Official letter sent to top Unficyp officials to reverse buffer zone violations

A letter requesting that the peacekeeping force in Cyprus (Unficyp) ensure the reversal of violations of the Ayios Dhometios buffer zone and the restoration of the status quo ante, has been sent to the UN it was announced on Thursday.

The announcement comes a day after President Nikos Christodoulides said that both “visible and invisible” actions would be taken by the state in response to two violations of the zone that occurred in quick succession this week.

The first incident on Monday involved an incursion by 40 Turkish troops who installed a camera and a rotating antenna in an abandoned building. The second, on Wednesday afternoon, involved Turkish soldiers entering the buffer zone on a military vehicle and leaving following verbal direction from Unficyp staff.

In a post on platform X on Thursday morning Permanent Representative of the Republic of Cyprus to the UN, Andreas Hadjichrysanthou said he had sent a letter, under instructions, to the UN Assistant Secretary General responsible for peace operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, as well as to the UN Deputy Secretary General for political and peacekeeping affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, requesting that Unficyp ensure the restoration of the status quo.

“It is crucial that the UN sends strong messages to Turkey on this urgent issue,” Hadjichrysanthou said.

Upon instructions, I have sent a letter to @Lacroix_UN and @DicarloRosemary requesting that UNFICYP ensures the reversal of the violation at “Maria’s House” and the restoration of the status quo ante

Crucial that the UN sends strong messages to Türkiye on this urgent matter pic.twitter.com/bX57p3vhsc

— Andreas Hadjichrysanthou (@AHadjichrysanth) November 29, 2023

Speaking on CyBC’s morning programme, Government Spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis said while “it [was] not possible to draw conclusions about the intentions” of the occupying force, the focus of the government on restarting negotiations would remain and is all the more crucial.

Head of the president’s press office Victoras Papadopoulos, for his part, noted that it was clear that Turkey had turned the north into a colony and was behaving as such.

He said a national council had been called, similar to what had been enacted in August after the situation in Pyla, where Turkish soldiers attacked a group of peacekeepers obstructing crews working on a road that would encroach on a UN-controlled area. The work has since been halted, following the Turkish-Cypriot side disputing previously agreed upon terms with the UN, that had been deemed favourable for both communities.

A day after the first incident, Christodoulides had warmed that there would be consequences, calling the breach of the buffer zone “very serious”.

“The United Nations has informed us that the situation [status quo of buffer zone] will be restored. If it is not restored, we have already made some decisions that will be implemented […] This is an incident that we are neither downplaying nor underestimating,” the president said.

He reiterated this position on Wednesday, following the second incident, saying “the National Guard, the Republic of Cyprus, [had] decided on the method of response.”

Unless there were developments from current UN efforts, “this method [would go] into effect, he said, noting that EU officials, as well as the permanent members of the UN security council had been informed.

Meanwhile, after a long silence prompting speculations that the acts were instigated under direct instruction from Turkey, a Turkish Cypriot official on Wednesday stated publicly that the antenna and camera had been installed for security purposes, aimed at curbing illegal migration.

Unficyp spokesperson Aleem Siddique, for his part, confirmed on Wednesday no changes had been effected since the initial incursion into the buffer zone. However, he said, the peacekeeping force continued to closely monitor the area.