Greek Cypriots need to make Pile a Greek village, however the Turkish Cypriots is not going to permit this, vowed the president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on Monday.
“The aim of the Greek Cypriots is to make Pile a complete Greek village. This is their aim and purpose,” Ersin Tatar instructed Anadolu after the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) tried to dam development of the the Pile-Yiğitler street in Northern Cyprus.
Efforts to dam the street development are meant “to make life difficult for the Turks in Pile forcing them to migrate to Lefkosa and Gazimagusa,” Tatar added. “To give the Turks in Pile the impression that the state has forgotten them.”
Tatar stated that roads from Pile to Larnaca, which is below the management of the Greek Cypriot administration, handed by way of the buffer zone. “Construction activities were carried out in the buffer zone and a university was established. How is this happening? There are some developments there without an agreement.”
NEW ROAD TO SHORTEN TRAVEL TIME
He stated the prevailing street connecting Pile to the TRNC city of Beyarmudu ought to take 10 minutes to cross, however site visitors and customs checks lengthen this time to an hour.
Even sufferers who need to come to TRNC from Pile for medical remedy lose time on the customs gate, he stated.
For this purpose, the Pile-Yiğitler street challenge was commenced, Tatar stated.
Turkish Cypriots residing in Pile have been saying: “You have forgotten us,” he stated.
“We have struggled diplomatically for 25 years for the construction of this road and to provide services to our own citizens. The UN has stalled us for 25 years,” he added.
Calling Friday’s skirmish between UN peacekeepers and Turkish Cypriot police, Tatar stated: “There is an authority here. This authority has police and military. We cannot allow them to show the territory of the TRNC within the Green Line.”
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE
Pointing out that they’ll ultimately full the street development from Yiğitler to Pile, Tatar stated that they hope that the issue will probably be resolved by way of diplomatic means.
Tatar’s comment got here after the UN peacekeeping power tried to dam street development work to hyperlink the Turkish Cypriot village of Pile within the buffer zone with the remainder of the TRNC.
The street growth is strategically essential for residents as it would give them extra choices to achieve Pile, the place Turks and Greek Cypriots stay collectively.
The Greek Cypriot Administration and the UN are against the challenge.
Residents of Pile will be capable to journey shorter distances and won’t need to go by way of British bases when crossing to the Turkish aspect on account of the 11.6-kilometer (7.2-mile) development and restore work.
The first 7.5 kilometers (4.7 miles) of the street will go by way of Yiğitler, and the second 4.1 kilometers (2.5 miles) will go by way of Pile.
Source: www.anews.com.tr
