THE leaders of the four communities of the Akamas peninsula yesterday decided to hold a 48-hour hunger strike outside the Presidential Palace as a protest against the government’s apparent unwillingness to allow development in the area.
The decision was taken following a meeting between the mukhtars of Inia, Latsi, Polis, and Neo Chorio and the ministers of interior and agriculture as well as other government officials and deputies.
Inia mukchtar Sophocles Pittokopitis charged that the communities had been messed around with by respective governments for the past 16 years.
“We can’t take it any more.
“The Republic of Cyprus has ruined us,” Pittokopitis said.
Though they had threatened action before, the leader of Inia said the hunger strike had not been planned.
It had been the result of the disappointment they felt during the meeting that made them decide to strike, he said.
The communities want to be allowed to develop the land they have around the peninsula and have proposed that the protected area should be limited to the boundaries of the state forest.
“Mild development should be allowed beyond that,” Pittokopitis said.
Interior Minister Andreas Christou said that doing the right thing meant having those who were satisfied and those who were not and suggested that protests at this point were unnecessary.
“The Akamas issue concerns both the residents of the area and the whole of Cyprus.
“I have again stressed today that any conclusion would be a compromise, which should take into consideration the interests of the residents and the serious environmental problems stemming from the peninsula’s affair, that are not limited to Cyprus alone but are a matter of broader importance for the whole European Union,” Christou said.
The minister promised the government’s plan would be generous for the area’s residents and pioneering regarding development plans in the country.
No decisions could have been taken during the meeting, Christou said.
He added that a conclusion on the issue was expected inside the year.
Pittokopitis said a fresh meeting was scheduled for June 15.
After the strike the mukhtars plan to brief their communities and decide on further measures.
The Akamas Peninsula is an area of great ecological significance.
It is an outstanding natural habitat, home to 530 different plant species.
