Tag: Omirou

  • Omirou urges international community to turn attention to Turkey

    Omirou urges international community to turn attention to Turkey

    3 11 2012 3 21 39 PM 10746056

    The President of the House of Representatives, Mr Yiannakis Omirou, attends the event in honor of former Members of the House of Representatives

    FAMAGUSTA GAZETTE

    • Sun, Mar 11, 2012

    House President Yiannakis Omirou has appealed to key players in the international community to turn their attention to Turkey, if they want security and stability to return to the region.

    “The source of anomaly in the area is Turkey’s aggressive attitude,” said here Sunday Omirou, in a memorial speech for Evagoras Palikarides, a hero of the anti-colonial struggle against the British in the mid 1950s.

    The recipe for peace is simple, Omiour pointed out. “Convince Turkey to agree to a solution as described by civilized humanity, withdraw its troops from Cyprus and accept international law and UN resolutions”.

    Omirou paid tribute to Palikarides, saying doing this is a national duty, especially as the Cypriot people are going through difficult times, fighting for survival.

    “Our duty to history and civilization is to avert the dangers which our enemies are working on, to make clear that we are not ready to wipe out our rights and forgo justice,” he stressed.

    Cyprus, he added, should not remain the only divided country in Europe when Europe is proceeding with integration. “Europe should not tolerate the presence of an occupation army in one of its member states”, he said of the continuing occupation of Cyprus’ northern part by Turkey.

    “We should insist on securing the rights of the people of Cyprus, through the restoration of the rights of the refugees and the enclaved Greek Cypriots in the occupied areas, the withdrawal of occupation troops and settlers, securing the smooth and effective functioning of the state, peaceful co-existence with our Turkish Cypriots compatriots, wealth and progress for all the people of Cyprus”, he added.

    He said Cyprus feels stronger as Greece and the Greek nation stand by it.

    Referring to the ongoing UN-led negotiations direct negotiations between President of the Repubic Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu to reunify the island, Omirou said the talks have not achieved any progress, but instead they have highlighted once again the intensified Turkish intransigence.

    Turkey, he noted, appears to be the third party with good will and a neutral observer that seeks a solution, pushing for either an international conference on Cyprus or a deadlock in the negotiations, with apportioning equal responsibility to both sides.

    Omirou said it is imperative to change the policy in the negotiations and strategy in the overall handling of the talks by reporting the Turkish stance before the international and European community and by formulating an outline for a solution that will safeguard the national and natural survival of Cypriot Hellenism.

    Evagoras Pallikaridis was an EOKA fighter during the 1955 – 1959 struggle against British colonial rule in Cyprus. At the age of 19 he was sentenced to death by hanging for firearms possession.

    via Omirou urges international community to turn attention to Turkey.

  • Cyprus House President: the only problem in our region is Turkey

    Cyprus House President: the only problem in our region is Turkey

    TURKEY is an expansionist state conspiring against the interests of Hellenism, President of the House, Yiannakis Omirou, stated today, adding that both the European and international community must realize as soon as possible that the problem lies in Turkey, who is a destabilizing factor.

    12 28 2011 4 05 33 PM 1905114

    Speaker of the House at the same time wished that the hydrocarbon reserves located in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) are of good quantity and quality, to strengthen the struggle for a proper solution of the Cyprus problem.

    In statements to the Press, after he had visited earlier today “Michalakis Parides” military camp, Omirou said that the Turkish threat is present, threatening the historic continuation of Hellenism in Cyprus, and for as long as occupation and Turkish threat exist, Greece and Cyprus must jointly confront Turkey, for the future of Hellenism.

    He expressed deep appreciation and gratitude to Greek officers, permanent staff and soldiers serving in Cyprus. Omirou indicated that Greece’s military presence in Cyprus is based on the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, but blood ties, as well as historical, religious and linguistic ties linking Cyprus to Hellenism are much more powerful than any contractual obligations.

    Turkey’s expansionism threatens Hellenism in general, as revealed by Turkey’s former Foreign Minister Mesut Yilmaz who said that Turkish secret agents set forest fires in Greece during 1990s, in an attempt to destroy the country’s natural resources and wealth, Omirou said.

    “We do not wish to maintain bad relations with Turkish people on the contrary we want friendly relations. But we must realize that the prevailing state of affairs in Turkey, unfortunately, still maintains an expansive state, conspiring against the interests of Hellenism”, House President underlined.

    Omirou expressed Cyprus’ full support to Greece’s attempts to face the economic crisis prevailing in the country. — Copyright © Famagusta Gazette 2011

    via Cyprus House President: the only problem in our region is Turkey.