Long queues in the sun as Greek Cypriots cross north over holiday weekend

THOUSANDS of Greek Cypriots crossed the Green Line to the occupied areas over the Kataclysmos holiday weekend, police said yesterday.

Almost 9,500 Greek Cypriots visited the north on Sunday, while 5,551 Turkish Cypriots had crossed from the four Green Line checkpoints of Pergamos, Strovilia, Ledra Palace and Ayios Dhometios by midnight.

By midday yesterday, 820 Turkish Cypriots had travelled to the south, mostly via the pedestrian checkpoint at the Ledra Palace in Nicosia, while 3,942 Greek Cypriots had made the journey to the occupied areas.

By 4pm, about 3,500 Greek Cypriots had crossed to the north via the Ayios Dhometios checkpoint alone — open only to cars — with delays occurring due to the volume of traffic waiting to cross the dividing line.

A police officer at the checkpoint told the Cyprus Mail the holiday period had led to an increased number of cars travelling to the north, as waiting times approached one and a half hours. “You can expect to wait in queue between an hour and an hour and a half,” he said.

With temperatures reaching the high thirties this weekend, the wait has been uncomfortable.

“Most people bring water to drink with them, as they wait, but some go to nearby kiosks and get some. Although, we will provide water for anyone who asks for it,” the officer added.

He stressed that apart from the discomfort of waiting in the hot sun, crossings were running smoothly. Scenes at the checkpoint yesterday were only vaguely reminiscent of the crossing chaos witnessed at checkpoints in the first few weeks following the lifting of the barriers in April, when thousands of Greek Cypriots waited in their cars for over 24 hours to access the north.

More than 280,000 people, equivalent to 35 per cent of Cyprus’ total population, crossed the Green Line in the 14 days after Turkish Cypriot authorities eased restrictions on freedom of movement on April 23 for the first time in 29 years.