Permanent Commissioner on Maraş Proposal by Bicommunal Famagusta Initiative

Members of the Bicommunal Famagusta Initiative proposed a permanent Commissioner on Maraş. Italian MP Piero Fassino, rapporteur for the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) held a meeting today with members of the Bicommunal Famagusta Initiative (MASDER). During the meeting, a member of the Bicommunal Famagusta Initiative Okan Dağlı pointed to the importance of returning the city to life and allowing legal residents to return under the control of the United Nations (UN), the port to be opened to international trade consequently relieving it from a prohibited status. Dağlı also said that it was important for the process of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage to begin. Mertkan Hamit, for his part, stated that the closed city of Maraş was being used as a political tool. Hamit likened the day by day increasing tensions in Maraş to playing with fire and that it was very important to have a permanent commissioner to follow the developments closely. Also speaking, Nafia Akdeniz said that opening the beach or park spaces to liven up the area, was causing trauma not only to the Greek Cypriot lawful owners but also to Turkish Cypriot owners. Yücel Vural who spoke on the issue referred to the deadlock of Maraş and the prolonged dimension of the Gazimağusa Port and Ercan Airport and pointed to the importance of the recent proposal by the Greek Cypriot administration on this issue being seriously evaluated. Also expressing his views Serdar Atai, who prepared a report gave several examples of the collaboration displayed by the two communities on the bi communal cultural, artistic and technical work displayed. FASSİNO “I AM CONSIDERING THE ‘PERMANENT COMMISSIONER’ PROPOSAL IN MY REPORT”. Stressing that Gazimağusa is a cosmopolitan city, Fassino said that the city should not be seen as a homogeneous Turkish or Greek Cypriot city. He also underlined that trust can lead to agreements, but underlined that agreements alone cannot create trust. Stating to the importance of building trust, Fassino said that he will consider including the proposal for a permanent commissioner in his report.