THE INTERIOR Minister will meet with members of the Lymbia village Council tomorrow to discuss the proposed construction of the waste disposal plant for the Larnaca-Famagusta area.
This new development in the ongoing dispute between Lymbia residents and the Interior Ministry comes as some 1,000 people attended Sunday’s five-minute highway blockade, which passed off without any disturbances.
“The demonstration went extremely well. We had more than 1,000 people involved, we blocked the Nicosia-Larnaca highway for five minutes and then traffic was diverted through the roundabout, where we handed them information leaflets that stated our reasons for disapproving the plant,” head of the Lymbia community Sophocles Savva told the Mail yesterday.
Police were under scrutiny on Sunday after they were accused of excessive force last Thursday, when they clashed with protesters who attempted to block off access to the site where the waste disposal plant will be built. During the scuffles, 13 people, including eight policemen, were injured, and another 12 were arrested.
“Sunday’s protest was extremely peaceful, there were absolutely no problems. I must actually congratulate the police on their work, we managed to co-operate well and everything was fine,” Savva said.
Interior Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis has invited the Lymbia village Council to meet him on Wednesday as well as postponing construction works on the site for one week.
Savva, however, was adamant that the Lymbia community would not back down in its attempts to have the plant relocated.
“Everyone understands that we have different viewpoints on the matter and that is what discussions are for. We will be looking forward to negotiations with the minister on this issue,” he added.
Sylikiotis said last week there was no way the waste disposal plant would be moved, due to the risk of losing a 30 million euro EU grant.
“There is no chance that the site of the plant can be moved, as we run the risk of losing the money given to us by the European Union. Therefore, I cannot make a decision like this, which would result in the Cypriot government losing money, something that would then affect the taxpayer,” he said.
Villagers say the waste disposal site, which would cater for the whole Larnaca-Famagusta area, would have a disastrous effect on the expansion potential of the community. They are also furious after the initial site of the plant was moved from Athienou to Lymbia under pressure from the Athienou community. This decision was taken by the government despite a report into the construction of the plant pointing to the area between Athienou and the village of Aradippou as the ideal location for the waste disposal plant.
