The "mayor" of occupied Famagusta gives his own opinion on the latest developments in the closed city of Famagusta. Ismail Arter claims that "the 'municipality' has not touched the private properties in Varosha." At the same time, he refers to the occupation authorities' next plans for the closed town.
"At the time Varosha was opened to visitors, in October 2020, two beaches were already operating in the area. These were beach number one, located just beyond Palm Beach, and the other one located at the edge of the beach (of Varosha). Last year, the latter was turned into a full beach, where all our people can go and use it and swim in its sea." In his further statements, Mr. Arter says that "there was a place on beach number one that was going to be demolished, and it was demolished. People were already swimming in the area where we placed kiosk on the side of the road. Now we are just cleaning up the area. We placed umbrellas and sunbeds. Our kiosks are already there. Now it is an organized beach."
"Our project can be extended until June 1. All public spaces are run by the 'municipality'," claims Mr. Arter, who adds the following: "We never touched the private properties (of Varosha). A large number of visitors also come to these beaches from the south. I saw that there was a political reaction, but that was something that happened last year. The solution is to talk at the table, let's all sit down and discuss both Varosha and the Cyprus problem."
Regarding the next steps of the T/C side in Varosha, Arter said the following: "As a 'demos' we are dealing with the technical side of things. We take care of the cleaning and organization of the areas that are opened to the public. There was a decision to convert an area of 174,000 square metres, equivalent to 3.5% of the closed Varosha, from a 'military' to a civilian zone. Infrastructure works were carried out in this area under the coordination of the 'Ministry of the Interior'. Work on the ground has not yet started. There are appeals in this area through the 'real estate commission', and I am informed that the number of appeals is increasing. We have opened a gate for infrastructure work to be done."
Source: CNA
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