ONE of the gypsies who crossed to the free areas in the latest influx from the north has been arrested and will be deported, after police confirmed his identity as a Turkish national, Interior Minister Christodoulos Christodoulou said yesterday.
“With some reservation, I can tell you that one of the Turkish Cypriots who arrived here as a Turkish Cypriot has been found to be a Turkish Turk,” he said.
Several dozen gypsies have crossed from the occupied areas in the last month. While the government said it would welcome all who could prove they were Cypriot, it warned it would deport any who were not.
Christodoulou went on to say that a holding centre for Turkish Cypriot gypsies would be set up somewhere between Nicosia and Larnaca, at least three kilometres away from any built up area, to avoid any problems from local residents.
“I will not reveal the place just yet, because of prejudice, which, given that it’s three kilometres away from any houses, is not justified,” Christodoulou said.
The arrival of the gypsies has caused discomfort among certain residents of the Paphos area, where many have so far been sent.
A plan to set up a holding centre to in Kotsiatis near Nicosia had to be abandoned last week after protests from angry residents.
Justice Minister Nicos Koshis raised security concerns last week by announcing that Turkish spies could be hidden among those drifting in from the north in search of a better life.
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.
