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Turkish troops reopened parts of a Cyprus seaside resort that became a ghost town in the midst of war in 1974, sparking controversy days before elections in separatist northern Turkey.
The move in Varosha threatened to further inflame tension in the eastern Mediterranean, where Turkey has been embroiled in bitter maritime disputes with Greece and Cyprus.
Greek-majority southern President Nicos Anastasiades denounced a “flagrant violation of international law and UN Security Council resolutions,” while Greece, a close ally of his country, warned that it would raise the problem with partners. of the EU.
When the gates were opened for the first time in decades, with troops guarding the site, visitors took smartphone photos of a city seemingly frozen in time, with trees and shrubs growing in abandoned cafes, shops and houses.
Varosha, a coastal suburb of the historic city of Famagusta, was the main tourist center of Cyprus in its heyday in the early 1970s, frequented by Hollywood stars and other celebrities.
But the 1974 Turkish invasion that divided the small island caused a massive exodus of Greek Cypriot inhabitants from the city, consolidating an ethnic divide that has persisted to this day.
The only regular visitors to Varosha have been Turkish troops guarding the southern boundary of the fenced area, where it abuts the territory controlled by the government of Cyprus and the occasional UN peacekeeping patrol.
A woman who entered the long-time no-go zone yesterday stood on the beach with the Turkish flag draped around her shoulders, as Greek Cypriots staged a protest across the UN buffer zone that divides the island.
Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersin Tatar, who visited the area in the afternoon, announced the reopening on Tuesday after speaking with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The reopening was widely criticized as an attempt by Ankara to sway Sunday’s presidential election in favor of the nationalists.
The Tatar National Unity Party (UBP) is the largest in the parliament of the separatist Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
He is challenging incumbent Mustafa Akinci on the vote, which has been delayed since April by the coronavirus pandemic.
Opinion polls suggest the starter is likely to win an expected runoff against Tatar after the rest of the field has been eliminated.
Mr. Akinci strongly criticized Varosha’s way of reopening, describing it as an act of partisanship by Ankara that would likely complicate the position of the Turkish Cypriots in the international community.
“These measures are intended solely to increase the chances of a candidate,” he said, adding that they were a “mistake that will put the Turkish Cypriot people in a difficult situation on the international stage.”
Akinci led the Turkish Cypriot delegation to the latest round of UN-backed reunification talks that collapsed in Switzerland in July 2017.
As the leader of the island’s minority community, he is the only Turkish Cypriot official who has international status, but has difficult relations with Turkey, the only country that recognizes the statehood of the TRNC.
The Turkish Cypriots have long viewed the unilateral reopening of Varosha as a means of reviving the talks.
But previously they always held back against opposition from the government of the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus and the international community.
“This is a unilateral action, it excluded both parties, so I do not believe in any attempt to achieve peace if it does not include a bi-communal vision of the future of Famagusta,” activist Nafia Akdeniz in Varosha told AFP.
“Obviously because we are in a pre-election day, he has intentions beyond the democratic will of both communities,” said Akdeniz, a researcher at the NGO Famagusta Initiative.
Greece warned it would join EU member Cyprus in a new push for the bloc to impose sanctions on Turkey.
“Turkey must step back. If it does not, the issue will be discussed by EU leaders next week,” said government spokesman Stelios Petsas.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said the bloc was “very concerned” about the reopening and stressed the “urgency of restoring confidence and not creating further divisions.”
Even if an eventual agreement between the two communities makes the redevelopment of Varosha possible, it will likely take many years.
The luxury hotels that were a haunt of Hollywood stars like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Varosha’s heyday have long since run down beyond repair.
A master plan should be drawn up for its demolition and the construction of a new complex that respects the property rights of those who fled.
Without the legitimacy that can only come from an agreement, the huge investments needed are unlikely to be scaled up.
UN Security Council resolutions and successive UN-backed peace plans have called for the return of the displaced inhabitants of Varosha to be allowed, either under UN administration as an interim measure or under Greek Cypriot administration as part of a comprehensive agreement.
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