Greek Cypriots demolished a wall along the boundary that splits Europe's last divided capital, Nicosia, early yesterday.
"Tonight, we demolished a checkpoint on our side," Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos told reporters in Brussels. "Now we will see whether Turkey's troops will withdraw so that the passage will be opened or not"
A bulldozer started dismantling the wall late on Thursday in an unannounced move Papadopoulos said was planned for more than 15 days.
PHOTO: AP
Dozens of people watched as two bulldozers went to work behind a screen.
"This is a first positive step as a sign of goodwill on behalf of our side," government spokesman Christodoulos Pashiardis said.
Earlier this year, Turkish Cypriots dismantled a footbridge in the area, angering Greek Cypriots and frustrating plans for a new crossing in the heart of the island capital.
Construction of the bridge in late 2005 prompted Greek Cypriots to withdraw support for plans to reopen Ledra Street as an avenue cutting across the buffer zone that has separated the island since the Turkish invasion in 1974.
Pashiardis said more had to be done before the crossing could open.
"With the removal of the wall the issue is not resolved ... it does not automatically mean that Ledra Street opens," Pashiardis said.
The wall cuts across Ledra Street just ahead of the buffer zone that divides the two sides.
Running through the heart of the city's tourist area, the street is seen as the strongest symbol of the island's 32-year partition.
"As long as Turkish occupying army remains at specific crossing point we cannot speak of opening Ledra Street," Pashiardis said.
Cyprus remains divided into a Greek Cypriot south -- representing the internationally recognized government -- and Turkish Cypriot north, where Turkey maintains some 40,000 troops.
Efforts to reunify the island have been effectively frozen since 2004, when Greek Cypriots rejected a UN reunification blueprint accepted by Turkish Cypriots in a referendum.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese