Greek Cypriots pull down dividing wall

Published on Saturday 10 March 2007 00:58

IN A surprise move that diplomats hope will help to break the three-year deadlock in attempts to reunify Cyprus, Greek Cypriots yesterday demolished a wall that symbolised the island's long division.

The 4m-high barrier that split Ledra Street, which was once Nicosia's main thoroughfare, was torn dawn before dawn to cheers from onlookers on both sides.

The Greek Cypriots, who represent the island internationally, promptly challenged Turkey to respond by withdrawing troops from the area so that a crossing point could open on Ledra Street.

The wall's sudden removal is of major symbolic and practical importance. Nicosia has two other crossing points, but crossing the divide for residents in the old town area of the city currently means a time-consuming trip beyond its Venetian-era walls.

If, as is hoped, a crossing point on Ledra Street opens within weeks, residents will be able to pop over the divide. This will increase tourism to Nicosia, boost shopping on the street and bolster property prices in an inner-city area targeted for regeneration.

The Turkish Cypriot authorities welcomed the barrier's demolition as a "positive development". Rasit Pertev, a senior official, said: "The dynamism created by this move will lead to the opening of the crossing."

Olli Rehn, the EU enlargement commissioner, hoped the move would "encourage the necessary efforts aiming at a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem under United Nations auspices".

Michael Moller, the UN's chief of mission in Cyprus, echoed this, hoping a new crossing point would "create a positive atmosphere in which the search for a comprehensive settlement can flourish".