The mines are gone but where’s the checkpoint?

THE TURKISH side said yesterday it had completed de-mining on its side in relation to the opening of the Zodia crossing point but that infrastructural work would not be completed until the end of May.

Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, a spokesman for the Turkish Cypriot ‘Transport Ministry’ said: ‘We have finished our preparations and the mines have been cleared.”

The spokesman said the next step was to put out tenders for the necessary infrastructural work so that the crossing point could be opened.

“As far as we know the Greek Cypriot side has similar things to do but we should be ready by the end of May,” the spokesman said.

At the same time yesterday Defence Minister Koullis Mavronikolas said there was no goodwill on the part of the Turkish side for the de-mining project.

He said the Greek Cypriot side had completed the clearing on its side and that the remaining areas earmarked for de-mining would continue to go ahead, starting with the end of Ledra Street, another area marked as a potential crossing point, and after that Dherynia, in the Famagusta district and Pyrgos on the island’s north west.

“Our aim is not solely to make our own de-mining, but our aim was and remains to contribute so that and the occupation army launch its de-mining campaign. Unfortunately, until now there is no good will on behalf of the occupation troops for the completion of the de-mining of the cease-fire line,” Mavronikolas said.

“We will at the same time request the opening of crossing points in these areas.”
Sources close to the process said yesterday that neither side has yet fixed a date for the opening of Zodia. They said it was not just a matter of de-mining as the stretch of road that needed to be prepared was around two kilometres long compared to 200-300 metres at the Ayios Dhometios checkpoint, and would take longer to put the infrastructure in place.

The UNDP Partnership for the Future De-mining Project announced completion of the mine clearance in Zodia on Wednesday. The EU-funded project cost a total 2.5 million euro.

Mine clearance the first step for the opening of new crossing points. The aim is to contribute to free movement of persons and goods across the island in support of the EU Green Line policy. The EU has funded the mine clearance as a means to contribute to the process of reconciliation on the island

Since the launch in November the programme has cleared over 100,000m² and disposed more than 1,300 mines found in the Zodia, Kaimakli and Nicosia areas.

In the coming months the de-mining programme intends to begin mine clearance operations in the areas of Ledra Street, Dherynia, Kaimakli, Kato Pyrgos, Kokkinokremmos and Lefka.
The necessary European legislation to open both Zodia and Ledra Street is already in place.

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.