THE UN said yesterday that any Ledra crossing construction work undertaken by the Turkish Cypriot side was outside of the buffer zone. The statement, which stands in stark contrast to yesterday’s claims by the Cyprus government, provoked a strong response from the President, who accused the UN of changing its official stance.
The UN statement came at the same time that top government officials were publicly denouncing the Turkish Cypriot side for encroaching into the buffer zone and constructing a short overpass bridge there.
On Monday, the Government Spokesman announced that they would not open the crossing as things stand.
UN Spokesman Brian Kelly told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that “the construction work is in our view outside of the cease-fire line; it’s on the other side of the buffer zone.”
Speaking from Dublin yesterday, the President said that the government was “clear” on its position: “Unless they stop their construction in the buffer zone and restore the Green Line to its previous state then we will not give our consent for the opening of the Green Line.”
The President took a dig at the United Nations after the UN Spokesman told the Cyprus News Agency that the Turkish Cypriot construction appeared to have taken place outside of the buffer zone.
Kelly told CNA that it was “being discussed with our people” whether or not Turkish forces encroached in the buffer zone, but then added that “the construction that was undertaken unilaterally from the authorities in the north was, in our opinion, outside of the buffer zone.”
Papadopoulos said that the Turkish army had repeatedly, as in the case of Strovilia and Louroujina, tried to encroach into the buffer zone and that the Cyprus government had reported their actions to the UN.
“It now appears that either because they [the UN] are unable to prevent the violations or because they are trying to avoid any stance, they are now stating it is not a violation of the dead zone,” Papadopoulos said.
“For us it is, and we maintain this position.”
Papadopoulos also suggested that the UN had previously confirmed there was a violation but then excused it because of its longstanding nature.
“The United Nations had initially admitted that there was a violation, but the excuse was that this had been going on for quite some time,” Papadopoulos said, adding that it only continued “because it was tolerated by the UN. The violation was not legalised with the passage of time.”
The UN position supports the recent statements by the deputy mayor of Nicosia’s Turkish municipality, Semavi Asik, who denies any wrongdoing in the buffer zone and claims that the bridge “does not enter the buffer zone at any point”.
