Four-metre Ledra Palace barrier by Christmas

By Charlie Charalambous

A HUGE four-metre barrier will be erected at the Ledra Palace checkpoint to control the daily flow of traffic as well as demonstrations, the Cyprus Mail has learned.

Construction on the four-metre automatic fence has already begun and is expected to be completed before Christmas, police sources told the Mail yesterday.

“We have considered putting up an electronic gate for the past three months so as better to control those who are moving in and out of the Ledra Palace checkpoint, going to and from the occupied areas,” a police source said.

According to the same source, the electronic gate will be in operation before Christmas and will cost of £7,500 to erect.

One of the reasons for constructing the barrier is to provide more effective crowd control for the frequent demonstrations that take place at the checkpoint, but the gate will also be used to check the daily flow to and from the occupied areas.

UN spokesman Waldemar Rokoszewski said yesterday he was not aware of the construction, but added: “If it is a structure which will facilitate the freedom of movement of UN personnel and diplomats and contain demonstrations, then I welcome it.”

The UN had in the past complained about the “disorderly” demonstrations led by independent deputy Marios Matsakis to dissuade tourists from crossing over into the north.

The spokesman said he would reserve further comment until he viewed the structure at first-hand.

Matsakis for his part said he had in fact long called for such a barrier to stop criminals from escaping to the north.

He also said that police procedures at the checkpoint were a “disgrace” and that a solid gate would improve security procedures there.

“It’s either a police checkpoint or it isn’t; if it was a boy scout checkpoint, then it would be different,” Matsakis told the Cyprus Mail.

He added that “police should have full authority and a proper gate with a 24-hour guard to stop people passing through without checks.”

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.