Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 96-07-15

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From: "HR-Net News Distribution Manager" <dist@hri.org>

CONTENTS

[01] Sirens remind tragedy of Cyprus

[02] President Clerides denounces coup against Makarios

[03] Parliament condemns twin crime against Cyprus

[04] British MPs ask Turkey to end occupation

[05] Clerides congratulates Chirac

1040:CYPPRESS:01

[01] Sirens remind tragedy of Cyprus

On Monday morning July 15, 1974, the sirens sounded a coup d'etat, engineered by the military junta ruling Greece at the time and executed by Greek officers based in Cyprus along with the help of the local extreme-right outlawed EOKA B terrorist organisation, that toppled the legitimate President, Archbishop Makarios III, and gave Turkey the pretext to invade the island five days later and occupy, ever since, 37 per cent of Cyprus territory.

President Glafcos Clerides attended this morning a church service in memory of those, who resisted the coupists and fought for the restoration of democracy and constitutional order.

The memorial service was officiated by the Primate of the Church, Archbishop Chrysostomos, at St John Cathedral, Nicosia, in the presence of the island's political leadership.

Earlier on, at 0820 local time (0520 GMT) the sound of sirens in all the free areas of the island reminded the people of the tragedy. At the same time, the divided capital's Eleftheria (Freedom) Square was ''dressed up'' in black drapes for those killed during the coup.

The House of Representatives will hold today a special session to denounce the coup and the Turkish invasion.

The island's political leadership and scores of organisations have issued statements to mark this 22nd tragic anniversary and condemn the 1974 July events.

Local radio and TV stations carry special programmes to commemorate the anniversary, whereas papers devote their editorials to the occasion and publish photos, reminiscences of personal experience or articles on the July 15 events.

Meanwhile, a campaign began yesterday to collect as many signatures as possible for a petition to be sent to the United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. The campaign will last until Saturday, July 20, the day when Turkey invaded Cyprus in July 1974.

Leaflets, containing information about the plight of the Cyprus people are being distributed to tourists at airports, ports, hotels and the Ledra Palace ckeckpoint in Nicosia.

On July 19, an anti-occupation gathering will be held at the Ledra Palace hotel, the only checkpoint leading to the Turkish-occupied northern part of Cyprus.

Similar events, denouncing the coup and the Turkish invasion are held in other parts of the world where there are Cypriot communities.

A mass rally was staged yesterday in London and another one will climax anti-occupation events on Sunday, 21 July, in Melbourne, Australia.

CNA AP/GP/1996

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1220:CYPPRESS:02

[02] President Clerides denounces coup against Makarios

The coup, engineered by the military junta ruling Greece, led to the Turkish invasion five days later and the occupation, ever since, of 37 per cent of the territory of this east Mediterranean island.

President Clerides and the island's political leadership attended this morning a memorial service for those who died during the coup, defending democracy.

The memorial service was conducted by the Primate of the Cyprus Church, Archbishop Chrysostomos.

Speaking after the memorial service, President Clerides denounced with abhorrence the military coup that toppled Makarios in 1974.

The military chiefs withdrew from power eight days after the coup, in the wake of the Turkish invasion on July 20, 1974. Makarios, who had survived the attack on the Presidential Palace, returned to Cyprus in December 1974.

President Clerides described today's tragic anniversary as ''ill-omened''.

He stressed that only with unity and cooperation with the Greek government and the Greek people, the Cypriot hellenism could secure a safe future.

The main speaker at the memorial service was socialist EDEK MP Yiannakis Omirou, who praised those people who sacrificed their lives defending the legitimate President of the Republic and democracy.

The island's House of Representatives was holding this morning a special session to denounce the twin crime against Cyprus, the military coup and the Turkish invasion.

CNA GP/1996

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1535:CYPPRESS:03

[03] Parliament condemns twin crime against Cyprus

Following a minute's silence in memory of the dead in the coup and the Turkish invasion and occupation of 37 per cent of Cyprus territory, the leaders of the political parties in the House condemned the twin crime against Cyprus and called for remembrance and unity.

House President Spyros Kyprianou said ''it is our duty not to forget our recent history and not to hate one another''. Instead, he said, ''we should avoid the mistakes of the past and bring forward our virtues so that we shall never allow similar conditions to prevail''.

Kyprianou, who is also leader of the centre-right Democratic Party, said what is needed to face national dangers is unity.

Yiannakis Matsis, leader of the rightwing Democratic Rally party, pointed out that the best answer to the coup is to protect and develop democratic principles.

