Akel barred from crossing north

TURKISH Cypriot authorities on Sunday stopped an Akel party delegation from crossing to the north to attend a conference of the Turkish Cypriot Patriotic Union Movement (PUM).

In a statement, Akel said the Turkish Cypriot authorities had barred the small delegation, led by party general-secretary Demetris Christofias, because they refused to have their identities checked.

Christofias said the incident showed the “true face” of the occupation regime. He pledged, however, to continue working for rapprochement and for contacts between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities.

Christofias also conveyed PUM’s disappointment at the incident. He had been due to deliver a speech at the conference, which he instead handed over to be delivered to the organisation.

Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash imposed a ban on bi-communal activities in December 1997 in response to the decision by the EU Luxembourg summit to forge ahead with Cyprus’ application for membership, while rejecting that of Turkey.

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.