Upgrading the living conditions of the enclaved and the people resettling in the occupied villages is a key priority, the Head of Humanitarian Affairs for Missing Persons and the Enclaved, Anna Aristotelous, said on Tuesday in her meeting with the new Kormakitis Community Leader, Antonis Solomis.

According to an official announcement, Aristotelous congratulated Solomis on his election and informed him about actions taken in the context of the Governance Programme regarding the improvement of the quality and quantity of food sent to the enclaved persons – Greek Cypriots still living in the northern Turkish occupied areas – solving the serious problem of delays at the Agios Dometios crossing for pupils and elderly patients through the opening of a special lane, and the decision to start procedures for the purchase of two buses, to serve the needs of the pupils and elderly enclaved and people who have resettled in Maronite villages and in the Karpasia peninsula.

Aristotelous also informed the community leader
about the revision of the Resettlement Plan in order to provide additional incentives for staying and resettling in occupied villages, the extension of the home care allowance to elderly couples over 75 years old, as well as finding solutions to requests of the enclaved and resettled people, concerning problems faced in their daily lives, the ongoing effort to implement training courses and organise educational activities, among other things.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Turkey occupied 36,2 percent of the sovereign territory of the Republic and forcibly expelled about 180,000 Greek Cypriots from their homes. Another 20,000 Greek Cypriots, who had remained in the occupied areas, were also forced to eventually abandon their homes and seek refuge in the safety of the government controlled areas.

Source: Cyprus News Agency