THE CENTRAL Beaches Committee yesterday postponed its decision on granting a licence to the Anassa Hotel, run by the family of former Foreign Minister Alecos Michaelides, pending a visit to the luxury tourist complex.
Alecos Papaioannou, general-secretary of the Committee, told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that no final decision had been reached. “The matter will be given further consideration,” he said. “The Committee decided to visit the area possibly next week.”
The controversial luxury complex in the Akamas, which opened in 1998, has been the centre of a long-running battle between the Michaelides family and environmentalists, after the company, Thanos Hotels, was granted relaxations to build.
Environmentalists fear for the future of the endangered green turtle, which nests on the Asprokremmos beach in front of the Anassa.
The conditions under which the Anassa was allowed to go ahead included a prohibition on sunbeds, umbrellas and water sports on the beach in front of the hotel. The hotel was also obliged to add special lighting to ensure the turtles continued to use the beach, but has complied with none of the conditions. Government sources said last month that they had “done exactly the opposite”.
The conservation service of the Agriculture Ministry asked the Attorney-general’s office to give its opinion on whether the Berne Convention, which has been ratified by Cyprus, would allow the Central Beach Committee to approve the current set-up at the Anassa.
The resulting opinion issued last month states that Articles 4-6 of the convention oblige Cyprus to take all the necessary measures to protect and maintain the species listed in the agreement, plus their eco systems. The list includes the green turtle.
The government said the committee has no option but to take action on the Anassa and demand the sunbeds be removed.
But Papaioannou said that until a final decision was taken, the Anassa would be allowed to keep the sunbeds and umbrellas on the beach. “We will try to find some solution which will not affect the environment if at all possible,” he said.
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.
