Nicosia on Thursday strongly condemned the clearing of a new stretch of the beachfront at Varosha – the fenced-off part of Famagusta – vowing to alert the international community to this latest Turkish provocation.
“I have been briefed officially from those monitoring developments there…we shall not leave this new provocation to go unnoticed, and we shall make all the necessary demarches,” President Nicos Anastasiades told journalists.
He was being asked about a video doing the rounds that showed a bulldozer operating on a stretch of the beach in Varosha, while workers laid out sunbeds.
According to reports, the stretch being cleared for commercial use is around 600 metres long.
The Greek Cypriot side says any development in the area breaches UN Security Council resolutions 550 and 789, which explicitly call for Varosha to be administered by the United Nations.
Political parties issued statements denouncing Turkey’s actions in the north.
Weighing in, Famagusta mayor Simos Ioannou said the international community is clearly unable to put a halt to Turkish violations in Varosha.
