Morphou “is not and will never become a bargaining chip” says the Mayor of the Turkish-occupied city, Charalambos Pittas, in reply to statements from the Turkish Cypriot side.
St Mamas Church Morphou
Hüseyin Özgürgün, the self-styled “prime minister” of the illegal regime in the island`s Turkish-occupied north, has said recently that the return of Morphou is not on the table.
In a statement, Pittas condemned Özgürgün`s “arrogant behavior and the unacceptable provocative statements”, noting that they put in peril the ongoing effort for a Cyprus settlement and the country`s reunification.
He says, moreover that people from Morphou will in no case abandon their inalienable right to return to their homeland. Morphou is not property of Özgürgün but the lands are illegally held by force of arms, the Mayor adds.
The fait accomplis, following the 1974 Turkish invasion in Cyprus, give no right over our land to Özgürgün, to Mustafa Akinci`s illegal regime and to Ankara, Pittas says.
It is also noted that the Municipal Council of Morphou has unanimously decided to bestow honorary citizenship upon the President of the Hellenic Republic, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, handing over to him the key to the city during an event on Monday, July 11, 2016.
