Speaker, this month I joined over two thousand Victorians who gathered at Federation Square in Melbourne to stand together in solidarity for justice, peace and unity in Cyprus.
Hundreds travelled from my electorate, where Cypriots and Greeks are strongly represented.
The occasion marked 50 years since the military invasion of Cyprus by Turkey which resulted in over 170,000 Greek-Cypriots forced out of their villages and ongoing occupation of 37% of the island.
Since 1974, a standing Turkish army has remained and systematic resettlement has changed the island’s demographics in direct contravention of the Geneva Conventions.
Once blended communities are now separated by a UN buffer zone, including through the capital Nicosia.
The pain of mass displacement, loss of loved ones, and erasure of whole village communities and ways of life going back thousands of years, has left a constant yearning for justice that has not dimmed half a century later.
Greek-Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots have a shared history and unique identities, evolving and enduring together, with fates interconnected and deeply rooted in the island.
The vast majority want reunification.
It was moving to have Labor MPs from the Victorian and Australian governments, as well as Liberal Party state and federal MPs, stand up to speak in support of justice for Cyprus.
All emphasised the bipartisan, principled and enduring position held by Australia in support of a whole and sovereign Republic of Cyprus and not recognising the occupying regime in the north.
Fifty years on, progress will take all sides showing empathy and humanity – and standing against divisive forces that seek permanent annexation.
The soul of Cyprus is strong – and I will keep fighting for it to be free and whole.
