Edek leader calls for referendum before Cyprus talks go any further

Socialist Edek leader Marinos Sizopoulos on Sunday called for a referendum before the Cyprus negotiations go any further, he said.

Sizopoulos, whose party has disavowed the notion of a bicommual, bizonal federation, was speaking at a party district conference in Paphos to elect new officials.

Before the resumption of talks and before the conclusion on substantive issues that are pending, President Nicos Anastasiades was obliged to call a referendum asking the people if they accept a rotating presidency, the stationing of Turkish troops on the island for a transitional period and if they accept Turkish settlers remaining.

“These are key issues that will determine largely the final form of the solution,” he said. “The people can not remain on the sidelines and be asked under extortionate conditions and timeframes to accept or reject a unilateral solution.”

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.