Turks say ready to open Ledra Street

THE Turkish Cypriot side said yesterday it was ready to open the Ledra Street crossing point and was just waiting for the Greek Cypriot side’s approval.

Hasan Ercak?ca, spokesman for Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, said the crossing was ready to be opened immediately.

“We have done everything. Everything is finished. There is only removal of the barrier and the officers are placed,” he said.

Ercak?ca did not specify, however, what the Turkish Cypriot side had agreed to in terms of opening the controversial crossing.

President Tassos Papadopoulos said on Tuesday the Ledra Street crossing would not open as long as there were Turkish troops in the area.

Earlier this month, the government proposed accepting the UN map of the ceasefire line in the area, because both sides have differing views on its delineation. The Turkish Cypriot side called that move a political trick.

Talat said recently he was in favour of pulling back troops but that some soldiers would have to remain in the area. However, Papadopoulos says the issue is one between Cyprus and Turkey. He said the issue was in the hands of the UN.

Sources close to the issue said yesterday that nothing has actually yet been agreed between the sides, and that they were simply “playing pass the parcel”.

“The issue is far from being sorted out,” said the source, who said each side had its own proposals on how it should be done.

“The Greek Cypriot side has handed it over to the UN. Neither side is against the prospect of opening the crossing so in that sense there is a case for optimism but it’s far from being a done deal.”

The Ledra Street issue has also become part of the election wrangling.
Yesterday, AKEL candidate Demetris Christofias accused Papadopoulos of an about-face over the crossing.

He said that initially Papadopoulos was demanding the status quo in the area be returned to 1963 levels, but was now ready to accept the solutions of the UN.

Independent candidate Costas Themostocleous yesterday accused Papadopoulos of not wanting the crossing point opened at all, saying there was a “political unwillingness” to do so.

“The effort by the government to place new terms for the opening of the crossing is the real reason why it’s not opening,” he said.

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