Turkish Cypriot ‘police’ continue entering and exiting the buffer zone at the point of the Pyla plateau, staking a claim to an area that falls under UN control.
Following heightened tensions between Turkish Cypriot security forces and the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) earlier this week on the plateau, which later spread to Pergamos, the situation currently remains calm, though frequent incursions on the plateau continue.
Speaking to Politis on Thursday, UNFICYP spokesperson Aleem Siddique said: “UN peacekeepers remain deployed to the Pyla plataeu and are monitoring the situation closely. We are actively engaging with all parties to restore the status quo ante in the area.”
No military in buffer zone
It is worth clarifying that there are no military assets in the buffer zone. According to Politis’ sources, a photo circulating online of a Turkish military tent and flag in close proximity to UN assets on an elevated area actually shows one of many Turkish military observation posts situated north of the buffer zone, not in it.
Another photo doing the rounds shows what appears to be a convoy of Turkish armoured combat vehicles or armoured personnel carriers. This is also in an area north of the buffer zone.
Reliable sources told Politis that at no point have any military assets entered the buffer zone during this period.
Poking and prodding
What is happening is the continuous questioning of UN authority over a part of the buffer zone on the Pyla plateau which the Turkish Cypriots claim belongs to them.
Hence, Turkish Cypriot ‘police’ vehicles are conducting regular patrols – morning, afternoon and night – on the plateau in an area disputed with the UN. They enter without permission and leave. In response, UNFICYP follows them, questions the purpose of their incursion into the buffer zone, lodges protests, speaks to their commanders and, in general, tries to make their unauthorised movements as uncomfortable as possible.
‘End incursions and return to status quo’
UN Special Representative Khassim Diagne has given instructions for the UN peacekeepers to maintain their presence on the Pyla plateau and challenge any attempt to take or exercice control of the area, to protest every unauthorised action and demand the restoration of the status quo.
At the same time, UN Security Council members have all been sent a note updating them on what is happening in Pyla, with a call for their diplomatic support to address the situation with the parties involved.
Disease sparks security scare
The trouble appears to have started following heightened Turkish Cypriot concern over increased activity around Turkish Cypriot farms situated in the buffer zone. The farms in the Pyla and Pergamos area sell their products to the government-controlled areas and reportedly sought the assistance of the Cyprus Republic’s Veterinary Service to deal with the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) plaguing the island.
Concerned that veterinary officials would enter areas that the Turkish Cypriots consider their own, it is believed the person responsible for foreign affairs in the north, Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu, ordered Turkish Cypriot ‘police’ to show their presence and effectively block access to any veterinary officials from the Cyprus Republic.
The situation in Pergamos soon de-escalated on Wednesday and there are currently no Turkish Cypriot ‘police’ in or around that area, while frequent incursions continue on the Pyla plateau.