AS MORE fires threatened the island’s primary national park yesterday, opposing parties were quick to point the finger at each other.
Swift action by fire services and increased security measures in the area meant that only 10 square metres of the Akamas park were affected but the Forestry Department has warned any further blazes could be much worse.
According to the Forestry Department, the characteristics of yesterday’s fires were identical to last week’s, with small blazes being lit about 100 metres apart.
“We managed to minimise the damage but this is not the point. What we want is for these people to stop lighting the fires in the first place. There is always the possibility that one of the fires could spread, especially on a windy day,” Head of the Department Aristos Ioannou said yesterday.
Inia village residents yesterday denied responsibility for the latest fires, as the squabbling between the government and the community over the issue dragged on.
The Akamas area villagers were accused of having lit the four fires on Sunday that destroyed nearly one hectare of the forest, with suggestions that this was their way of protesting at the proposed preservation plan presented to them two weeks ago.
With authorities yesterday confirming all the fires were arson attacks, Inia community leader Savvas Charalambous suggested other people were behind the fires – so as to put the community of Inia in a bad light.
“These incidents are provocation to the residents of Inia. Knowing the mentality of the villagers, they would never do something like this and they have not done so for 20 years,” he said.
“This is a smokescreen for the government to criticise us and say they are not negotiating with us because we are burning the forest. Who is to say that environmentalists who are opposed to the plan are not responsible for this?”
Charalambous was insistent that the evidence just did not add up.
“If there is anyone who thinks the residents of the village cannot burn down the entire forest if they want, then they are mistaken. Of course they can do this, but this is not the case.
“When half the forest burned down every year, who protected it? Was it the environmentalists, the government, the Forestry Department? The answer is no, it was the Inia residents,” he added.
A few hours before the fires, relevant authorities met in Paphos to discuss increasing security measures in the area, something that appears to have paid off according to Forestry Department Chief Aristos Ioannou.
“The fires’ destruction was kept to a minimum because two patrol vehicles were nearby and rushed to the scene. I cannot go into the details, but we have heightened security measures in the area regarding prevention of the fires spreading,” he told the Cyprus Mail.
The long overdue plan, aimed at putting an end to the debate over the most pristine region in Cyprus, includes a number of measures that will be introduced to harmonise Cyprus with EU directives regarding specific Natura 2000 sites as well as declaring the Akamas area a national park.
According to the plan, the villages in the area would not be allowed to expand towards the west of their communities. These include Kathikas, Arodes, Droussia and Neo Chorio as well as Inia, the village that will be the worst affected.
The Inia community had warned the government they “had ways to make them run” in response to the plan, while they have announced the first of what they describe as “drastic” measures in opposition to the scheme.
The residents plan to gather at the Paphos Central Police Station on Friday morning to protest the plan.
Agriculture Minsiter Photis Photiou confirmed that he would go ahead with his visit to the Akamas Peninsula to speak to the locals next Saturday, adding however that “while some minor changes can be discussed, the main philosophy of the plan will not change”.
The villages of Kathikas and Arodes will hold community meetings in the next few days to decide what measures they will be taking against the plan.
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