London Greek Radio

Cyprus Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides has underlined that the Cyprus negotiations have not collapsed, noting that recent developments are just a bump on the road that has been very successful so far.

The Minister made the above statement responding to questions by MPs in the framework of the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, that takes place in Nicosia, on the occasion of Cyprus` Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, between November 2016 – May 2017.

The questions mainly focused on the Cyprus issue, with the PACE MPs asking about the latest UN-led intensive round of peace talks, focusing on territory, between Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, which ended inconclusively this week in Mont Pelerin, Switzerland. The talks aim at reuiniting Cyprus, divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion. President Anastasiades has vowed to continue working hard to find a solution.

Replying to the questions, the Minister outlined the reasons of the failure of the two sides to conclude their discussions in Mont Pelerin, noting that if there are internal chapters remaining, it is a bad tactic to move them on to the multilateral conference, because this negates the position that all internal chapters are Cypriot led and of Cypriot ownership.

“So, moving them along with the security issue, which is an external chapter, to the multilateral conference is something that the Turkish side wishes and we do not”, he pointed out.

The Minister said that therefore no date was given for the last and final mile, which would be a multilateral conference between the two communities and at least the three guarantors as stakeholders.

“This is a bump on a road that has been so successful so far. The negotiations have not collapsed”, he underlined, expressing belief that this will be corrected in the coming weeks, since none of the sides contemplates the end of the negotiation.

Kasoulides said that the difficulties that appear have to do with connecting the multilateral conference with the territorial issue, for a give and take phase.

This is wrong, he said, explaining that Cypriots must agree among themselves about all the internal subjects and “then we will deal with the international conference regarding the fate of the security”.

He pointed out that when we talk about security, then both sides have to feel equally secure.

Continuing the unilateral right of intervention of Turkey, which Turkey interprets as military intervention for the future, means that the Turkish Cypriots will feel 100% secure but the Greek Cypriots will feel 100% insecure.

“Both sides must be prepared for a compromise. Our side is prepared to accept a certain period of time at the end of which Cyprus will be totally independent and sovereign and I think on this we can negotiate and have a compromise”,  he went on to say.

Asked about the role of the guarantor powers, he said that Turkey at the moment insists on maintaining the treaty of guarantees, which was interpreted by Turkey as meaning right of unilateral military intervention under which and according to them they invaded in Cyprus not to restore the constitutional order, not to maintain the unity and territorial integrity of Cyprus, but they stayed for the last 40 years and “I hope that this time when we will agree they will withdraw”.

He added that Greece is not any longer interested in being a guarantor power, while the UK position is that they will only respond to the requests of both sides and then they will consider ending their participation in a treaty of guarantee for the future.

“One of the role of the guarantors in sitting at the multilateral conference for discussing the chapter of security is to decide about the future of this treaty of guarantee that only one of the participants wishes to continue”, he stressed.

Asked about NATO, the Minister pointed out that when Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades was elected the task of this government was its request to join the NATO program, Partnership of Peace, but Turkey disagreed and “kept us the door shut considering NATO”.

The Minister was also asked about Brexit and US elections outcome. Noting that we have to respect the vote of the people, Kasoulides pointed out the need to remain truthful to our values and principles.He also noted the importance of the Convention of Human Rights of CoE and its guardian which is the European Court of Human Rights. Asked about the huge refugee flows in Greece and Italy, he said that solidarity among the European states is needed.

President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades held a telephone conversation with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Theresa May, Government Spokesman Nikos Christodoulides said on his twitter account.

The conversation focused on the Cyprus talks, according to the Spokesman.

Over the past two days, President Anastasiades has been in touch with various players interested in the UN-led peace effort, aiming to find a negotiated settlement that would reunite Cyprus, divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion.

The most recent intensive round of talks, focusing on territory, between the President and the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community Mustafa Akinci ended inconclusively in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The President has vowed to continue working hard towards a solution.

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades stressed here tonight that he is determined to make all the necessary steps to help resume the peace talks, he is engaged with the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community to find a negotiated settlement which would reunite the island.

President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades

Expressing regret at the inconclusive UN-led talks, in Mont Pelerin in the early hours of Tuesday morning, the President said he has no wish at all to enter into a “blame game”, adding at the same time that he would reply to claims which suggest that the failure of the most recent round of talks is due to the stance of the Greek Cypriot side.

Speaking at a televised interview, the President said he merely outlined the facts as these unfolded at the negotiations on territory, which ended inconclusively

“In order to reach a solution which will be accepted by both communities, what has been agreed must be observed and the solution must meet first and foremost the principles and values of international and European law, and must allow a viable, functional and modern European state to operate,” the President said.

