At the beginning of August, the T / C mayor of Famagusta, Ismail Arter, plans to open the beach of Deryneia (as it was called) so that only Turkish Cypriots and Turks will enjoy it, on the pretext that the area is a military zone. This is the beach which continues from the closed city of Famagusta in the area of Agios Memnon, near the area of Monastiraki.
The newspaper "Politis" provided a photo of the beach in question, which was taken about a month ago, as well as the plans of the Municipality of Famagusta for its transformation into an organized beach, in collaboration with the occupying army. According to the plans, there will be umbrellas and beach beds, as well as a restaurant. Work has already begun and is at an advanced stage. The presence of Turks and Turkish Cypriots on the beach will be allowed with the display of "identity" and will be open to them only until mid-autumn.
T / C reactions
The reaction of the mayor of Deryneia, Andros Karagiannis, was immediate, whose area, although coastal, has no beach due to the Turkish occupation. He denounced the action as racist and provocative at the UN.
However, there are also reactions from Turkish Cypriots. Dr. Okan Dagli, a member of the T / C platform "Initiative for Famagusta", told "P" that his platform is against the plans. "It sends a terrible message to our E / K compatriots. We have been trying for years to build bridges of coexistence. The dead city is already a disgrace to humanity. We want to get rid of it, not create something new. " The fact, he noted, that access will not be allowed, not only to Greek Cypriots, but also to students, foreigners living in Famagusta and tourists, is unacceptable and the Turkish Cypriot leadership should consider the consequences of this decision. of the municipality if what it wants is a common homeland and peace on this island. "It is important for us to preserve multiculturalism and not to create an apartheid beach," he said, adding that the move would not even make it financially viable. Reactions are also recorded in the Turkish Cypriot press, mainly through articles expressing opposition to this action.
Serdar justifies
On the other hand, Serdar Denktash, from whose party comes the T / C mayor of Famagusta Ismail Arter, defends the decision and justifies this stance with arguments beyond the public position that the area is a military zone. A guest on the morning show of Kibris TV and when asked about it, he said that the Greek Cypriots also had a sign in one of their pockets which read: "It is forbidden to cross to Turks and dogs". It referred to an incident in the 60s, quite common among the Turkish Cypriots, who often refer to it. In a second intervention by the journalist, who created a fantastic scenario in which he has an affair with an E / K and they want to go to the beach, Mr. Denktash replied "please go to another beach. Not in her. "
it's not the first time
In the 90's the same beach was opened with restrictive conditions only for Turks and T / C and with the demonstration of "identity", however there was no response from the T / C themselves and it was closed again.
A similar practice was adopted in the case of Louroutzina shortly after the opening of the roadblocks. Again after reactions, the crossing was allowed in E / K, while the decision was made to demonstrate "identities".
Source: Politis newspaper