‘Enosis’ referendum already discussed in schools across Cyprus

Schools already make reference to the ‘enosis referendum’, Education Minister Costas Kadis has said on Tuesday.

Answering questions of the press, Kadis said that the unofficial referendum held in 1950 is already referenced as a historical fact in schools.

He added that the historical reference to the referendum is covered during education on April 1, which references the EOKA struggle of 1955-1959, and during the independence of the Republic of Cyprus in October.

At a vote in parliament on Friday, MPs passed into law an amendment to make official reference to the ‘enosis referendum’ in schools, which incited harsh criticism from the occupied areas.

On Monday, Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci requested that the UN Secretary General Special Adviser Espen Barth Eide intervene on the issue of the bill, and request that President Nicos Anastasiades not sign it into law.

However, the law does not need to be signed by the President, as it was passed into law by the parliament and already published in the official gazette of the Republic, Radio Proto reported.

In addition to a request that Eide intervene, the Turkish Cypriot side also requested a meeting of the Greek Cypriot negotiator and Turkish Cypriot negotiator not be held on Tuesday.

President Anastasiades responded in a written to Akinci on Monday, following the Turkish Cypriot leader’s statements, noting that noting that there are also sensitive issues that are celebrated in the occupied areas, including the celebrations held on July 20, which marks the day of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, and the ceremonies held in November to celebrate the unilateral declaration of independence in the occupied areas.

The President said the celebrations “in essence, embodies nothing but the pursuit of the secession of the partition of Cyprus.”

Eide is expected to arrive in Cyprus on Wednesday, a day before a scheduled Anastasiades-Akinci meeting.