Decision details

The motion in the name of councillor Lisa Rutter was put to the vote.

The motion was unanimously agreed.

RESOLVED that:

Barnet has a large Greek and Turkish Cypriot community. Many of these residents are refugees or descendants of refugees from the illegal invasion and occupation of northern Cyprus in 1974.

As these residents’ elected representatives, in a borough twinned with the occupied town of Morphou, Council believes we all have a vested interest in the Cypriot peace process. Presently, many Barnet residents from both communities are unable to return to their ancestral homes, which remains a source of considerable distress.

On 17th July the United Nations Security Council urged all sides to resume talks on a settlement for the island “towards a bizonal, bicommunal, federal solution" and sent an envoy of the Secretary-General to meet leaders last week.

Council supports these efforts and joins MPs and Peers in calling for the reunification of Cyprus through a just and viable settlement, including the removal of Turkish troops, in the interests of all displaced Cypriots in Cyprus, Barnet and around the world.