By Marinos Pavlikas *:
Deryneia: It occupies 75% of the city
"The struggle for our" remote "Municipality is not easy", says the Mayor of Deryneia and Chairman of the Committee of the six semi-occupied and "remote" Municipalities and Communities, Andros Karagiannis, in "Simerini" on Sunday.
More than two thousand hectares of land are located in the occupied territories, including the beautiful coastline two and a half kilometers long
Forty-three years have passed since the black August of 1974, when the Turkish army completed the project that began on July 20, occupying more than 36% of the territory of Cyprus. One of the victims of Turkish expansion, the neighboring city of Evagoras, Deryneia, which for 43 whole years looks to the future behind the barbed wire of the roadblocks and the occupation line. Best known for its local product, strawberry, and for the roadblock that separates it from occupied Famagusta, but less well known is the fact that Deryneia is 75% under occupation, with its territories under the illegal control of occupation "authorities", but also in territory controlled by the British Bases.
"The struggle for our 'critical' Municipality is not easy", says the Mayor of Deryneia and Chairman of the Committee of the six semi-occupied and "critical" Municipalities and Communities, Andros Karagiannis, in "Simerini" on Sunday. More than 2 thousand hectares of land are located in the occupied territories, which includes the beautiful coastline of two and a half kilometers. Undoubtedly painful this year for the people of Deryneia and the fact of the effort of the occupation "authorities" to open the beach of Deryneia, which borders the occupied Famagusta.
The daily struggle for justice
As the Mayor of Deryneia explains to "S", the problems that are presented daily in the Municipality are many and do not concern only the local Authority, but issues that concern the international factor, such as the challenges from the pseudo-state, the utilization of agricultural land, but and illegal landfills within the dead zone. The actions taken by the Municipality from time to time at the United Nations regarding the exercises with heavy weapons of the Turkish army in the area near its occupied beach are also intense.
The roadblock of Famagusta Avenue
Mr. Karagiannis was particularly intense regarding the course of opening the roadblock. As he mentioned, the decision to open it was taken in 2015, but nevertheless two years later there is an unexplained delay as projects remain to be completed within the 150 meters of the dead zone.
Asked about the protests that are heard from time to time for the opening of the roadblock, the Mayor of Deryneia underlined the fact that Deryneia has suffered the unjust occupation of most of it and the loss of its most beautiful areas. As he said, "if Deryneia was not a victim of the occupation, it would probably be today in the same or even more favorable position in relation to other coastal municipalities". On the other hand, he supported the view that the opening of the roadblock will have a positive effect in terms of strengthening mutual acquaintance and contacts between the two communities, an effort which the Municipality of Deryneia is already implementing.
Reunion events
Deryneia is one of the few Municipalities that regularly organize rapprochement events between the two communities. Some of them acted as catalysts for the relationship between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, through series of lectures, bi-communal concerts and tree planting as well as European programs implemented through the exchange of experiences with young people from similar examples of "divided homelands", such as Palestinians and Germans.
Mr. Karagiannis is determined to continue these actions of bi-communal contacts after praising their role in terms of the general positive consequences that are created in terms of efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem.
Local product promotion and popular market
One of the reasons why the acritic Municipality of the province of Famagusta is particularly well known is its local product. Deryneia traditionally owns 60% of the pan-Cypriot strawberry production and its derivatives. Relying on agriculture, the people of Deryneia have invested in the promotion of their local product to such an extent that most locals and foreign tourists visit the city to try the Derynei strawberries.
The investment in agriculture was one of the reasons that led the Municipality since 2013 to create its own People's Market, which operates every Saturday with more than 45 producers who have their fresh products. The open-air People's Market of Deryneia operates according to the standards of foreign countries, while it is one of the few that operate based on the relevant legislation. At the same time, the municipal authority is making efforts to absorb funds from the Rural Development Programs with the aim of renovating it in the coming years.
Invests in conference and medical tourism
Despite the adversity in which the local authority operates, the plans are being prepared ambitiously with the aim of utilizing the remaining Turkish-occupied free Deryneia. One of the important projects promoted by the Municipality is the creation of a Conference Center - Theater of four hundred seats. It is a mature project for which, according to the Mayor of Deryneia, the necessary permits have been issued, it will cost 3 million euros and will have all the necessary and latest technology equipment that will rank it among the most modern conference centers in our country. In combination with the open-air amphitheater of Deryneia, it will become an important infrastructure for organizing events and attracting conference tourism in our country.
At the same time, the Municipality of Deryneia aims at both medical and sports tourism, since a project that has been promoted for years is the creation of a provincial swimming pool of Olympic dimensions. This project, as well as its location, next to the General Hospital of Famagusta can work positively in terms of attracting medical tourism through the creation of infrastructure of a rehabilitation room in the Hospital itself.
These actions prove that a Municipality like Deryneia, on the one hand can take advantage of its even remaining comparative advantages, and on the other hand function as a model of rapprochement with the aim of collapsing bi-communal relations for the easier solution of our Cyprus problem.
* Source: TODAY's Sunday (13/8/2017)