New crossing point opens in divided Cyprus, hailed by UN and EU

Cyprus President and Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias (3rd R), Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu (3rd L), European Union Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule (2nd L) and UN Secretary General's special advisor on Cyprus Alexander Downer (2nd R) attend the opening ceremony for the Limnitis/Yesilirmak crossing, the 7th along the 180-km-long UN-controlled buffer zone in Cyprus, October 14, 2010. Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders on Thursday inaugurated a long-awaited new crossing point in a remote area of northwestern Cyprus. The new crossing, at a place called Limnitis by Greek Cypriots and Yesilirmak by Turkish Cypriots, has been at the centre of a long joint campaign by citizens from both sides of the divided island. Photo:Xinhua

Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders on Thursday inaugurated a long-awaited new crossing point in a remote area of northwestern Cyprus.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulated both communities on the divided island and their leadership for this "important achievement."

"The secretary-general welcomes the opening today of the crossing point at Limnitis/Yesilirmak in Cyprus, which he trusts will lead to increased interaction and cooperation between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities," Ban said in a written statement.

The new crossing, at a place called Limnitis by Greek Cypriots and Yesilirmak by Turkish Cypriots, has been at the center of a long joint campaign by citizens from both sides of the divided island.

Contact between the two communities has been cut for almost three decades since 1974 when Turkish troops occupied the northern third of the island following a coup by Greek army officers. People on the two sides of the U.N.-controlled buffer zone resumed visiting each other only in 2003, when the six crossing points between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot controlled areas started to be opened.

However, residents of the remote Tilliria area had to make a detour of several hours to reach the crossings on other parts of the island.

Greek and Turkish Cypriot residents of the area had formed a joint committee and campaigned for a long time to have a crossing point open in Limnitis/Yesilirmak.

The new crossing point was opened by Cyprus President Demetris Christofias, a Greek Cypriot, and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu, who are currently engaged in negotiations to reunify the island.

Both Christofias and Eroglu in their speeches expressed hope that the new crossing point would help increase contacts between the two communities.

However, they pointed out that their final target is reaching a final comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus problem, still eluding them after more than two years of negotiations.

Present to express support for the reunification process was European Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule, American Ambassador Frank Urbancic and the U.N. Secretary Generals' Adviser on Cyprus Alexander Downer.

"Another physical barrier is gone, slowly but surely, confidence building measures are spreading,"Fule told the representatives of both communities.

Fule pointed to the collapse of the Berlin wall and said European integration could not be fully achieved without a solution to the Cyprus problem and the reunification of the island.

It has been an EU policy "to ensure that the people of Cyprus will soon achieve their shared destiny of a united Cyprus in the EU" , he said.

Reaching a Cyprus solution will also remove an obstacle to Turkey's bid to join the European Union.

Both the European Union and the American government, along with the Cypriot government, had contributed towards building a new mountain road to the crossing.

A joint Greek and Turkish Cypriot company worked for several months to build the six-kilometer long road at a cost of almost 5 million euros (7 million U.S. dollars).

People living in the nearby villages and towns cheered the opening of the crossing point with the hope to boost economic development in the area, which was hard to reach in the past.

Although seven crossing points have been opened, people still have to show their identity card or passport to enter the other side of the divided island, especially when they enter the self- claimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is only recognized by Turkey.