Greenpeace anger at broken promises on Akamas

HOUSE President Spyros Kyprianou broke his promise to discuss the Akamas issue in Parliament before the summer recess, according to the Mediterranean arm of Greenpeace.

In a written statement, Greenpeace said it wanted to protect the Akamas from property owners seeking to destroy the natural environment and turn “the area over to wholesale tourism.”

“The protection of the Akamas and its precious environment is something politicians have been avoiding for the last decade,” said Dr. Mario Damato, executive director of Greenpeace Mediterranean in Cyprus.

He added that the Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment, Costas Themistocleous, had also assured him the Akamas debate would take place before the summer break.

The House broke up for its summer recess yesterday. “We see the issue has remained static,” said Damato.

At least six hotel applications in the Akamas are awaiting approval while illegal constructions are ignored, according to Greenpeace.

The environmental organisation also said the Akamas was of “international importance” because of its wildlife. The Green Turtle, for instance, uses the area’s beaches as a nesting site.

This turtle has a maximum of 275 nesting females breeding in the Mediterranean today and is in danger of extinction.

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.