Cyprus has been divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion. President Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci have been engaged in talks to reunite the country under a federal roof.

Cyprus President, Nicos Anastasiades, and Turkish Cypriot leader, Mustafa Akinci, began on Monday morning a very substantive and constructive discussion on the territorial adjustment criteria and continue their crucial discussion in the afternoon.

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades (L) – Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci (R)

The criteria concern the percentage of the territory of the constituent states, the number of Greek Cypriot refugees who will return to their properties under Greek Cypriot administration and the percentage of the coastline for each side.

Reliable sources, close to the talks, have said that it is difficult but realistic for Anastasiades and Akinci to reach a conclusion during their negotiations which aim to reach an agreement on the territorial adjustment criteria, then draft a map based on these criteria and set out a date for a multi-party conference on the issue of security and guarantees.

According to the same sources, during Monday`s meeting the two leaders put on the table positions which they had not expressed during their fist round of talks in Mont-Pelerin, that can contribute towards achieving results. However, as it is noted, they did not talk about specific regions that will be returned under Greek Cypriot administration. Their discussion will continue at 1800 local time.

The second round of talks is Mont-Pelerin is scheduled to conclude today. CNA has learned that the two sides have not so far discussed the possibility of extending the talks. President Anastasiades is scheduled to leave Switzerland on Tuesday morning.

The same sources said that during their meeting on Sunday morning the two leaders had a general discussion on various aspects of the Cyprus problem, as for example the first day of the solution, the economic aspect of the solution, the multi-party conference, and the implementation of the acquis communautaire after the solution, without any conclusion. An exchange of views on the issue of criteria took place towards the end of their working dinner on Sunday evening.

It also noted that President Anastasiades had on Sunday two telephone conversations with the Greek Premier Alexis Tsipras whom he informed about the course of the negotiations in Mont-Pelerin.

Anastasiades and Akinci have been engaged in talks under the UN auspices since May last year, with a view to reunite Cyprus, divided since the Turkish invasion of the island in 1974, under a federal roof.

On Wednesday, last day of his official visit to Athens, US President Barack Obama gave his assurance that Greece will continue to enjoy his country’s core support, while at the same time expressed his personal commitment that he will continue to urge the debt-ridden country’s creditors to adopt policies that will put Greece on the road to recovery.

“You will continue to have the core support of the United States, and at the same time I will continue to urge creditors to take the steps needed to put Greece on a path towards sustained economic recovery,” he said during a speech in Athens, his last European trip before handing over the helm of the US Presidency to Donald Trump in January.

“As Greece continues to implement reforms, the IMF has said that debt relief will be crucial to get Greece back to growth. They are right.”

Picketing the Turkish Embassy in London on Tuesday 15 November, a vocal demonstration, organised by the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK, made itself heard despite the Embassy’s refusal to recognise the protest, or to engage in dialogue with British Cypriots. British Cypriots made their voice heard outside the Embassy condemning the illegal declaration of the pseudo-state and calling on Turkey to remove its troops from Cyprus and to honour its obligations to Europe and Cyprus.

This year marked the 33rd consecutive year of the picket outside the Turkish Embassy on the black anniversary of the illegal Universal Declaration of Independence. The declaration was condemned by UN resolutions 541 and 550 and the illegal state has not been recognized by any country except Turkey.

During the picket, the President of the National Federation of Cypriots was joined by the President of POMAK, Officers and Members of the Federation’s Executive, the President of NEPOMAK and the former President of EFEK (Cypriot Students in the UK) to deliver a resolution to the Turkish Ambassador. The letter of resolution called on Turkey to demonstrate with actions not words its support for the current negotiations to reunify Cyprus by withdrawing the Turkish occupying army, dropping its anachronistic demand to be a Guarantor power. The resolution also called on the Turkish government to abide by the resolutions of the UN Security Council, the European Union and international law. The resolution also called upon Turkey finally to resolve the terrible human tragedy of the Cypriot people who went missing during its invasion of the island in 1974.

A resolution was also sent to Prime Minister Theresa May, calling on the UK Government to exert its influence on Turkey to help reunite Cyprus.

At the protest Mr Karaolis, Federation President, said:

“Over the course of the last one and half years, President Anastasiades and Mr Akinci have made significant progress in their efforts to reunite Cyprus. A re-united Cyprus where Greek and Turkish Cypriots could peacefully live and prosper is both attainable and viable.  Both together would likely make the country an international and regional trading hub, particularly as the Republic has one of the world’s largest registered shipping fleets, extensive financial and business networks, possesses major oil and gas deposits off shore and is rapidly developing technology and tourist sectors capable of surviving in the toughest markets. It would also offer a beacon of hope for both Christians and Muslims alike to live peacefully together in a part of the world which has become unaccustomed to such a reality.

