©(Photo by Birol BEBEK / AFP)
Cyprus on Saturday marked 50 years since Turkish troops invaded the Mediterranean island, with comments from the Turkish and Cypriot leaders demonstrating the stark divide that remains.
The Greek-Cypriot president of Cyprus, who seeks a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation under a UN framework, said there was no other option but reunification.
But in an address at about the same time on the other side of a UN-patrolled buffer zone, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected a federal solution and said he saw no point in continuing UN-led negotiations on the island's future.
As dawn broke in the internationally recognized south of the island, sirens wailed at 5:30 am (0230 GMT), the time that Operation Atilla began in 1974.
The invasion led to the conquering of one-third of Cyprus and displacement of about 40 percent of the population.
The buffer zone, where abandoned buildings crumble, cuts across the island with border controls separating Greek Cypriots in the south from Turkish Cypriots in the north.
The United Nations says around 40,000 Turkish soldiers also remain in the north.
Decades of UN-backed talks have failed to reunify the island, and the last round collapsed in 2017 after meetings in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.
"We believe that a federal solution is not possible in Cyprus. It is of no benefit to anyone to say let's continue negotiations where we left off in Switzerland years ago," Erdogan said in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is only recognized by Ankara.
"The Turkish Cypriot side should sit at the table as equals with the Greek Cypriot side. We are ready to negotiate and achieve lasting peace and a solution," he said before watching a parade that included marching bands and armored military vehicles.
On the other side of Nicosia, the world's last divided capital, President Nikos Christodoulides unveiled busts of officers killed in the fighting. He also laid a wreath at a war memorial where ceremonial gunfire sounded.
"Whatever Mr. Erdogan and his representatives in the occupied areas do or say, Turkey, 50 years later, continues to be responsible for the violation of human rights of the entire Cypriot people and for the violation of international law," Christodoulides told reporters.
'Long Overdue'
On the eve of the anniversary, Turkey's parliament adopted a resolution calling for an "end to the inhumane isolation imposed on Turkish Cypriots".
The European Union -- to which Cyprus belongs -- stressed the need for all parties to seek a peaceful resolution "on the basis of relevant UN Security Council resolutions."
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a report this month to the Security Council, said "resolution of the Cyprus issue is long overdue".
Guterres regretted "the gradual militarization that is under way on the island".
The invasion was triggered by a coup in Nicosia backed by the military junta in Athens and aimed at uniting Cyprus with Greece.
The treaty that granted Cyprus independence from Britain in 1960 banned union with Greece or Turkey as well as partition and made London, Athens and Ankara guarantors of Cyprus's independence, territorial integrity and security.
With AFP
The Greek-Cypriot president of Cyprus, who seeks a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation under a UN framework, said there was no other option but reunification.
But in an address at about the same time on the other side of a UN-patrolled buffer zone, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected a federal solution and said he saw no point in continuing UN-led negotiations on the island's future.
As dawn broke in the internationally recognized south of the island, sirens wailed at 5:30 am (0230 GMT), the time that Operation Atilla began in 1974.
The invasion led to the conquering of one-third of Cyprus and displacement of about 40 percent of the population.
The buffer zone, where abandoned buildings crumble, cuts across the island with border controls separating Greek Cypriots in the south from Turkish Cypriots in the north.
The United Nations says around 40,000 Turkish soldiers also remain in the north.
Decades of UN-backed talks have failed to reunify the island, and the last round collapsed in 2017 after meetings in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.
"We believe that a federal solution is not possible in Cyprus. It is of no benefit to anyone to say let's continue negotiations where we left off in Switzerland years ago," Erdogan said in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is only recognized by Ankara.
"The Turkish Cypriot side should sit at the table as equals with the Greek Cypriot side. We are ready to negotiate and achieve lasting peace and a solution," he said before watching a parade that included marching bands and armored military vehicles.
On the other side of Nicosia, the world's last divided capital, President Nikos Christodoulides unveiled busts of officers killed in the fighting. He also laid a wreath at a war memorial where ceremonial gunfire sounded.
"Whatever Mr. Erdogan and his representatives in the occupied areas do or say, Turkey, 50 years later, continues to be responsible for the violation of human rights of the entire Cypriot people and for the violation of international law," Christodoulides told reporters.
'Long Overdue'
On the eve of the anniversary, Turkey's parliament adopted a resolution calling for an "end to the inhumane isolation imposed on Turkish Cypriots".
The European Union -- to which Cyprus belongs -- stressed the need for all parties to seek a peaceful resolution "on the basis of relevant UN Security Council resolutions."
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a report this month to the Security Council, said "resolution of the Cyprus issue is long overdue".
Guterres regretted "the gradual militarization that is under way on the island".
The invasion was triggered by a coup in Nicosia backed by the military junta in Athens and aimed at uniting Cyprus with Greece.
The treaty that granted Cyprus independence from Britain in 1960 banned union with Greece or Turkey as well as partition and made London, Athens and Ankara guarantors of Cyprus's independence, territorial integrity and security.
With AFP
This Is Beirut
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