Eleni Mavrou, the newly elected Mayor of Nicosia who hails from the communist party AKEL, said that she would enhance the collaboration with the Turkish Cypriots in order to promote projects for the improvement of the quality of life for both communities.
In an interview with the Cyprus News Agency, Mavrou said her priorities include the resolution of the city’s problems, such as traffic, the revival of the old city and the promotion of projects of common interest for the Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
Mavrou welcomed the fact that the Turkish Cypriot community viewed her election as a positive development.
“If my election has contributed to the creation of any mobility regarding the opening up of the Ledra street crossing point, or any other issue, and has given a sense of optimism among the two communities of Cyprus, this is of particular importance to me”, she said.
The mayor of the last divided capital of
There are presently five crossing points along the 180-kilometre dividing line that were opened after the Turkish forces relaxed controls at check points in April 2003 and allowed civilians to cross to each others’ side for the first time since the invasion in 1974.
One of the main priorities for both communities should be the construction of the new sewerage plant at Mia Milia, northeast of
Mavrou also referred to the announcement by the Turkish Cypriot leadership to demolish a footbridge, built last year by the Turkish military in the northern end of the UN-controlled buffer zone in
crossing point.
“We will see as time passes by if it is merely a communication trick, but to my view, if it is not, then this is a positive step”, she said.
As regards her priorities, Mavrou said that “the projects we have in mind need time and planning. We will begin with the aim to cover every year a part of the capital’s needs that concern either the construction of pavements, sewers, or other projects in order to cover, within a five-year period, the most important part of the needs in Nicosia”, she said.
Other issues of priority are to address traffic problems, the improvement of Eleftheria Square in Nicosia, for which her predecessor had announced that work would begin in 2007, while the Municipality’s offices should be transferred to the old town within the Venetian walls, thus giving the message that we have not abandoned that area of the capital, a “move that would constitute a step towards the revival of the area”, she said.
The location of the new Town Hall is already controversial as plans suggest the building to go up on top of a Venetian-era settlement discovered a few years ago.
Mavrou was backed by the ruling coalition of the communist AKEL, the Democratic Party DIKO controlled by President Tassos Papadopoulos and the smaller Social Democratic party EDEK.
However, she garnered only a third of the votes in the December 17 municipal elections a few percentage points ahead of her main rival Anna Marangou supported by the opposition DISY party.
Mavrou reportedly did not fare well as she upset members of the coalition DIKO by supporting the UN “Annan Plan” for a
