Greek Cypriot Leader: My Country Under Occupation

By Zaman
Published: Wednesday 18, 2005
zaman.com

Following Armenian President Robert Kocharian accusing Turkey of
committing “genocide” at the 3rd Council of Europe summit on Tuesday,
May 17, the Greek Cypriot leader Tasos Papadopulous on the same day
defined Ankara as an occupier.

The Greek Cypriot leader revealed in a speech he made yesterday
that 37 percent of his country is under the occupation of “foreign
military forces”. While making his accusations, Papadopulous did not
make a direct reference to Turkey by explicitly naming them. Noting
that Cyprus’ history is one of struggle for unity and sovereignty,
the Greek leader said: “Our history is full of examples, in which the
foreign military forces, that occupied 37 percent of Cyprus, have
fiercely violated the basic human rights of our citizens. Failing
to reveal the fate of missing people is only one example of this.”
Papadopulous stressed the importance of the European Court of
Human Rights (ECHR) implying that Turkey has been late in the
implementations of the ECHR verdicts, again without actually saying
the word Turkey. The Greek Cypriot leader also claimed that he will
make efforts to find a solution in Cyprus.

Warsaw