A view of the abandoned resort of Varosha from the northern, Turkish Cypriot side
Credit: Shutterstock
The breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is to open up a magnificent stretch of beach that has been abandoned for 46 years, infuriating Greek Cypriots and inflaming tensions in the eastern Mediterranean.
The beach is backed by the ghost town of Varosha, a once glitzy summer playground that was frequented by the likes of Brigitte Bardot and Elizabeth Taylor, but which has been abandoned since Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974, splitting the former British colony along ethnic lines.
It lies in a buffer zone between the Turkish north of the island and the Greek south, a haunting no man’s land of barbed wire, weed-choked streets and empty hotels which is fenced off by the Turkish army.
The provocative decision to allow access to the beach from Thursday was announced by Ersin Tatar, the prime minister of the self-proclaimed state, which is recognised only by Turkey. "God willing, we will start to use the Maras beach on Thursday morning together with our people," he said, using the abandoned town’s Turkish name.
Varosha is a ghost town, fenced off by the Turkish military
Credit: AFP
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, is backing the move, which threatens to push back efforts to unify the island by years and raise tensions with Greece and the internationally-recognised government of Cyprus.
Relations between Ankara, Athens and Nicosia are already fraught over Turkey’s decision to send oil and gas survey vessels, backed by warships, into waters claimed by Greece and Cyprus.
The beach opening is contentious because Varosha was formerly inhabited by around 45,000 Greek Cypriots, who were forced to abandon their homes and businesses when Turkey invaded.
"We hope that Maras will be fully opened for use," President Erdogan said. "We are ready to provide every support to the (Turkish Cypriot) authorities in this regard."
The decision to open up the beach is supported by Turkey's president
Credit: Anadolu
The Cypriot government intends to lodge protests at the United Nations and the European Union, saying the move was illegal. Nicos Anastasiades, the Cypriot president, said the decision was “exceptionally unacceptable” and appeared to be linked to presidential elections in the northern half of the island on Sunday, in which Mr Tatar is a candidate.
Mr Tatar last year expressed the hope that Varosha could become a new Las Vegas, a booming party town to rival the raucous resort of Ayia Napa on the Greek side of the border. Greece also condemned the announcement, calling it a “blatant violation of UN Security Council resolutions.”
Under a resolution passed in 1984, the UN considers attempts to settle any part of Varosha by anyone other than its former inhabitants as inadmissible.
Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said the bloc was “deeply concerned” about the unilateral move. "The opening of this area… is a serious violation of this agreement," he told the European Parliament on Wednesday. Turkey must “stop this activity,” he said. “It’s going to make it more difficult to reach an agreement on an especially difficult situation in the eastern Mediterranean.”
For now, the opening applies only to the beachfront of Varosha, rather than the ghost town itself. But Greek Cypriots fear that it is the thin end of the wedge and will eventually lead to all of Varosha being claimed.
Manfred Weber, a German MEP and leader of the centre-right bloc the European People’s Party in the European Parliament, accused President Erdogan of wanting to “open and illegally settle the fenced-off town of Varosha, a town taken from Cyprus in 1974. It would be a blatant violation of UN Security Council resolutions and simply illegal. Varosha should be returned to its rightful owners now.”
Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the UN, said such "unilateral actions" would imperil the resumption of peace talks between the two halves of the island.
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