● Thousands cross borders,
Nine checkpoints across the island open President: Opening will help return TRNC economy to ‘Level prior to start of the pandemic’
MORE than 33,000 crossings were recorded during the first four days of the reopening of the checkpoints along the “Green Line” in Cyprus, figures from the TRNC police showed.
The barriers, which had been closed to the general public for more than a year as both sides took their own measures at different times to prevent the spread of Covid-19, were swung open last Friday following an new agreement announced by the United Nations.
The bicommunal Technical Committee on Health set the Covid level for border crossings at “Orange”, meaning that a negative PCR or antigen test is required from within the last seven days.
If it changes to “Green” then there will be no coronavirus restrictions. But if the level is upped to “Red” then people will only be able to pass for health reasons with a negative PCR test result not more than 72 hours old; or for work, education and “residence-related matters” with a seven-day negative antigen or PCR test result. The level will be reviewed every two weeks.
There were happy scenes as friends on opposite sides of the
divide who had not seen each other for more than 15 months hugged, while others shopped and dined in Lefkoşa’s walled city, providing a much needed boost to struggling shopkeepers and businesses.
Visitors from the South crossing via the Lokmacı checkpoint were greeted by women holding welcome signs in Turkish, English and Greek and handing out lokma, bite-sized balls of syrupy fried dough.
Red carpets had also been laid out for visitors from the South,
but officials from Lefkoşa Turkish Municipality had them removed.
The images were a far cry from March 7, 2020, when Greek Cypriot police used tear gas on protesters who had gathered on both sides of the Ledra crossing following the South’s unilateral decision to close it as a coronavirus precaution.
Two days later TRNC police officers clashed with their United Nations counterparts at the Lokmacı crossing point after the UN tried to prevent another protest at the barricades by blocking access
from the North.
A total of nine checkpoints across the island — Metehan, Ledra Palace, Lokmacı, Akyar, Derinya, Beyarmudu, Bostancı, Yeşilır mak and Aplıç — were simul taneously reopened last Friday.
The busiest crossing points were the three in Lefkoşa — the two for pedestrians at Ledra Palace and Lokmacı, and Metehan, which is used mainly by motorists — while the fewest crossings occurred at Aplıç, near Lefke.
More people crossed from South Cyprus into the TRNC than in the opposite direction, figures from the police showed.
Th is suggested that many Greek Cypriots and other South Cyprus residents were keen to take advantage of euro-Turkish lira exchanges rates in their favour to shop and purchase cheaper fuel, medicines and other items, as they had done in the past. One euro is currently worth more than 10TL, compared to less than 7TL at the start of March 2020.
As of 6pm on Monday, police on the TRNC side of the border had recorded 33,404 entry-exit crossings in four days.
They said that 18,160 people had entered the TRNC and 15,244 people had left via the land border gates.
A further breakdown showed that on Friday, June 4, there were 4,344 entries from South Cyprus to the TRNC, and 3,885 crossings
from the TRNC to South Cyprus.
On Saturday, June 5, 4,966 people entered from the South to the North, while 3,771 exited from the North to the South.
Sunday, June 6, was the quietest of the four days, with 4,180 entries from the South to the North and 3,255 crossings from the North to the South.
The pace picked up on Monday, June 7, when police said that 4,670 people entered the country and 4,333 people left.
TRNC politicians were keen to make the most of the media interest in the reopening of the border, although their Greek Cypriot counterparts were conspicuous by their absence on the southern side of the line.
President Ersin Tatar, inspecting the Lokmacı border gate last Thursday, said that a “new period” would begin with the reopening of the checkpoints, which would help return the TRNC economy to its “level prior to the start of the pandemic”. On Friday Mr Tatar was back again, and also visited the Metehan crossing. Others who visited the Lokmacı crossing point included Prime Minister Ersan Saner and main opposition Republican Turkish Party leader Tufan Erhürman.
People’s Party leader Kudret Özersay also visited Lokmacı, crossing to South Nicosia where he drank coffee and gave interviews to Greek Cypriot media.