DE-MINING of the island’s 180km buffer zone by the National Guard and UN-commissioned experts is due to begin today, Government Spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides said yesterday.
Speaking at a news conference with officials from the National Guard, UNFICYP chief of Mission Zbigniew Wlosowicz and EU delegation head Adriaan van der Meer, Chrysostomides said the government, in the absence of a positive response from the Turkish side, had decided to go ahead unilaterally and remove its own minefields.
He said mines from 27 fields would be removed in the areas of Kaimakli in Nicosia, Pyrgos Tyllirias on the island’s north-west, Dhenia in the Nicosia district and at the Nicosia airport. A suspected site at the end of Ermou Street in the city centre will also be checked, the spokesman said.
A total of 2,300 anti-tank and anti-personnel mines are to be removed and the process will take around a year following a daily 8-9 hour schedule.
“In April 2002, UNFICYP informed the government of Cyprus of the negative response of the Turkish side to co-operate in this respect,” said Chrysostomides. “However the government of Cyprus indicated its willingness to proceed unilaterally with the clearing of the National Guard’s minefields within the buffer zone with the co-operation of UNFICYP,” said Chrysostomides.
The UN has selected two British companies who will conduct the mine clearance and UNFICYP has set up the necessary structure for the implementation of the project, which is being funded by the EU.
The funding is part of a package of 5 million euros to be disbursed by the European Commission over the next two years under the ‘Partnership for the Future’ project.
“Without the EU’s financial support it would not have been possible to implement this programme,” the spokesman said, adding that the government had decided to go ahead with the programme despite the fact that the island was still under occupation.
“We expect that Turkey will respond positively to the provisions of the UN resolutions and in line with its international obligations emanating from the Ottawa Convention and will agree to UNFICYP’s proposal for the clearance of the minefields laid by the Turkish forces in the buffer zone,” Chrysostomides said.
He said the government was co-operating with UNFICYP to take all necessary measures to eliminate any risk of injury or damage. A public information campaign will also be carried out throughout the project.
