Kifeas wrote:halil wrote: All going smoothly as crowds flock to Ledra Street
By Jean Christou
LEDRA Street was teeming with people yesterday as the public on both sides took advantage of the weekend to satisfy their curiosity after Thursday’s big opening of the crossing point.
According to reports, by noon 820 Greek Cypriots had crossed over to the north, along with over 700 non Cypriots. From the Turkish Cypriot side, more than 550 had crossed.
During a visit yesterday morning, Police Chief Iacovos Papcostas said there had not been any problem with the movement of so many people. “Everything is going smoothly,” he said, adding that increased movement was also expected today.
The Ledra crossing opened on Thursday but the event was marred 12 hours later when it was closed for two hours by the Greek Cypriot side after Turkish Cypriot police entered the buffer zone area of the crossing.
Details of what actually happened and who gave instructions to close the crossing were still sketchy yesterday.
Initially, reports said that President Demetris Christofias had ordered the closure, but the President was on a plane to London when it happened.
Reports from London said he was informed of the closure when he landed in the UK, but that would have been well after 10pm Cyprus time, and the crossing was closed some time between 8.30pm and 9pm.
On Friday, it emerged that House President and DIKO leader Marios Karoyan had ordered the closure.
As House President, Karoyan becomes Acting President of the Republic in Christofias’ absence. The order was executed by the Justice Minister and the police.
Turkish press speculated that Karoyan had ordered the closure without the permission of the President, and that was why Christofias had cut short his visit to the UK to return to Cyprus on Friday.
Government Spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said yesterday: “I know about the rumours and they are nonsense.”
Stefanou said Karoyan was just following the orders of the President, and that the two men had been in communication on the issue.
“Before he departed, President Christofias gave instructions that it was the position of the government – and made very clear to the UN and the other side – that any violation of the agreement for the opening of the crossing would result in closure,” Stefanou told the Sunday Mail.
Asked why the President felt the need to return if everything was being handled according to his instructions, Stefanou said: “He came back to safeguard the implementation of the agreement. It is the will of the government that Ledra be open and to use this positive step to move forwards. The closure of Ledra would be a negative development. We didn’t ask for excuses, we asked for the implementation of the agreement. The UN is fully responsible for the buffer zone and they have to act in this spirit. If there is a violation there will be a lack of trust.”
According to the agreement to open Ledra Street, neither Greek Cypriot nor Turkish Cypriot police are to enter the 80-metre stretch linking the two ends of the crossing point.
However on, the opening day, the Turkish Cypriot police violated the agreement three times. The first was prior to the opening, when eight officers stationed themselves on the corner of Kykkos Street, which bisects Ledra half way to the Turkish Cypriot checkpoint.
The second violation happened just after the opening ceremony when two Turkish Cypriot police officers escorted the Turkish Cypriot mayor all the way up to the Greek Cypriot police line when he was crossing for a coffee with Nicosia Mayor Eleni Mavrou.
The third violation in the evening was the one that led to the closure, for which the Turkish Cypriot side blamed the Greek Cypriots. A statement from the Turkish Cypriot Press and Information Office called it a surprise, and a provocation.
“The Lokmac? gateway was closed at around 8.30pm with the allegation that the buffer zone had been infringed by Turkish police, only to reopen again at 11pm through UN initiatives and intense Turkish diplomacy,” the statement said.
“It was later discovered that the short crisis which took place last night was a result of Greek Cypriot demonstrators carrying banners which infringed Turkish Cypriot controlled areas,” it added.
It said 20 Greek Cypriots crossed the Greek Cypriot barricade to the Turkish Cypriot line at 8.15pm carrying placards and shouting slogans. Turkish Cypriot police were authorised through the agreement with the UN to intervene in the area under such circumstances.
However, Turkish Cypriot police were actually stationed at the corner of Kykkos and Ledra Streets as early as 8pm. Having personally witnessed the scene, there were no protestors there at that time. (says Jean Christou)
The Turkish Cypriot police had run a cordon from their checkpoint to the corner of Kykkos Street, where two UN soldiers were stationed on either side of Ledra Street. One Turkish Cypriot police officer was sauntering up and down no more than two feet away from the UN guards, one of whom was chatting to a civilian and the other watching the fireworks display, both oblivious to the violation.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2008
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.ph ... 7&cat_id=1
Thanks halil! That confirms all my claims, all along, and ruins all of Bananiot's lies and distortions, and this from the Cyprus Mail! Thanks once more Halil! The whole truth at last, from a source extremist Bananiot cannot dispute!
Kifeas, I sincerely hope that you will , from now on stop accusing Halil of being partisan. I find all his posts useful, whether pro TC or pro GC.
