Turkish Cypriot PM slams 'enosis day' celebrations law

Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Hüseyin Özgürgün on Feb. 12 slammed the Greek Cypriot parliament's recent decision to introduce the 1950 "Enosis day" celebrations in schools as part of the curricula. 

The Greek Cypriot parliament on Feb. 10 voted to introduce in public schools the yearly commemorations of the 1950 referendum, when 96 percent of Greek Cypriots voted for the island to be annexed to Greece. 

Özgürgün said in a written statement that the move was "the most severe blow" on the ongoing negotiations over the reunification of the island, and "the clearest evidence of the Greek side's desire to own the whole island." 

"There can be no other explanation for the parliament's approval of a proposal made by three deputies who take every opportunity to display their animosity toward Turks, and they are a racist minority in that parliament," he said. 

The premier added that if the negotiations were to continue without this decision being annulled, it would not only be a waste of time, but also "disrespect to all parties who contribute positively to the process." 

The issue of the reunification of Cyprus remains unsolved despite a series of ongoing discussions which resumed in May 2015. 

The main goal is to find a political solution as the sides seek to reunify the island under a bi-communal and bi-zonal federal system after more than 40 years of division. 

The eastern Mediterranean island was divided into a Turkish Cypriot state in the north and a Greek Cypriot administration in the south after a 1974 unification attempt by the Greek Cypriots with Greece, which was followed by Turkey's intervention in the island as a guarantor power. 

Turkey, Greece, and the U.K. were assigned as the three...