“Let’s go without fear and show them that we’re here until the very end. Once we leave here, it’s all over. They’ll take the rest of our fields, too.”
Christodoulos Christodoulou – Farmer from Deneia
“We
won’t give up a single inch of land,” declare the residents of Deneia, who are rising up against the occupying forces, breaking a months-long informal siege.
“As
soon as they see a tractor, the Land Rovers, the police, and the soldiers come. I can’t be 100 meters from the border and be afraid that a Turk will come and climb onto the tractor to arrest me.”
Kypros Kyprianou – Farmer from Deneia
“Today we said enough is enough. The UN are just observers; they told us they can’t drive them away. They can’t protect anything. The farmers aren’t backing down.”
Charalambos Charalambous – Community Leader of Deneia
This time, the farmers of this remote community did not back down in the face of the climate of intimidation that the occupying army is trying to foster. Shortly before noon, farmers came face-to-face with the Attilas, who violated the buffer zone for the umpteenth time and attempted to drive them out of their fields.
“While they were working their fields, a Turkish military police double-cab truck with its lights on drove into the field and stopped right in the middle of it.”
Charalambos Charalambous – Community Leader of Deneia “They parked
right in the field where we were gathering the bales; our UN forces came and told us to back off. We didn’t stop; we gathered our crops, did our work, and then left.”
Kypros Kyprianou – Farmer from Deneia
More than
three hours after the incident, a farmer from Deneia remains steadfast in his place, continuing to cultivate his land despite threats from Turkish patrols lurking nearby.
A UN helicopter is monitoring developments from the air.
There is a flurry of activity in the area, with UN patrols present at the spot where they approached the farmer, along with the occupying authorities.
The occupying army is attempting to create new facts on the ground, by expanding its boundaries within the buffer zone
.
Attila is attempting to annex the area north of the farm road that crosses the buffer zone. Citing outdated maps from 1998, it claims that the fields located in this zone belong to it.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
A mere observer
Once again, UNFICYP proved inadequate to the situation, despite the assurances it gave the residents of Deneia two weeks ago that it would make its presence more noticeable.
“Members of the peacekeeping force immediately went to the scene to de-escalate tensions and restore calm. UNFICYP continues to closely monitor the situation to ensure that the status quo is maintained.”
Alim Sidik – UNFICYP
Spokesperson
The situation is being closely monitored by both the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Watch the report by Christoforos Nestoros:
