Call to move UN camp
TRNC authorities have for the first time requested one of the UN camps based in the country be moved, because of local opposition.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kudret Özersay confirmed to Cyprus Today that he had requested, during meetings with UN officials in New York last week, relocation of the General Stefanik camp on the main Salamis road next to Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU).
The camp, currently housing Sector Four
Unficyp peacekeepers, has been there since 1964 “but today it is right next door to dormitories that house thousands of university students” said Dr Özersay, adding: “It is therefore not appropriate for the area to be used for military purposes.”
It is one of two Unficyp bases on TRNC soil — the other being at Lefke — and its facilities include a heliport and a number of military vehicles.
Dr Özersay said last night: “We made the request because the camp is no longer on the outskirts of the town, but now located in the middle of a residential area and Eastern Mediterranean University.
“We have been receiving complaints from locals who are uncomfortable at helicopters taking off and landing near residential buildings. It is not an appropriate location and we have offered to relocate the camp.”
Dr Özersay said the request had no connection to recent talk of downsizing the Unficyp operation, but admitted there was an “indirect implication . . . because Cyprus’s conditions are not those of 1964”, and commented: “Unficyp has become a part of the status quo.”
Responding to comments by Unficyp spokesman Aleem Siddique that a social media post on the issue by Dr Özersay “had been noted”, he added: “They have to note what we say and have to act on it, otherwise we will be forced to take other measures.”
Gazimağusa Mayor İsmail Arter, who met Dr Özersay hours earlier but said the topic had not been discussed, said yesterday: “Residents in the Sakarya and Karakol areas of Gazimağusa have started a petition asking for the UN camp to go, because they aren’t happy with a military base in the middle of their neighbourhood.
“I can reveal that we, as Gazimağusa Municipality, are ready to transform the area into a national park for the benefit of the public.”
EMU Rector Necdet Osam last night issued a statement backing relocation, saying the university was “ready to make any contribution needed . . . to make the site a completely green area”.
In his post on Thursday, Dr Özersay said an “alternative location” for the camp had been proposed, and that “if we can succeed it will offer a breathing space for the people of Gazimağusa”.
Okan Dağlı, of the bicommunal Mağusa Initiative, called for “all military camps” to be subjected to “town planning” requirements and for the land on which they stand to be “utilised for the benefit of the public. Immediately. Has 44 years not been enough?”.