In London yesterday Greek Cypriots living in Britain held a demonstration outside the Turkish embassy against the Turkish occupation of their homeland on the 31st anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The Cyprus News Agency reports that hundreds of people attended the demonstration. The demonstrators waved banners and chanted slogans calling for a free and unified Cyprus and demanding the removal of Turkish troops.
The President of the Coordinating Committee - Justice for Cyprus (PSEKA) Philip Christopher told those gathered at the rally that the Cyprus problem can be solved only when the people of Cyprus are really reunited in a free a Cyprus free of occupation. He said that for 31 years the people of Cyprus have, ''…waged a war against ethnic cleansing, against unspeakable human rights violations, against the affluent Turkish lobby, against propaganda, lies and misconceptions''.
A statement for the group Lobby for Cyprus explained why they were demonstrating. It read:
• In 1974 Turkey invaded Cyprus, illegally dividing the island and committing war crimes and mass human rights abuses.
• Hundreds of thousands of Greek Cypriots were ethnically cleansed by the Turkish army.
• We are protesting because Turkey still maintains its illegal occupation, violating international law and United Nations resolutions that demand the withdrawal of the Turkish army and the return of Greek Cypriot refugees.
• Is it right that Turkey, which aspires to join the European Union still maintains a military occupation of one third of the Republic of Cyprus, a country which is a full member of the EU?
• The Greek Cypriots are the legal owners of 92 percent of land in the occupied north and we want to return. Turkey denies us this, but we will never give up our properties to those who seek to profit from their theft and illegal purchase.
• The human rights of the Cypriots must be restored, so that we may live in a truly reunited Cyprus with the full rights enjoyed by all other EU citizens.
The Lobby noted what are known as the 3Rs which are cited by groups calling for a united Cyprus. They are:
1. Removal of all Turkish troops from Cyprus
2. Repatriation of all colonists
3. Return of all refugees to their homes without preconditions, restrictions or discrimination
Last Sunday Ambassador of Cyprus to Greece George Georgis stated, according to Kathimerini, the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 was the biggest crime perpetrated in Europe in the second half of the 20th century. He added that with the pretext of protecting the Turkish minority, which constitutes 18 percent of the population, Turkey occupied 37 percent of the territory of Cyprus and carried out the greatest national cleansing campaign, in relation to the size of the population, in modern European history.
The Lobby for Cyprus points out that the results of theTurkish invasion and occupation include:
MASS MURDER
6,000 Greek Cypriots were massacred, many of them tortured to death.
MASS RAPE
1,000 women aged 12 to 78 were raped.
ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES
More than 1,500 missing Greek Cypriots are still unaccounted for. Many were recorded by the Red Cross and filmed by the BBC as prisoners of the Turkish army. They have never been seen again.
ETHNIC CLEANSING
200,000 Greek Cypriots were expelled from their homes at gunpoint from the occupied north of Cyprus. To this day they are prevented from returning to and reclaiming their homes by 35,000 Turkish troops which are enforcing apartheid in Europe.
COLONISATION
since 1974 Turkey has colonized the occupied north of Cyprus with 120,000 Turkish citizens in order to alter the demographic composition of the island.
CULTURAL DESTRUCTION
Hundreds of Greek Orthodox churches have been destroyed in order to eradicate the culture and history of the Greek Cypriots who are indigenous to the island for thousands of years. Sources: Lobby for Cyprus, Kathimerini (Athens), Cyprus News Agency
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