RESOLUTION ON THE CYPRUS PROBLEM

The participants in the 33rd NELF Meeting, held in Larnaka, Cyprus on 13th – 14th June 2008, having been briefed on the latest developments in regard to the Cyprus problem, hold as follows:

1. They consider the continued division of the island as illegal, unacceptable and detrimental to the people of Cyprus; Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

2. They condemn the occupation of territories of the Republic of Cyprus, the influx of settlers from mainland Turkey aiming at altering the demographic structure, the destruction of the cultural heritage and the usurpation of land and properties in the areas not under the control of the Republic since 1974.

3. They believe that the appropriate way to reach a peaceful, just, mutually acceptable and viable solution of the Cyprus problem is through substantive inter-communal negotiations under the auspices of the UN, on the basis of the UN Security Council Resolutions, the High-Level Agreements between the leaders of the two Communities and the International and European Law.

4. They welcome the revival of the peace process under UN auspices and the work carried out in the Working Groups and the Technical Committees established therein.

5. They urge the two Communities to work thoroughly with the aim of making substantive progress in the Working Groups which will allow the start of direct talks between the leaders of the two Communities at a time to be determined between them.

6. They underline that the settlement of the Cyprus problem must provide for the termination of the occupation, the partition and the return of settlers to their homeland, and for the transformation of the Republic into a bizonal, bicommunal federation with a single sovereignty, single international personality and single citizenship, with its independence and territorial integrity safeguarded; a State that would comprise two politically equal Communities, as provided by the relevant Security Council Resolutions.

7. The solution of the Cyprus problem should safeguard the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all citizens, in line with international law, including the right of refugees to return to their homes and properties and the right of the families of missing persons in both Communities to be informed of the fate of their loved ones.

8. They express their conviction that the two Communities can live together as they have done in the past and build a peaceful common future in a united, bizonal, bicommunal federal State; a functional member of the European Union and of the international community and a bridge of peace and multiculturalism in the Eastern Mediterranean region.