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Pleas to Lift Restrictions on UNFICYP Movement Ignored: U.N. Envoy
The Turkish Cypriots have so far ignored pleas from the U.N. to lift the unilateral restrictions on the movement of the U.N. Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), said an U.N. envoy here Monday.
After a meeting with Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides, U.N. special representative in Cyprus Zbigniew Wlosowicz said that the U.N. will draw its conclusion on the issue after evaluating all the facts.
"I want to assure you that we have been trying to do all that we can in order to change that. And I am still hoping we will be able to change it," he said.
Cyprus has been divided into Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied the northern third of the island following a short-lived pro-Athens coup, engineered by the then Greek Junta against late President Archbishop Makarios.
Since then, the UNFICYP has been patrolling along the dividing line separating the Turkish troops and the Greek Cypriot National Guards.
The Turkish Cypriot side has taken measures in early July to restrict UNFICYP's movement in northern Cyprus, to retaliate the U.N. Security Council's renewal of the mandate of UNFICYP without asking for its prior approval.
Wlosowicz said the restrictions are causing practical difficulties to UNFICYP.
"We are trying to get back to the normal way of operating and the situation known before June 30," he said, stressing that efforts are being made not only on the island but also at the U.N..
U.N. personnel, he said, now has to drive five to six hours instead of 15 minutes because many of its crossing points are now closed.
"We used to have 14 crossing points and now we have four. That does not make our life easy and we are trying to change that," Wlosowicz said.
According to Cyprus News Agency, Wlosowicz, who attended the latest round of U.N.-sponsored proximity talks on Cyprus in Geneva in July, is set to be in New York next month for the new round of talks.
Three rounds of indirect talks on Cyprus have been held between the island's two sides, with an aim to prepare the ground for substantive talks which may lead to a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus issue. The fourth round is due to start in New York on September 12.
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