Authorities in the north have requested the removal of an Unficyp camp located near a university in Famagusta in the north so that they can turn it into a park for residents in the area, it was reported on Thursday.
According to Turkish Cypriot media, ‘foreign minister’, Kudret Ozersay, announced that during their recent visit to New York they demanded the removal of an Unficyp camp located near the Eastern Mediterranean University in Famagusta.
The camp in question has been in that area since 1964, Ozersay said, but today it sits among dormitories that house thousands of university students. Therefore, he said, it was not appropriate for the area to be used for military purposes.
It is located in the Karaolos area.
The camp has a helicopter pad and a large number of military vehicles, he said, adding that they had formally filed the request during recent visits to the island of UN officials to inspect Unficyp operations and during contacts he had in New York. Ozersay said that they proposed to the UN officials another area where the military camp could move.
Ozersay said on his social media profile that they conveyed this to the UN officials in New York with the reason being that as a result of the increase in the number of residences “we do not find the use of this military camp, which is in the midst of a residential area, appropriate.”
He also pointed out that following the removal of the camp, the site could be turned into a green area or a park to be used for social activities.
This, he said, is not only about UN camps also about the other camps located in the middle of inhabited or tourist areas.
Ozersay said that the matter would be discussed within the coming days with competent authorities in the north.
Unficyp spokesman, Aleem Siddique, told the Cyprus News Agency, they had seen Ozersay’s statement and registered it but had nothing to say on the matter.
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