Symbolic Cyprus gate signals rocky road for solution

Greek Cypriot authorities blamed Turkish police for illegally patrolling a Greek part of the street, while Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias cut short his official visit to London, Turkish Cypriot leader said Thursday's events did not stem from the Turkish Cypriots, and that the Greek side reaction echoed the past.

Christofias returned to the island to handle the dispute over Ledra Street, a central Nicosia shopping street that was reopened Thursday after having been closed for 44 years.

Speaking at Larnaca airport, Christofias said he had to return "to be here because violations from what is essentially the Turkish army continue in the buffer zone."

The Ledra Street opening was hailed as a significant milestone in efforts to reunify Cyprus. Greek Cypriot police shut down the crossing Thursday night for two hours claiming Turkish Cypriot police were seen inside the buffer zone separating the two sides of the capital.

Turkish Cypriots followed suit and closed the northern entrance of the street. The reopening of the gate came after the UN peace force held talks with the two sides.

The brief closure of the gate on the evening of the opening ceremony showed how fragile the situation is and how quickly problems could emerge as both sides cited different grounds for the gate's closure.

Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat told reporters that Thursday's events did not stem from the Turkish Cypriots, and that the Greek side reaction echoed the past.

"We need to accept such occassions as normal. In my opinion the problem was solved. I don't think there will be any negative development. We should continue our dealings calmly. There is no need to discuss about who is guilty," he was quoted as saying by the Anatolian Agency.

Proposing that a similar event was unlikely, Talat suggested he did not think the individuals who caused the problem had any harmful intentions, adding police intervention was neceassary because it is illegal to demonstrate in such proximity to a military zone.

Christofias said he does not believe Talat "was guilty" for the violations, AFP reported. "I sincerely believe he doesn't feel good (about the violations)," said Christofias, adding that he would try to speak to Talat directly "to put an end to this situation that is not at all pleasant".

GREEK PROTESTORS
Christofias and Talat are set to begin reunification talks in June after a three-month preparation period. Both have said they would seek a deal to reunify the island "as soon as possible." Peace negotiations have been stalled since 2004 when the Greek Cypriots rejected a UN blueprint which was accepted by the Turkish community.

Turkish Cypriot Interior Minister Ozkan Murat told the Anatolian Agency on Friday around 20 Greek Cypriots carried banners, chanted slogans and crossed the Greek Cypriot barricade into the north of Cikkos which is under Turkish Cypriots' control.

Murat said Turkish Cypriot police intervened with the protestors and confiscated their banners to enable secure crossings between the two sides. "Turkish Cypriot police have an authority to intervene in this region under an agreement reached with the UN, and are taking action in line with this agreement," he added.

Christofias said he would meet later Friday with the ambassadors of the UN Security Council's five permanent members and with UN Special Representative on Cyprus Elizabeth Spehar to ensure there were no more violations.

Justice Minister Kypros Chrysostomides said "the agreement to open Ledra Street was made on clear terms. ... Unfortunately these terms were not respected and as a result there was a decision to close the road."

But Murat said the agreement authorizes Turkish Cypriot police to intervene there.

PASSINGS CONTINUE
Christofias said he would meet later Friday with the ambassadors of the UN Security Council's five permanent members and with UN Special Representative on Cyprus Elizabeth Spehar to ensure there were no more violations.

The United Nations had received assurances enabling it to "ensure the smooth functioning of the crossing point," UN peacekeeping force spokesman Jose Luis Diaz said.

Cypriots from both sides of the divide continued to cross Ledra Street on Friday, despite the earlier disruption.

Greek Cypriot police was quoted as saying by AP that 260 Greek Cypriots and as many Turkish Cypriots crossed Ledra from midnight to noon Friday. Nearly 1,200 Turkish Cypriots crossed southwards Thursday.

The gate remained closed for 45 years since the start of communal conflict in Cyprus in 1963. British peacekeepers laid barbed wire across the street between Nicosia's Greek and Turkish Cypriot sectors.

It is the second crossing point in Nicosia for pedestrians and the fifth crossing gate to open between Turkish and Greek sides since 2003.