Tarpon Springs to Turkey: ‘Get out of Cyprus’

A resolution the commission approved Tuesday night proclaims: “Turkey’s continuing military occupation and policy of importing illegal settlers violates international law…relevant United Nations resolutions and continues to violate the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people of Cyprus.”

The resolution passed 5-0, even though one commissioner questioned the extent of its criticism of Turkey in the decades-old dispute over the Mediterranean island.

Mayor Beverley Billiris said she recently traveled to Larnaca, Cyprus. A diplomat with the Republic of Cyprus asked Tarpon Springs to lend its voice to efforts to unify the island, she said.

Billiris traveled to Larnaca, a port city on Cyprus’ southern coast, to accept it as a sister city of Tarpon Springs.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when the Turkish military invaded Cyprus in response to a coup attempt against the Cypriot government spurred by the military junta that then ruled Greece. Most of the world recognizes the control of the Republic of Cyprus over the island.

Only Turkey recognizes the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which controls the northern third of the island. Turkey has about 30,000 troops on the portion of the island it occupies.

Commissioner Robin Saenger supported the resolution, but questioned if it should offer such a strong condemnation of Turkey. The dispute between Greece and Turkey over Cyprus has gone on for decades, she noted.

Strife between the majority Greek Cypriots and the minority Turkish Cypriots broke out almost immediately after Cyprus gained its independence from Great Britain in 1960.

Tarpon Commissioner Chris Alahouzos, a native of Greece, said turkey invaded Cyprus just to get access to a port. The Turkish forces killed many Cypriots and displaced others from their homes, he said, adding, “The country needs to be united again so these people can go home.”