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Biden Urged to Act for the Occupied Town of Varosha in Cyprus

Varosha Cyprus
Varosha, Cyprus. Credit: Rena Choplarou. Illustration Greek Reporter

President Joe Biden is being urged by 10 Greek-American organizations to take steps to enforce the UN Resolutions regarding the occupied town of Varosha in Cyprus.

Ten presidents of Greek-American groups have sent a letter to the White House express grave concern regarding the renewed threats facing Cyprus coming from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and urge the U.S. President to call upon the United Nations to enforce the UN Security Council resolutions on Varosha.

The letter notes that on October 6, 2020, Turkey re-opened the beach in Varosha, the fenced-in area of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus which Turkey has occupied since it unlawfully invaded the Republic of Cyprus in 1974.

This action, the letter underlines, “violates United Nations resolutions and international treaties to which the U.S. and Turkey are signatories. In particular, Turkey is in direct violation of UN Security Council resolutions 550 (1984) and 789 (1992) that address the transfer of this area to the United Nations and the 1979 High Level Agreement between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities that stated that priority should be given to the resettlement of Famagusta, of which Varosha is a subdivision, under UN auspices”.

The Greek-American organizations note that during the past year, President Erdogan and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar have spoken openly about their support of a “two-state” solution regarding Cyprus — the permanent partition of the island.

“President Erdogan’s attempt to change Varosha’s status demonstrates a lack of interest in resuming serious settlement talks in favour of pursuing tangible steps to advance a ‘two-state’ solution regarding Cyprus, which contravenes the positions of the United Nations and the U.S. government.”

Mere criticism of Turkey on Cyprus and Varosha not enough

They point out that the US government has previously reaffirmed its support by endorsing the Statement by the President of the United Nations Security Council on October 9, 2020, calling for “the reversal” of Turkey’s actions vis-a-vis Varosha. However, Turkey has not reversed its actions regarding Varosha.

“Mere rhetoric or criticism of Turkey no longer suffices. Substantive action needs to be taken immediately. UN Security Council resolution 550 (1984) explicitly states that an effort to change the status of Varosha necessitates the transfer of the area to the administration of the United Nations. To that effect, we urge your Administration to call upon the United Nations to enforce UN Security Council resolution 550, in which Varosha would be under the UN control,” the Greek Americans ask Biden.

The letter is signed by George Horiates Supreme President American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), Nick Larigakis President American Hellenic Institute (AHI), Philip Christopher President International Coordinating Committee – Justice for Cyprus (PSEKA), Kyriacos Papastylianou President Federation of Cypriot-American Organisations (FCAO), Endy Zemenides Executive Director Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC), Maria Pappas President Cyprus-U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Dr. James F. Dimitriou President & Chairman of the Board of Directors American Hellenic Council of California, Michael Alexandrou, President PanHellenic Federation of Florida, Bill Mataragas President Hellenic American National Council (HANC) and Varnavas Zagaris, President PanCyprian Association of Florida.

Related: The Second Death of Cyprus’ Ghost Town of Varosha

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