will and hopefully proceed with discussions to find a peaceful solution to the island’s long lasting problem, such military activities are unhelpful, and some would say dangerous,” said Matsakis.

The outspoken MEP’s comments come days after it was revealed that EU member states has turned down an invitation to participate in the October 1 Independence Day military parade in Cyprus.

Reports said many countries were reluctant to be seen as supporting President Tassos Papadopoulos on the eve of an election, and the Greek Cypriot side more generally.

The government eventually admitted invitations had been sent out but then cancelled due to a lack of time to organise the event.

Matsakis said in his letter to the European Parliament that it was bad enough that Cyprus was one of the most densely militarised areas in the world, with 45,000 Turkish troops, up to 5,000 Turkish Cypriot soldiers, between 2,000 and 3,000 Greek troops, around 8,000 Greek Cypriot National Guardsmen, 5,000 to 6,000 British troops and 200-1,000 UN troops.

He called on Pettering to use his good offices to make a direct personal appeal to all the governments represented in the EP to agree to an immediate moratorium on the holding of military parades in and around Cyprus. “I am sure that if such a moratorium is achieved it will facilitate the cause of peace and will make the hope of a peaceful settlement more real,” Matsakis said.

At the end of last month, Matsakis outraged the Greek Cypriot political establishment by suggesting it was time the issue of a two-state solution in Cyprus was discussed in the open, given the reality on the ground, and the type of solutions being put forward by the international community.
Matsakis said the Annan plan was so bad that partition would be better.

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.