"PİLE-YİĞİTLER ROAD PROJECT" CONFLICT:
New Cyprus Party: 'There is no humanitarian project in question'
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The New Cyprus Party, a socialist party that operates in Northern Cyprus, has issued a written statement regarding the tension-inducing "Pile-Yiğitler Road Project" undertaken by the Northern Cyprus administration.
"It is necessary to organize resistance against provocations leading to an armed conflict under the guise of a humanitarian project," is the title of the statement which bears the signature of Murat Kanatlı, the General Secretary and it asserts that there is no humanitarian project in question.
"Turkish side suddenly remembers the people of Pile"
Kanatlı, contended that the Northern Cyprus administration has increased bureaucracy concerning buffer zone crossings. "In conditions where crossings of vehicles have become a long-standing problem in Nicosia when a new road is not even necessary, the 'humanitarian' Turkish side, which doesn't even discuss opening the Famagusta Gate, suddenly remembered the people of Pile," he stated.
Describing the events as "provocations under the guise of a humanitarian project," Kanatlı listed the following problems:
* For instance, why has the Turkish military not allowed a road between Haspolat and Nicosia, which would significantly ease Nicosia's traffic?
* Why hasn't the road passing by the Turkish Battalion from the Kermiya civil defense area been opened?
* Why hasn't the road going down from Pronto roundabout and leading up to Kermiya been opened?
* Don't the people suffering from traffic congestion around Dereboyu deserve the "humanitarian project"?
* Isn't it necessary to resolve the traffic congestion around Kermiya and Ortaköy?
* Wouldn't the road by the Teacher Academy that is all set and ready there ease the entry to Nicosia?
* Aren't those entering Nicosia from the Famagusta side suitable for the humanitarian project? Or is the intention not humanitarian?
"No agreed ceasefire line"
Kanatlı, who argues that in 1974, there was no agreed or signed ceasefire line by all parties in Cyprus, recalled that due to the close proximity of ceasefire lines in the 1970s, many fatal conflicts took place. As a result, a deconfrontation line was established in the 1980s:
"Parties distanced themselves equidistantly from each other in the regions, and these areas were placed under UN supervision. So yes, these areas still belong to one side, but their protection was handed over to the UN. Unauthorized entry into these areas means violating this agreement."
Accusation of provocation
"The fact that those who themselves cause incidents every year in the fields of the buffer zone to prevent farming use the road to a similar field as an excuse to provoke incidents, which proves that the matter is not humanitarian but a provocation," said Kanatlı in the party statement and held Northern Cyprus Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu and Minister of Public Works and Transportation Erhan Arıklı responsible for the events.
Kanatlı concluded his remarks as follows:
"Let us not forget that the local elections of fascist Pergama Municipality Mayor Bülent Bebek took place as part of a project at the furthest point of the conflict line with the UN. The visits of Fuat Oktay, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) deputies, and certain religious sect leaders to the region in the past were not without reason. They are now reaping the fruits of a fascist being elected there."
What happened?The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on August 17 that the "Pile-Yiğitler Yolu Project" had been prepared. The ministry stated that the road, with a total length of 11.6 km, would have a 7.5 km section in Yiğitler and a 4.1 km section in Pile. The purpose of the project, according to the ministry, was to "facilitate the access of our citizens living in the village of Pile to the territory of the TRNC for purely humanitarian reasons." On August 18, the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) opposed the unilateral decision of the Northern Cyprus administration and stated that it would not permit road construction in the area. UNFICYP placed concrete blocks in the project area and attempted to obstruct Northern Cyprus authorities and road construction vehicles. Northern Cyprus security forces used bulldozers to remove UN-owned vehicles. UNFICYP categorized the events as an "attack," while the TRNC Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the United Nations Peacekeeping Force's stance during the incident was unacceptable and affirmed that the road would be constructed "without fail." The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement in support of the KKTC, saying, "It is not an acceptable approach for the UN to turn a blind eye to the fait accompli in the Buffer Zone by the GCA for years, while preventing the legitimate humanitarian needs of Turkish Cypriots." The Southern Cyprus administration characterized the events in Pile as an attempt to "violate the status quo in the region." Pile, situated within the United Nations-controlled "Green Line" that separates Northern Cyprus and Southern Cyprus, is of significance due to being a village where Turkish and Greek Cypriots live together. The "Green Line," an approximately 180-kilometer-long and 346-square-kilometer-wide demilitarized buffer zone under UN control, divides Cyprus into two parts.
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(VC/PE)