Cyprus House President sends back Northern Cyprus leader's New Year presents

PanARMENIAN.Net - A political feud has broken out over the decision by Cyprus House President and DIKO party leader Marios Garoyian to send back a basket of presents sent to him by Northern Cyprus leader Mehmet Ali Talat for the New Year.



The action was criticized by the Turkish Cypriot press which called it an insult.



DIKO said that the reason he did so was because it wrote "President Mehmet Ali Talat" and "TRNC" on the card. That accepting a present does not mean recognition, Gibrahayer reports.



In 1974, following years of intercommunal violence between ethnic Greeks and Turks and an attempted coup d'etat by Greek Cypriot nationalists aimed at annexing the island to Greece and engineered by the military junta then in power in Athens, Turkey invaded and occupied one third of the island. This led to the displacement of thousands of Cypriots and the establishment of a separate Turkish Cypriot political entity in the north, recognized by Turkey only. This event and its resulting political situation are matters of ongoing dispute.