Anastasiades declines aid from Tatar
GREEK Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades declined to take up an offer of help from President Ersin Tatar to tackle the deadly fire that hit the Limassol and Larnaca regions last weekend – preferring instead to call for assistance hundreds of kilometres away from Greece, Italy and Israel.
Four farm workers died in the blaze, which destroyed more than 50km2 of forest and farmland and scores of homes, and forced the evacuation of 10 villages, reports said.
The victims were all Egyptian citizens, a statement from the country’s foreign ministry said.
A 67-year-old farmer was arrested on suspicion of starting the fire in the village of Arakapas. It is believed he had been burning stubble in his field.
Expressing his regret to Mr Anastasiades over the fire, Mr Tatar emphasised that he was “ready to help” with the firefighting effort and that he had also instructed his special representative Ergün Olgun to “follow the developments”.
Mr Anastasiades told Mr Tatar that he would “consider the Turkish side’s offer of assistance” according to a statement from Mr Tatar’s office.
In addition, Tourism and Environment Minister Fikri Ataoğlu conveyed his “sorrow” and stated that his department was “ready if the Greek Cypriot Administration requested support” to prevent the fire from spreading further.
A message on social media from a group calling itself the Young Turkish Cypriots said: “The current events in Cyprus are an absolute tragedy. These fires are forcing people from their homes and destroying everything in their path. . . It is a shame that [Mr] Anastasiades has rejected Turkish Cypriot aid and support, despite people losing their lives and livelihoods.
“Anastasiades has instead called upon Greece, Italy and Israel to help them, despite being on the same island as the TRNC.”
Writing on Twitter, Mr Anastasiades said the fire “tragedy” was the worst “since 1974”.
He said the Greek Cypriot government will provide “immediate assistance” to the victims and the families of the victims.
“We will not leave anyone abandoned,” he added.
In a separate tweet on Monday Mr Anastasiades conveyed his “deep gratitude” to the prime ministers of Israel and Greece for their “immediate response in helping us control the devastating wildfire in Cyprus”.
“Our excellent cooperation has proved once again to be catalytic in overcoming a truly life-threatening
situation,” he wrote.
The South Cyprus Foreign Ministry said it was “especially grateful to the EU, Greece, Israel and the UK for sending firefighting aircraft and crews”.
The UK provided help from its RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus, with search and rescue helicopters from 84 Squadron flying for 16 hours during 10 sorties, dropping 105 tonnes of water to help douse the flames.
Wendy Morton, a minister at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, tweeted that the UK stands “shoulder to shoulder with the people of Cyprus following a terrible outbreak of wildfires over the weekend”.
“Our thoughts are with those who have sadly lost their lives and their homes. We are providing support, including two RAF search and rescue helicopters,” she wrote.
On Sunday the EU said that it had “rapidly mobilised” aerial firefighting “assets hosted by Greece and Italy”.
“The EU stands in full solidarity with Cyprus during these difficult moments,” European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic said.