Famagusta Mayor satisfied with the response to campaign to collect signatures

Mayor of the Turkish occupied town of Famagusta, Alexis Galanos, has expressed satisfaction with the “mass and touching” response of his fellow citizens to the campaign to collect signatures demanding the return to the fenced off town to its legal inhabitants.

Speaking at a press conference, four days before the end of the campaign, he said he was sure that there will not be a refugee from Famagusta who will not sign the petition in Cyprus and abroad, where the campaign will continue until the beginning of May.

He noted that there are already benefits from this campaign, like the reunion of refugees of the Turkish occupied town in this effort and the support of all Greek Cypriot refugees to the initiative of the Municipality.

“This effort underlines the overall refugee problem in Cyprus, we have the support of the majority of the Cyprus people and very few disagreements”, he said, adding that with this effort “we focus once again on the substance of the Cyprus issue, which is not only the so called isolation of the Turkish Cypriots or their standard of living but the Turkish occupation army and the violation of human rights”.

He noted that the message of the effort is that a lot can be achieved and that we must continue to raise our problem in all fora.

Under the slogan “Let’s give voice to our city”, the refugee Municipality of Famagusta began April 14 a campaign to collect signatures by Famagusta refugees demanding that they be allowed to return to the fenced off town.

The fenced-off area (Varosha) of Famagusta is under Turkish military administration. Security Council resolution 550 (11 May 1984) ”considers attempts to settle any part of Varosha (Famagusta) by people other than its inhabitants as inadmissible and calls for the transfer of this area to the administration of the United Nations.”