Over the past two months, incidents of farmers being obstructed have been reported 2–3 times a week, Denia Community Leader Charalambos Alexandrou told CNA, following the latest incident that occurred on Wednesday morning in the buffer zone.
According to Mr. Alexandrou, the incident occurred around 11:00 a.m., when two farmers from the community went to the area to plow and cultivate their fields, accompanied by members of UNFICYP.
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While they were working, he said, two Turkish men arrived in the area in a white double-cab vehicle belonging to the occupying army, and attempted to remove the farmers from the area, claiming that according to the map they had in their possession from 1998, it was the Greek Cypriot farmers who were trespassing on the land.
Mr. Alexandrou added that what sets this incident apart from previous violations is that today the farmers did not leave, though he noted that the first farmers left around 1:30 p.m. and the rest around 2:00 p.m. “They stayed in the area, plowed and cultivated their fields, finished their work, and then left the area. As a result, the Turkish observers remained this time.”
He also noted that over the past two months, such incidents have been recorded 2–3 times a week. “It’s just that in the past, our farmers have backed down. They always back down because we don’t want to create tension,” he said, adding that all such incidents are reported to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
READ ALSO: “We are closely monitoring the situation”: What UNFICYP says about the latest Turkish harassment in the Buffer Zone | AlphaNews
He said that farmers go to the area daily to tend to their fields. “First, the people harvest, then they gather the straw from the fields, then they go to the area to plow it again, to prepare the soil so that, with the first rains, they can resow their fields. People may have to go to a field three or four times to complete the sowing. Therefore, they need to go there every day,” he said.
As he described today’s incident, both Turks were in uniform— one in a military uniform and the other in a blue uniform, while the car was a white double-cab pickup with headlights, the license plate of which suggests it belongs to the occupying army.
At the same time, the community leader of Deneia expressed dissatisfaction with the United Nations’ handling of the situation, noting that “what upsets us is the fact that they cannot assert their authority over the occupying forces.”
He reported that today a member of the peacekeeping force spoke with the occupying army and tried to tell them to leave, “but in essence, he came and told us that he couldn’t do anything more, that he couldn’t use force, and that the Turks aren’t leaving. In short, he was telling us that he couldn’t do anything more. We are asking the United Nations to do more.” He added that farmers constantly face such incidents.
Regarding the actions they have taken and plan to take in response to the incident, Mr. Alexandrou stated that “we will take all necessary measures, as we always do,” adding that they had already contacted both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Guard at the time of the incident and received relevant assurances.
Source: CNA
