On the occasion of the 50th dark anniversary of the double crime of the coup d’état and the Turkish invasion, the World Federation of Trade Unions expresses once again its unwavering solidarity for the struggle of the people and the working class of Cyprus towards the solution of the Cyprus problem and the liberation and reunification of the island.
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 hundreds of thousands of refugees, thousands of dead and missing, the continued occupation of 37% of the island and the division of the country and the people of Cyprus. 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.
At this critical juncture, the WFTU considers it necessary to emphasize that the effort to reverse the current dangerous and fragile status quo in Cyprus is of immense importance. An unsolved Cyprus problem does not provide any benefit for both communities which continue to suffer the division of their common homeland.
The WFTU underlines the need for a solution of the Cyprus problem within the framework of the United Nations, with respect to the principles of International Law and Human Rights; reaching a solution based on the UN resolutions regarding Cyprus which presuppose the creation of a bi-communal bi-zonal federal state with political equality of the two communities as set out in the relevant Decision of United Nations with single sovereignty, a single international personality and citizenship.
