The determination of Athens and Nicosia for the end of the occupation and the reunification of Cyprus was conveyed by the President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou during her proclamation as an Honorary Citizen of Morphou, during a special ceremony, which took place tonight, in the Great Hall in the Central Building of the National Kapodistrian University of Athens, following a unanimous decision of the Municipal Council of Morphou.

Mrs. Sakellaropoulou also received the Key of the City from the Mayor of Morphou Viktoras Hatziavraam and visibly moved she emphasized that “Greece, in constant coordination with the leadership of the Republic of Cyprus, will make every effort until the final and complete vindication of the struggle of Cypriot Hellenism” .

As he said “We owe it to the thousands of refugees, the fallen, the missing, and above all to the new generations of Cypriots, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, who dream of living in a free, united, peaceful and European homeland”.

Expressing particular joy and honor for being declared an Honorary Citizen of Morphou, Mrs. Sakellaropoulou underlined that “the joy is tempered, as 50 whole years after the illegal Turkish invasion, Morphou remains under occupation and its inhabitants still live as refugees in their own place, while many leave life, without having tasted the redemption of return”.

However, he reiterated that “Greece and Cyprus remain firmly committed to efforts for a just and sustainable solution to the Cyprus issue, based on International Law, the Resolutions of the UN Security Council and the principles of the European Union”.

In particular, he noted that “Our common goal is the reunification of Cyprus, with the abolition of the anachronistic system of guarantees, the withdrawal of the occupying troops and the full protection of the human rights of all its legal residents”.

He also added that “For this reason, it is imperative to resume the negotiations from where they were interrupted in Crans Montana, Switzerland, in 2017.” In this context, he expressed the hope that “the launch of the mission of the UN Secretary General’s Personal Envoy for Cyprus will contribute in this direction” and added that “From our side, the message we send in all directions is that, in today’s era of multiple challenges and intensifying insecurity in the wider region, an agreed solution to the Cyprus problem will help to create conditions of peace, stability and economic development in the eastern Mediterranean”.

Invoking, finally, the verses of the great poet Costas Montis, who wondered with pain:

“And now what will happen to that old refugee

which I used to answer him before every day at the stop

to wait for the bus to Morphou

and keep lighting cigarettes to pass the time,

and that today was not there,

and who wasn’t there yesterday,

and where will he not be there again?’

He emphasized that “the answer we owe to the poet is that Morphou, like Famagusta, Kyrenia, Nicosia and all the occupied areas of the island, are not lost homelands. Everyone’s wish and expectation is that the day of liberation will not be long and all of you, the Morphites and Morphitesses, will return to your ancestral homes.”