THE USUALLY sedate village of Mammari has become a source of anti-UN sentiment after UN peacekeepers prevented local villagers from picking wild asparagus from nearby fields.
Villagers are more than a little peeved that UN soldiers are preventing them from harvesting the traditional wild asparagus (aggrelia) from the fertile land.
The village lies in the buffer zone, though the UN has termed it a “civil use area” like Athienou and Pyla were residents are allowed to continue living there, so long as they don’t enter restricted areas, particularly near Turkish military outposts.
However, confusion reigns over what is and is not allowed in the village and its surrounding areas, leading the community leader to accuse UN soldiers of imposing the equivalent of a “curfew” on residents.
A number of residents were reportedly stopped by UN soldiers from picking the wild vegetable and told to drop their bags and leave immediately. One villager said he was humiliated and made to feel like a thief.
Another resident, Panayiotis Koumoulis, said this is not the first time the villagers come into conflict with over-zealous peacekeepers.
“They stopped me last year when I was picking wild asparagus. But it’s not only asparagus, my wife went to walk her dog some 500m from our house, and UN soldiers stopped her, asking what she was doing there,” said Koumoulis.
The area is monitored from the east by Argentinian UN peacekeepers while British soldiers are responsible for the western part.
“The Argentineans are much more relaxed. It’s the British that stop you. I went to drop stuff off at the rubbish dump and British soldiers stopped me and told me to leave,” he added.
Koumoulis noted that every so often, tensions rise between local residents and the UN force posted there. Once things got so tense, the Kokkinotrymithia police had to go to the village and diffuse the situation.
The village mukhtar, Nicos Kodjiapashis, has written to the government seeking an explanation for what was going on.
Kodjiapashis denied reports quoting him saying the situation was “explosive”, adding that he would not speak about the matter until he got a response from the government.
“What’s happening is we’re going out to cut wild asparagus and the UN comes, forces us to drop our bags and leave. It’s a proper curfew,” said Kodjiapashis.
The community leader said the problem boiled down to troop rotations. What happens “Every six months the troops change and the new guys come and try to show us who’s boss,” he said, adding that the problem seemed to come from the British contingent.
UNFICYP spokesman Jose Diaz said there was restricted access in many parts of the buffer zone for security reasons. It appears large quantities of the offending vegetable appear to be within those areas with restricted access.
“We have dozens of incidents every week of unauthorised entry into the buffer zone. We are looking into this specific incident as well and will speak to the soldiers to get a full account,” said Diaz.
Regarding access to the highly popular wild asparagus, he said: “The situation is examined constantly. You can make a request to enter the restricted area and this will be examined.”
Kodjiapashis rejected the notion of securing a pass, saying: “Who says we need a pass? I’m an EU citizen, and I’ve got my ID card to prove it. The farmers get passes just so the UN will leave them alone. The government tells us not to get passes.”
So, given the insatiable appetite for wild asparagus on the island, will the UN show some leeway or will the asparagus saga continue?
“The guidelines are to be as diplomatic, friendly and understanding as possible. We are guests in this country but it is still a buffer zone, separating two opposing forces. It’s not a normal part of Cyprus,” said the UN spokesman.
