Government any problem with UNFICYP over alleged Tylliria crossing

THE issue of UNFICYP allegedly helping “dozens” of Turkish Cypriots to cross the ceasefire line at an unauthorised point in the north-east of the island was considered closed, the government said yesterday.

It all started when Simerini newspaper claimed that on Sunday UNFICYP had allowed dozens of Turkish Cypriots to visit the government-controlled areas through an unauthorised point in the buffer zone in the Tylliria area.

The daily alleged that the Turkish Cypriots were visiting the Turkish Cypriot village of Selemani, which had been abandoned since the intercommunal strife of 1964.

The newspaper alleged that they had been accompanied by UNFICYP troops and were spotted by police officers responding to a fire in the area.

On Monday, UNFICYP, who stressed that Simerini had never contacted them for a comment, dismissed the report as completely inaccurate.

“The Simerini article is totally inaccurate,” an UNFICYP spokesman told the Cyprus Mail.
But yesterday the daily insisted and even said that the government was annoyed and was planning to lodge an official complaint with the UN.

Government Spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides had “condemned the UN action and described it as unacceptable”, Simerini claimed.

The spokesman said there was an ongoing investigation into the matter and when it was complete “it would be handed over to the foreign ministry for the necessary representations.”

But yesterday Chrysostomides told the Cyprus Mail that the investigation showed there was no problem and that he had been misquoted by Simerini.

“The police looked into the issue and the matter is now closed,” the spokesman said.
He said that the Turkish Cypriots found by the police were two families who had permission to cultivate their fields in the area.

Chrysostomides added that there was no reason to pursue the issue any further.

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.