Members of US Congress have sent a letter to the United Nations Secretary General on Turkey’s provocations in the fenced area of Varosha in Famagusta urging him to “firmly assert the United Nations’ authority to administer and prevent its resettlement.”
Antonio Gutteres was also urged to pursue the immediate and full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions on Varosha, as well as examine sanctions against Turkish and Turkish Cypriot attempts to illegally and unilaterally reopen and resettle this city, according to CNA.
The letter was sent on Monday at the initiative of Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, co-chair and co-founder of the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues, Congressman Gus Bilirakis, co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues and Congressman Chris Pappas, member of the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues, joined by 16 more members of the Congress.
“We echo the Biden Administration’s condemnation of the Turkish/Turkish-Cypriot provocations and illegal actions on Varosha,” it also said.
“And we join our Senate colleagues in calling for multilateral sanctions given this violation of U.N. Security Council Resolutions and defiance of the international community,” it said.
They Congresspeople then recalled that forty-seven years ago, Turkey illegally invaded the Republic of Cyprus.
Since then, Cyprus and its people have been divided by Turkey’s illegal military occupation.
“Whether Cypriots speak Greek or Turkish, they all deserve a bright and peaceful future as one Cypriot people, free from the artificial divisions imposed upon them by the Republic of Turkey”, they said.
In October 2020, Turkish authorities announced their intention to unilaterally reopen the ‘ghost town’ of Varosha.