However, this will only happen if Turkey refrains from interventions that undermine the negotiations and demonstrates the necessary political will to remove its troops from the island, drops its outdated guarantor demands and returns the occupied territory to its rightful owners.”

Nikki Christou aged 12 is born in London and is a Greek Cypriot. She is truly a heroic and a brave young girl and her bravery has been recognised by the Pride of Britain Awards. Nikki has received the Child of Courage Award and was presented to her in the popular TV event which was broadcast on ITV.

At the age of six, young Nikki and her parents noticed visible veins on the right side of her face. She was diagnosed with arteriovenous malformation (AVM), where there are abnormal connections between arteries and veins. The condition causes intense pain, in most cases is incurable and leads to potentially fatal nosebleeds.

Cypriot Nikki Christou wins The Pride of Britain Award… 12-year-old inspires through her creative videos…

So far Nikki has undergone 28 operations and endured more than 300 hospital visits as doctors try to manage her condition.

Her ability to turn things around and extracting the positives have aided her not only in winning the award, but what she does for others. She has set up her own Youtube channel, which has attracted four millions viewers and she has seventy nine thousand subscribers. She creates videos out of anything she holds precious, gives make-up tips and offers advice to people struggling to cope with chronic illnesses. Above all she feels comfortable talking about her condition to many people and this way, Nikki is incredibly helping people who may have their own struggles and illnesses.

Nikki through the #prideofbritain Twitter page said, ”I try to teach people that beauty lies within,” very inspiring we think and totally agree with her opinion here.

”People contact me who have AVMs and other confidence issues and I want my channel to be a community where people find that they can imperfectly perfect in their own special way. I’ve found people who have become my best friends. It’s nice to know you’re not as alone as you think.”

Nikki has now been recognised by The Daily Mirror’s Pride of Britain Awards, which, in partnership with TSB, honour Britain’s unsung heroes.

Nikki collected her award for Child of Courage at an all-out celebrity event at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel where the guests included Prime Minister Theresa May, Prince Charles, and Simon Cowell. Though particularly, she was very pleased to have it presented to her by her favourite TV person Mary Berry, who hosts ‘The Great British Bake Off’, accepting her award to a rapturous applause by the crowd.

With her family and supporters, Nikki has also raised almost £400,000 for research into AVM at Great Ormond Street Hospital, where she has been treated, and the University College London.

”I’m not going to lie and say it doesn’t get me down or make me angry,” Nikki continues,

”But you can be either negative and not enjoy life or be positive and block out all the negativity in your life and live a lovely, healthy, joyful and happy life.”

Nikki and her parents had few places to turn at first, due to her condition being so rare, so they started The Butterfly AVM charity to raise AVM awareness, support and funds for research.

Nikki adds: ”I want people who have an AVM in the future not to have to go through all the things my family I and other AVM survivors have gone through.”

We at London Greek Radio are proud of you Nikki Christou and wish you all the best in everything you do. Good health to you!

Substantive discussion on a joint document with the positions of both the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot side on the criteria for territorial adjustments begins on Thursday morning in Mont-Pelerin, Switzerland, where Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci as well as their negotiating teams meet since Monday to discuss territory and all other outstanding issues interdependently.

Mont-Pelerin/Switzerland

The two sides’ negotiators, Andreas Mavroyiannis and Ozdil Nami, exchanged on Wednesday afternoon documents with the positions of each side on the territory criteria. The two leaders, who began discussing the criteria on Wednesday morning, met later in the afternoon and as Government Spokesman Nikos Christodoulides announced last night, it was decided that the positions of each side are written down in a single document, as happened with all aspects of the Cyprus problem.

According to the Spokesman the positions of the Greek Cypriot side will be written down in blue colour and those of the Turkish Cypriot side in red colour.

Christodoulides said that on Thursday morning substantive discussion begins on the basis of this document, adding that the aim is to reach an agreement on the criteria that will be used in order to draw a map.

Asked if there is enough time until Friday, when the talks are scheduled to conclude, to achieve progress, the spokesman said that if there is the necessary will at the negotiating table then there is sufficient time.

Responding to another question, the spokesman said that discussions in Switzerland are not the end of the road. Asked about the setting of a date for a multilateral conference, he said that President Anastasiades was clear on this issue during his televised press conference before going to Switzerland, reiterating that there must be an agreement on the criteria that will then be used in order to draw a map.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37% of its territory. Anastasiades and Akinci have been engaged in UN-led negotiations since May last year, with a view to reunite the island under a federal roof. Discussions in Mont Pelerin will continue until the 11th of November.