He said ''we should not forget the coup but at the same time we should overcome hatred and not revive conditions of discord.''

Matsis referred to the island's European perspective, stressing that ''we should prove with deeds and not words that we have politically grown''.

AKEL's General Secretary Demetris Christofias denounced the coup, its instigators, organisers and its executors. At the same time, he said the crimes of junta and EOKA B have remained unpunished.

Christofias criticised the government of Glafcos Clerides for restoring those who were expelled from the civil service for participating in the coup, and for attending events where the leader of EOKA B' Griva Dhigenis, is turned into a hero.

The extreme-right outlawed EOKA B' group collaborated with the Greek military junta to overthrow the legitimate President of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios.

Democratic Party Parliamentary Spokesman, Tassos Papadopoulos, said ''there is no power in the world which will impose on us a solution which we would not want''.

At the same time, he warned that no speech can wipe off the shame of the coup, neither it can remove the pain for those who died and the tragic consequences of the invasion and occupation.

Socialist EDEK President, Vassos Lyssarides said the new generation cannot use as a model the rewarding of coupists who are promoted to the island's political scene while those who fought during the coup and the invasion are virtually persecuted.

Lyssarides said the aim should not be punishment but a reviving of moral values.

The President of the Free Democrats' Movement, (KED), former President of the Republic, George Vassiliou, strongly denounced those who contributed to the overthrowing of democracy and praised the late President, Archbishop Makarios, and those who died for democracy.

He said the tragic consequences which Cyprus is now undergoing might not allow for a just punishment of those who contributed to the destruction of the island but at the same time, they do not justify rewarding those who opened the road to the break down of democracy.

CNA EC/GP/1996

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1815:CYPPRESS:04

[04] British MPs ask Turkey to end occupation

Eight British MPs, representing the House of Common's three parties and Pauline Green, the President of the Socialist group at the European Parliament, addressed on Sunday afternoon at the Trafalgar Square the most massive rally ever held in the British capital by the Cypriots living in Britain, to denounce the Turkish occupation.

The rally coincided with today's 22nd anniversary of the Greek junta coup against Cyprus President, Archbishop Makarios III, on July 15, 1974, which led to the Turkish invasion five days later.

British MPs called on Turkey to withdraw its occupation forces from the island the soonest possible. They also expressed their will to support the Cyprus struggle for a just solution.

They also pointed that there should not be any obstacle for Cyprus' accession to the European Union (EU) and asked Turkey to accept the ''rules of the game'', having now the customs union with the EU.

The British parliamentarians referred to the efforts for a solution of the Cyprus problem.

They noted the unacceptable situation, by which any foreigner can enter the occupied part of the island as a tourist while the people who live and have their homes there can not do so, should be ended as soon as possible.

It was explained that reconciliation should be promoted between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots in order to reach a Cyprus resolution.

The main speaker, Cyprus Finance Minister Christodoulos Christodoulou welcomed the momentum on the Cyprus issue and stressed that this should be within the right framework of the United Nations.

Christodoulou stressed there should be a coordination of all foreign special representatives dealing with the Cyprus problem.

The Trafalgar Square mass rally was organised by the National Federation of Cypriots in Great Britain. It was preceded by a march that started off at Hyde Park and through Park Lane, Picadilly, Haymarket and ended up at Trafalgar Square.

A representative of the missing persons' committee, Father Economos Christoforos, the President of the organisers George Christofides, as well as the President of the World Coordinating Committee - Justice for Cyprus, Philip Christopher, also addressed the rally.

Christofides headed a delegation that handed at 10 Downing Street a resolution urging Britain's more active role in efforts for a Cyprus settlement.

Turkish troops have been occupying 37 per cent of the island's territory since 1974, in violation of repeated UN resolutions calling for their withdrawal.

CNA AP/GP/1996

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

1840:CYPPRESS:05

[05] Clerides congratulates Chirac

In a congratulatory message, President Clerides said ''we highly value the long-standing relations of friendship and cooperation happily existing between our countries and peoples and look forward to their further enhancement and consolidation''.

President Clerides told the French President that the Cyprus people ''have the confidence in your continuing contribution in the settlement of the Cyprus question based on the UN resolutions and the principles of international law, as well as the valuable support of France for the fulfillment of our European vocation as Cyprus approaches accession negotiations to join the European Union''.

President Clerides concluded his message, saying ''on behalf of the people and the government of Cyprus, I extend to your Excellency good health and happiness and the friendly people of France constant progress and prosperity''.

CNA GP/1996

ENDS, CYPRUS NEWS AGENCY

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