POTATO growers are threatening to spread their action, blockading Paphos airport and moving on the capital, in support of farmers from the ‘red earth’ villages of the Famagusta district blocking the Larnaca-Ayia Napa motorway for the past week.
The leader of the read earth villages Potato Growers’ Union, Nicos Vasilas, yesterday told the Cyprus Mail that the potato growers would decide today if and when colleagues from Paphos and Nicosia would hold their demonstrations.
He added: “the potato growers from Paphos would most likely block the road leading to Paphos International Airport”. He added he was not sure what measures the Nicosia district potato growers would take and that their measures were up to them. Sources from Nicosia, however, have suggested that they could take their protest to the Presidential Palace.
What little hope there was of the potato growers standing down their measures was quickly dashed yesterday morning when House Agriculture Committee member Giorgos Hadjigeorgiou of AKEL said his committee never intended to mediate in the standoff between the potato growers and the government.
Potato growers’ representatives had said they had received an announcement from the House Agriculture Committee stating that they would be willing to mediate.
But Hadjigeorgiou told state radio yesterday that people had misinterpreted the meaning of the announcement.
“Last Thursday, the House Agriculture Committee held a meeting and discussed the demonstrations. We then decided unanimously that we should call on the potato growers to end their demonstrations while we also called on the government and the potato growers to sit down and talk. We added that our position would be aimed at achieving those two goals.
“We believe that the best climate for talks and the best climate for us to intervene on the matter is only if the potato growers pull back from the measures they are taking. This is not on order, this is just a friendly request to the potato growers.”
The AKEL deputy insisted his committee had at no time said that they would step in and mediate in the dispute.
Hadjigeorgiou’s comments infuriated the Chairman of the Pancyprian Potato Growers’ Association, Andreas Karios, who accused the AKEL deputy of not properly explaining the announcement they had received.
“Now the House Agriculture Committee is going on back on what they stated and telling us that we have to do this and we have to do that.
“That isn’t right. We have our dignity and we will not allow anybody to fool us.”
Earlier, Karios had told the Cyprus Mail that they had put further measures on hold in view of the expected mediation.
“We called on the potato growers of Paphos and Nicosia to demonstrate whilst we also called on our wives to arrive here today in greater numbers to support us. We have put all those matters on hold as we wait for a response.
“We are still waiting and we will decide tonight how we can get the potato growers from Paphos and Nicosia to help us out. There is a possibility that they will hold demonstrations in their own town but it all depends on what we decide late tonight.”
Agriculture Minister Timis Efthymiou said yesterday his Ministry would not back down from its stance that talks could only take place if the farmers called off their action.
“We are ready to start a discussion with the potato growers based on the plan that we already submitted to them and nothing else. There is no point for a discussion on damages and for incentives for them to leave their profession.”
