Declaration for
A
DEMILITARIZED NICOSIA
Having passed through an important process, we are at a new process in the
Cyprus problem. At this point in time, the mistrust among the sides and
chauvinism has reached important proportions. The belief in a solution has been
seriously wounded. The political will to change the status quo has been
weakened.
Under such conditions, the most important aspect of building an atmosphere of
trust and regression of chauvinism is by practical actions. There seems to be a
need for a new push which would play a role similar to that of the ‘bi-communal
activities’ and ‘intercommunal contacts’ back in the 1990s.
The military is coming up at every important step as a considerable aspect of
the problem, just as it has happened during the (non-) opening of the Ledra
Street and during the discussions for the return of Varosha to its owners. By
taking into account the serious trauma created during the history of Cyprus, we
can see the role of military and paramilitary forces for increasing mistrust and
chauvinism.
During the process for a solution, the solution would be helped and deadlocks
could be overcome by the immediate implementation of some trust-building
measures.
At this point, the demilitarization of the divided city
Nicosia
from all military forces, carries big importance.
Nicosia, especially the walled-city of Nicosia is where the dividing line of
Cyprus and Cypriots has the most proximity. This also means that the armed
forces of the two sides have the most proximity to each other in Nicosia. This
is the only area where most of the time, in some spots, 18 year old kids are on
duty, seeing each other across a road on the dividing line. The old Nicosia also
contains the no-man’s land, which cannot be used anymore as it is now a military
zone and which has historical value since it was lively once.
That’s why the demilitarization of
Nicosia
would be
the first and an important step for the demilitarization of the whole island.
The demilitarization of Nicosia would start the process of reuniting the
city first, and then the whole island.
The demilitarization of Nicosia would create the opportunity of
recreating life in the buffer zone, where hundreds of houses and workplaces can
be reutilized. This zone could be turned into a common working zone and the
dividing line could turn into a space for reuniting Cyprus.
The demilitarization of Nicosia would bring a new push towards the
process for a solution and would seriously contribute to the building of trust
among the communities. The demilitarization of Nicosia would be the first
concrete step where the ‘impossibles’ could be turned into ‘possibilities’...
These campaigns will contain all forms of action in them. We will use all
methods of communication and will try to get the support of all Cypriots, of
Europe and those sides who are part of the Cyprus problem in the world.
We will be one person short, if you are not part of this campaign...
The demilitarization of
Nicosia is
possible, a new Cyprus is also possible – for this, participate so that we can
realize ‘a demilitarized Nicosia’ and a reunified Cyprus...
Initiative for
demilitarization
Ο κατάλογος των ομάδων που υποστηρίζουν το κάλεσμα είναι
yazılanlar
çerçevesinde destekleyenler
The list of groups supporting the call consists