"It is our collective responsibility to never become accustomed to injustice," says Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letympiotis in a post on X marking the second phase of the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
He adds that today, as another effort is underway under the auspices of the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Letympiotis states in his post, “our response is clear: even greater commitment to diplomacy, international law, United Nations resolutions, the agreed framework, and the common ground that has already been achieved.”
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Referring to August 14, the Spokesperson noted that, while talks were underway in Geneva, “while diplomacy was seeking a way forward, Turkey once again chose to take up arms to carry out this crime.”
“It trampled on one of the most fundamental principles in modern history: respect for the diplomatic process, the truce, and the ceasefire. It launched ‘Attila 2.’ Famagusta, Morphou, and dozens of villages were occupied,” he adds.
The occupation expanded to 37% of the Republic of Cyprus, he notes. “And with this unacceptable act, it shattered in the most resounding way any Turkish pretext regarding the true intentions and aims of occupying Turkey,” he notes.
On that day, he states, “It was not only the soil of our homeland that was trampled upon. International law was trampled upon. So were the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an independent state.”
“Today, as another effort is underway under the United Nations Secretary-General, our response is clear: even greater commitment to diplomacy, international law, United Nations resolutions, the agreed framework, and the common ground that has already been achieved,” Mr. Letympiotis stated. “Because we know what happens when the law yields to force. And we know even better that time does not transform illegality into legality, nor occupation into an acceptable reality,” he adds.
Noting that there are people who left believing they would return in a few days and died while waiting, he states, “This is our pain, and this is our collective responsibility. Let us never grow accustomed to injustice. Let us never accept as our future what was forcibly imposed by weapons. Until the liberation and reunification of our homeland.”
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