MEPs set to visit Maraş

MEMBERS of the European Parliament (MEPs) are set to visit the island in early May to attempt to enter the fenced off town of Maraş, Akel MEP Takis Hadjigeorgiou said on Tuesday.

Mr Hadjigeorgiou said the European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions (Peti) decided on Monday to carry out a fact-finding visit to Cyprus and more specifically Maraş, most probably between May 7 and 8.

The MEP said it was imperative for the committee to again put Maraş “under the telescope” following media reports in the TRNC that part of the town is to be given by the Turkish military to be used for touristic purposes.

Peti attempted to enter Maraş during another fact-finding visit in 2007 but were denied entry by the Turkish military. That visit was prompted by a petition filed by the [South] Famagusta Refugee Movement, representing over 37,000 people, in which they had requested the assistance of the European Parliament to ensure that the European Commission’s initiatives to stimulate the economic development of the North include the return of Maraş to Greek Cypriots.

In its report, following their 2007 visit, Peti said it had sought access to Maraş and that several attempts were made by the delegation, via contacts with the Turkish authorities in Brussels, Ankara and the TRNC, “but there was a persistent ‘lack of response’ from the Turkish military which never gave us the requested authorisation”.