CYPRUS AND HANDS ACROSS THE DIVIDE

Early day motion 1556, tabled 8 July 2003 by Valerie Davey (Labour). Signed by 44 members.

That this House welcomes the new opportunities afforded by the partial lifting of restrictions at the Green Line which still divides the people of Cyprus; believes that this is not a substitute for a solution and could be made more people-friendly by changing the insistence by the Turkish Cypriot authorities that Greek Cypriots have to show passports to travel in their own country to see their own homes, a fact that is preventing many Greek Cypriots from visiting the north of Cyprus; notes that the Turkish Cypriots have to be back in the north by midnight and that the limited number of check points leads to huge delays especially at weekends; congratulates the Hands Across the Divide NGO, which has members from both communities, and supports their protest on 9th July against passport and 'Cinderella' restrictions; and looks forward to a political settlement which will not only normalise the relationships between Greek and Turkish Cypriots but allow the whole of Cyprus to enter the EU in May 2004.

Signatures by party: Labour 29, Liberal Democrat 8, Labour/Co-operative 3, Conservative 2, Plaid Cymru 1, UUP 1.