Dear comrades, dear colleagues.
In 2024 we commemorate 50 years since the double crime of 1974 against the people of Cyprus, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Armenians, Maronites and Latinos. Given this opportunity, we would like to inform you about the current situation regarding the Cyprus problem.
The coup d’ état against the elected government under President Makarios on July 15, 1974, and the subsequent invasion of Turkey on July 20, was an unprecedented tragedy for the people of Cyprus, with thousands of refugees, dead and missing and the continued occupation of 37% of the island by Turkey.
Both NATO and the USA bear enormous responsibility for the situation created, since the tragedy at the expense of the Cypriot people was the result of their wider imperialist plans for the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Since 1974, the struggle to end the occupation, to prevent the permanent partition of Cyprus and to reunify the people of Cyprus, has been one of the main goals of the actions of our organization.
We are fighting for a solution that will entail a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality of the two communities based on the United Nations resolutions for Cyprus. We are fighting for a state with one sovereignty, one citizenship and one international identity, demilitarized and independent, without guardians and protectors, a truly common homeland for all Cypriots.
Since 2017 and the collapse of the talks between the two communities under the auspices of the GC of the UN in Crans Montana, the Cyprus problem in a dangerous stagnation.
Turkey, since the disaster in Crans Montana in 2017, officially has been putting forward the position for a two-state solution, escalates its expansionist aspirations at the expense of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus and intensifies its actions for full economic and political control of the occupied areas and the Turkish Cypriot community.
PEO’s steadfast position is that resuming the talks from where they left off in Crans Montana, is the only way that can lead to a solution for the Cyprus problem on the agreed basis.
To this end, it is necessary to demonstrate a commitment on our part to the solution of a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality while, at the same time, the international community needs to exert the necessary pressure on Turkey so that the talks can resume from the point they stopped in 2017 in Crans Montana, based on the Guterres Framework.
PEO is a common creation of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot workers, and its history is inextricably linked to the common struggles and efforts to build the unity of the working class of Cyprus.
Despite the difficulties, in cooperation with the Turkish Cypriot trade union organizations that are members of the World Federation of Trade Unions, we continue the work, based on class solidarity and unity, to strengthen the common front of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot workers.
The Cypriot people, with the solution of the Cyprus problem and the reunification of our country, will be able to work in peace and security for universal progress, within the framework of a united economy, with a single system of labor relations and uniform working conditions for all workers, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.
Today, 50 years after the coup d’ état and the invasion, with almost half of Cyprus still under Turkish occupation and our people divided, the reaffirmation of this solidarity is necessary for us. It gives us strength and support to continue the fight for the reunification of our country. For the realization of our common vision, for a peaceful and reunited Cyprus, a homeland for all its children, free from foreign armies and protectors.
