PanARMENIAN.Net

Barrier dividing Nicosia demolished
09.03.2007 17:58 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Greek Cypriots have demolished a key section of the
barrier dividing the island’s capital city, Nicosia. The Green Line
has separated Cyprus’s Greeks from the Turkish population since 1974,
when Turkish troops occupied the north. The work in Ledra Street began
under cover of darkness and had not been publicised in advance. But
the Greek Cypriot authorities say Turkish troops must pull back before
people can cross in either direction.

Ledra Street – a pedestrianised shopping area – would be the sixth
crossing point on the divided island. The street was cordoned off to
allow heavy equipment and demolition crews to move into position. A
small crowd watched the action, applauding when work on tearing down
the barrier began. "This is a show of goodwill on our side to
contribute positively to opening Ledra Street," government spokesman
Christodoulos Pashardes told state television.

It used to be a bustling road in the heart of Nicosia’s commercial
district but for more than 40 years it has been blocked by a large
wall and a viewing platform overlooking the demilitarised strip
separating north from south. The structures have been replaced by
plastic barricades. In December the Turkish Cypriot authorities
dismantled a controversial footbridge on Ledra Street, which was built
in 2005. It had angered Greek Cypriots, who said it encroached into
the UN buffer zone separating the two sides. The Green Zone is policed
by United Nations troops, amid barbed wire and dilapidated buildings
with sand bags still sitting in the windows. Cyprus was partitioned
after a Turkish invasion in 1974, which came shortly after a Greek
Cypriot coup backed by the military junta ruling Greece at the
time. Shortly before joining the European Union in 2004 the Greek
Cypriots rejected a United Nations plan to reunify the island. First
the disused ordnance and derelict buildings will have to be made safe
and then UN forces will have to establish a checkpoint to police the
crossing, reports the BBC.

Nicosia was the only divided capital city in the world after the fall
of the Berlin Wall.