CYPRUS has launched an advertising war with a Lebanese tour operator who was promoting ferry services to the north from Tripoli via Latakia in Syria.
Dr Kyriacos Kouros, Charge d’affairs at the Cypriot Embassy said yesterday: “Advertised and recently launched ferry services between Famagusta port in the Turkish-occupied areas of Cyprus and Lebanese port city of Tripoli through the Latakia route are considered illegal”
He added: “This line has been terminated and no longer exists. The Lebanese will not accept (a boat from the occupied areas).”
Next to newspaper adverts saying “North Cyprus: Closer than you think!” the Cypriot embassy had placed notices saying “Direct visits to northern occupied Cyprus are illegal. Penalties can be imposed.”
The contentious route was an extension of an existing, and illegal, route between occupied Famagusta port and Lattakia, run by the Ferry firm Akgunlar. It sought to reach Lebanon from the TRNC by docking at Latakia in Syria.
Akgunler had approached a Lebanese tour operator, Sami Sassine, to market the service from Tripoli to Famagusta. Sassine, who owns Prime Tours, said yesterday “I accepted the proposal for commercial reasons. Do you think if I hadn’t, then there would not be 1000 people prepared to accept within an hour?”
He said that from his perspective this was a purely commercial decision. However, shortly after placing his ads, the Cypriot embassy placed adjacent advertisements condemning the illegality of the service.
The season, and ferry service has now ended, though Akgunler still advertises a weekly service to Latakia on its website. This is in spite last month’s agreement between President Demetri Christofias and his Syrian counterpart, Bashar Al-Assad, to allow officials to tackle the legal issue on a technical level.
Legalities aside, the venture was a failure financially. In the four weeks the 300 berth boat ran, the most passengers that it took in one journey were four. At €125 per seat, most holiday makers are about as well off flying, which only takes 25 minutes. Sassine puts the low number of passengers down to the timing of the service, rather than political pressure. The holiday season had ended, and the first ships ran during the 3rd week of Ramadan, when fewer people travel.
Considering the unusual timing and cost of the venture, some have speculated that starting this service was a political move by the Turkish government to reassert the ‘TRNC’s’ status. One source within the Cypriot foreign ministry even speculated about Turkish funding to keep it afloat. Serdar Kilic, Turkish Ambassador to Lebanon refuted this claim however. “There are no political connotations to this. The reason was to contribute to the economy of Tripoli.”
Sassine maintains that this is a viable route. “If the ship runs in the spring season, then maybe 3,000 or 4,000 might use the service.”
It is unclear whether or not this will happen. It largely depends on whether Syria allows access to the ‘TRNC’, because it is not illegal for anyone to make a journey from Lebanon to Syria, where they can change boats.
