North announces intention to build ‘unauthorised’ road through buffer zone

Unficyp said it was “concerned” by the north’s plans to carry out “unauthorised construction work” in the buffer zone, after the north’s ‘foreign ministry’ announced on Thursday afternoon that it will carry out “improvements” to the road between Arsos and the mixed village of Pyla.

The road runs through the buffer zone and is currently unused, with the only way to drive between the two villages currently being to drive through the British base in Dhekelia and the village of Pergamos.

Unficyp says it “has been engaging with both sides and made progress in fostering a mutually agreeable way forward in the Pyla area”.

They also called on the Turkish Cypriot side “to continue these [negotiation] efforts before construction work commences”, and added that they are “continuing to monitor the situation closely”.

In their own earlier announcement, the north’s ‘foreign ministry’ said the project had been prepared for “purely humanitarian reasons, to facilitate the transportation of our citizens living in the village of Pyla to TRNC territory”.

“Despite the constructive attitude of the Turkish Cypriot side regarding the road project, which has been going on for more than 25 years, and all the calls it has made for this purpose, steps have not been taking to facilitate the daily lives of our citizens in Pyla and our goodwill has not been reciprocated,” they said.

The ‘ministry’ then went on to list roads operated by the Republic which run through the buffer zone, including the road between Pyla and Oroklini, as well as the road between Larnaca and Ayia Napa, which passes over land owned by Turkish Cypriots.

In addition, they cited the expansion of the University of Central Lancashire campus into the buffer zone, and the construction of an open-air cinema in Dherynia as “proof the Greek Cypriot side’s violations of the buffer zone are not limited to road constructions”.

They added that “we expect the UN, which maintains its presence and activities on the island with the goodwill of the Turkish Cypriot side, to adopt a constructive and cooperative stance in this regard”.

The Cyprus Mail understands that the UN has the power to block the road for the construction workers if and when the project begins, but Unficyp cannot use force unless peacekeepers or UN property come under attack.