POLICE presence will be stepped up in Limassol’s Turkish Cypriot quarter, the Interior Minister said yesterday.
The decision comes in the wake of complaints from Greek Cypriot refugees living in the area that Turkish Cypriot gypsies are creating problems to the point where residents are afraid to go out at night.
Yesterday, Christodoulos Christodoulou pledged an increased police presence in the area aimed at keeping law and order.
“Police will make their presence in the Turkish Cypriot quarter more intense and annoying, in the good sense of the word,” Christodoulou said after a meeting held to discuss the problems raised by the residents.
“It seems that gypsies make too much noise in the middle of the night, some relieve themselves in public, drive without licences, and some do not co-operate concerning their medical examinations,” he said.
He added: “This cannot continue because the state will make its presence felt.”
The minister said that if the gypsies wanted to be – and were — welcome to live in the Republic’s free areas they should respect the laws of the state and the rights of other citizens.
Christodoulou said that despite increased police patrols in the area, the Limassol police director had been given instructions to turn up the heat and cut no slack.
Limassol Police Director Theodoros Stylianou said: “We will do everything possible to enforce law and order in the town and district of Limassol.
“The minister was clear on his instructions, which we will follow,” Stylianou added.
Christodoulou said several plots of land would be leased to the municipality and turned into parks, parking lots, and open areas as a step to upgrade the environment and the quality of life.
Limassol Mayor Demetris Kontides said the situation in the area would definitely be improved.
Around 278 gypsies currently live in the area along with over 2,000 Greek Cypriot refugees. The total number of gypsies in the free areas is 465.
“It is not a terrible number but the problem is created because their bulk is concentrated in one place and they do not comply with the basic rules of hygiene and social behaviour,” Christodoulou said.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
