President Nikos Christodoulides on Sunday condemned the use of drones and the broadcast of Turkish military marches during an anti-occupation rally near the buffer zone, saying the incidents appeared intended to disrupt the event amid renewed efforts to revive Cyprus peace negotiations.
The incidents occurred on Saturday evening during the Municipality of Famagusta's annual anti-occupation event in Deryneia, close to the dividing line between the island's government-controlled south and the occupied north.
New dimension
"First and foremost, I condemn such actions. I believe this is the first time we have seen this kind of violation, particularly during the Municipality of Famagusta's anti-occupation event.
“There is another dimension as well. It was not only the drones. What I noticed yesterday, and this was the first time I have observed it, having attended this event since my time as Government Spokesman and later as Foreign Minister, was that Turkish military marches could be heard at the beginning of the event. It was a way of disrupting and harassing the gathering,” said the president.
Supporters of partition will create more problems
Speaking at a memorial for the first President of the Cyprus Republic Archbishop Makarios, Christodoulides warned that as developments towards a Cyprus resolution intensify, those within the Turkish side who support partition and the continuation of this “unacceptable” state of affairs “will undoubtedly seek to create problems, new issues and obstacles”.
According to reports, several unmanned aircraft (drones) launched from the north flew near the venue of the Deryneia, prompting concern among authorities. Officials are examining whether the drones entered the airspace of government-controlled areas and whether the existing buffer zone status quo was violated. Formal protests are expected through the appropriate channels.
Asked whether the timing of the incident was deliberate, Christodoulides said:
"The Turkish occupation army may well have wanted to send certain messages. I do not know who was behind this action, what preceded it, who gave the instructions, why it happened and so on.
“All of this is condemnable and there can be no justification for it.”
Peace effort ‘promising’
The government remains focused on the goal of launching “an international process that is promising,” he said, adding, “this is not wishful thinking,” but based on discussions and the way things are progressing.
The president said recent statements by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had reinforced the internationally accepted framework for a settlement.
"Through the public statements of the UN Secretary-General, as well as what was said during our private bilateral meeting and in the expanded meeting attended by the Turkish Cypriot leader, it has been made clear, without any doubt regarding the objective being pursued, that any ambiguity surrounding two states or other 'out-of-the-box' forms of settlement has been removed."
Christodoulides said technical preparations were already under way with the United Nations, as well as the European Union, for a new expanded meeting on Cyprus and that work would continue throughout August.
"The United Nations has already engaged a constitutional expert who participated in the previous negotiation process to assist with the technical preparations ahead of the next phase," he noted.