The destruction of Cyprus’ cultural heritage in the northern Turkish occupied part of the island was highlighted by the Conservative north London MPs Matthew Offord and David Burrowes during a House of Commons debate earlier in the week.

Their statements were made in the presence of the Secretary of State for Culture Karen Bradley during the second reading of the Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts) bill. The aim of the bill is to enable the United Kingdom to implement the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict of 1954.

Offord said that “Cyprus has witnessed its cultural and religious heritage fall prey to the policy of pillage, destruction and desecration instituted after the illegal invasion of the island in 1974, and during the subsequent and continuing occupation.”
The Hendon MP, one of the closest parliamentarian friends of Cyprus in the UK, spoke of churches, monasteries, archaeological sites, libraries, museums and private collections of religious art and antiquities in the occupied areas of Cyprus having been “systematically looted”.

He also pointed to the numerous antiquities from the northern part of Cyprus that have for years “flooded” the art treasure market of the world, as well as to removed mosaics, frescoes and thousands of icons, which are now “practically lost in the international market of smuggled art works.”

Offord made a special reference to the apsidal mosaic of “inestimable” value at the Panagia Kanakaria church, which was removed, stolen and broken up in 1979. After pieces reemerged in 1988 and the involvement of the notorious Turkish art dealer Aydin Dikmen was established, these pieces have now been returned and are exhibited at the Byzantine Museum in Nicosia.

The Conservative MP told the House that since the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus 77 churches have been converted into mosques after being stripped of all icons and church furnishings. “The others have been pillaged, destroyed, used as stables, warehouses, garages, arsenals, mortuaries, hotels, art galleries and night clubs or simply abandoned to their fate… That number, however, does not include 50 sacred buildings whose condition is still not known because they are located in zones under direct military control, and others that have been demolished,” said Matthew Offord.

The MP also congratulated his constituent Doros Partasides, a well-known UK Cypriot photographer whose work has documented churches on the island. As Mr Offord said, “his invaluable work documents the destruction that has occurred over many years”. An exhibition with these photographs by Mr Partasides was hosted in the Parliament a few years ago.

In his contribution to the debate David Burrowes, MP for the Enfield-Southgate constituency with the most populous Cypriot community in the UK, said that along with Mr Offord he has seen the “appalling” acts of desecration and pillaging that have taken place in the northern part of Cyprus.

Burrowes said there was a link between the trafficking of human beings and the trafficking of cultural property. “There is the same disregard for people, for their faith, for their community and for their identity,” he said, adding that the issue at hand was human dignity.

He called for the UK to contribute to the voluntary fund administered by UNESCO and praised the work done by Tasoula Hadjitofi, a refugee from Famagusta, who through her organisation ‘Walk of Truth’ tries to restore pillaged treasures in areas of conflict and provide routes to reconciliation.

In his closing remarks, David Burrowes MP referred to his numerous constituents of Cypriot descent: “A considerable number of Cypriots live here in the UK, who have seen for themselves wanton destruction and pillaging of their heritage. That is why it is so important that we join together and make sure that this long-fought battle to ratify The Hague convention comes to fruition. We look forward to the unification of Cyprus in the long term, but in the meantime, we must make sure that people are held to account when they seek to profit from the proceeds of crimes of destruction.”

Greece, Cyprus and communities from both nations around the worldare celebrating ‘Oxi Day’ today, October 28, which commemorates the rejection by Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas to the ultimatum made by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on this day in 1940.

Student Parade in Athens

76 years ago, Greece staged a counter-attack against the invading Italian forces on the Pindus mountains during the Greco-Italian War, and the Greek Resistance during the Axis occupation.

This ultimatum was presented to Metaxas by Italy’s Ambassador to Greece, Emanuele Grazzi, shortly after 3am, who had just come from a party at the Athens-based German Embassy.

It demanded that Greece allow Axis forces to enter Greek territory and occupy certain unspecified “strategic locations” or otherwise face war.

It was allegedly answered with a single laconic word: όχι (No!). However, it is rumoured that his actual reply was, “Alors, c’est la guerre!” (Then it is war!).

In response to Metaxas’s refusal, Italian troops stationed in Albania, then an Italian protectorate, attacked the Greek border at 5:30am—the beginning of Greece’s participation in World War II.

In response Greek citizens took to the streets, irrespective of political affiliation, shouting “όχι! (No!)”.

MILITARY, STUDENT PARADES

From 1942, it was celebrated as ‘Oxi Day’ first mostly among members of the resistance and after the war by all Greeks.

During the war, October 28 was commemorated yearly by Greek communities around the world and in Greece and Cyprus, and after World War II it became a public holiday in both countries.

The events on that day are commemorated every year with military and student parades. On every anniversary, most public buildings and residences are decorated with Greek flags.