The crumbling hotels and houses of Varosha
ISTANBUL, Sept 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Turkish Foreign Minister Melvut Cavusoglu confirmed that Turkey plans to re-open the fenced-off town of Varosha, and preparations were already underway.
Three days after his visit to Varosha, accompanied by his Turkish Cypriot ‘counterpart’ Kudret Ozersay, Cavusoglu told CNN Turk: “We are making preparations. Yes, we will open Famagusta.”
Cavusoglu reiterated that no one could tell Turkey what to do in the eastern Mediterranean, nor could anyone obstruct its plans. “We will defend our rights and those of Turkish Cypriots.”
The comments come days after his visit to the ghost town on Monday, which was conducted without a media presence and after which no statements were made.
During his recent visit to the island, Cavusoglu also announced Ankara’s plans to open a Turkish consulate in Famagusta, stating that it would be “our 243th mission in the world.” The move was widely condemned by the Cyprus government and parties.
Since Ozersay’s proclamation in June regarding the conducting of a scientific inventory of the abandoned town, which is now underway, Varosha became a renewed source of tension between the two sides, particularly as it was then unclear what the plan was for the future of the town.
Initial indications emerged in late August, when Ozersay told a group of around 40 journalists on a press tour of the area that the Turkish Cypriot administration plans to gradually open Varosha as a civilian area.
Varosha was fenced off by the Turkish military in 1974 when they invaded the north of the island in response to an Athens-engineered coup attempting to unite Cyprus with Greece.
The eastern town, part of Famagusta that used to be known as the “pearl” of Cyprus, has been abandoned for more than four decades.
The self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was unilaterally declared in 1983 in a move recognised only by Ankara.
Varosha residents were forced to flee south and the town remains occupied by Turkish troops to this day. — NNN-AGENCIES
