Controversial Cyprus crossing to open next week

— Ledra street

bridge to be lifted on Thursday

 

Turkish Cypriots halted demolition work on the controversial pedestrian bridge within the buffer zone at the end of

Ledra Street

late Friday because of the Kumran Bayram (Eid El Fitr) Moslem holiday.

The Cyprus News Agency reported that demolition work started in the morning but stopped in the afternoon and will resume next Thursday.

The Turkish Cypriot authority’s decision to dismantle the bridge was hailed by the Greek Cypriot politicians, as well as the newly elected mayor of Nicosia, former communist AKEL MP Eleni Mavrou.

Then-mayor Michael Zampelas had said that the Greek Cypriot side would be ready with its part of the bargain “within 24 hours” if the Turks kept their promise and abandoned all work on new military installations.

No progress was reported for a year until Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat surprised everybody with his declaration on Thursday of the intention to remove the controversial pedestrian bridge and open a crossing point.

The Greek Cypriots want a further crossing point to open at Limnitis.

President Tassos Papadopoulos said that the bridge, erected a year ago by the Turkish Cypriots to allow free movement of Turkish armed forces patrols along the occupied part of the dividing ‘green line’ was an obstacle that had to be removed if the other side’s intentions were to be taken seriously. He added that the Greek Cypriot army could take down the wall and observation point and that Cyprus police would set up checkpoints to prevent the unwarranted crossing from the north of Turkish settlers, considered as ‘illegals’ by the Cyprus government.

Papadopoulos added that maintenance work would have to get underway on a number of dangerous dilapidated and abandoned buildings along the rest of

Ledra Street

.

The British High Commission was quick to welcome the Turkish Cypriot plans saying progress “would be in the sprit of this month’s Security Council resolution and a fitting way to see in the New Year. We hope it will be followed by other practical steps leading to an open crossing point and fresh momentum in the search for a comprehensive settlement.”