By Sofia Kannas
TELEPHONE CALLS to the occupied north and Turkey from the free areas have been possible since Friday May 2, Communications Minister Kikis Kazamias announced yesterday.
In an official statement, Kazamias said calls could now be made to the north and the Turkish mainland using the international dialing code for Turkey. He said the fact that people wanting to communicate with the north were required to use the Turkish dialing code proved that Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash was little more than Ankara’s “mouthpiece” in the occupied areas.
Regarding the improvement of telecommunications with the north, Kazamias said the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (CyTA) had already come into contact with two Turkish telecommunications companies which hold Turkish mobile phone licenses. He added that CyTA aimed at “the further improvement of mobile reception up to the Pentadaktylos Mountains, Morfou and Famagusta areas.”
The Minister revealed that efforts were being made with the collaboration of the United Nations to upgrade a UN-controlled telephone centre, which currently provides only 20 telephone lines.
“Our objective is to increase the number of telephone lines from 20 to 100, so that call costs (currently charged at international rates) can be reduced,” said Kazamias. He added that the UN had been asked to study the possibility of introducing CyTA landline networks, “in order to decrease fees from 20-22 cents a minute to 2-3 cents.”
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.
