Tensions are high on the island of Cyprus, a Mediterranean gem of an island whose history was stained with hostilities between two communities. Choked by restrictions, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) took a small step to ease the lives of its citizens in Pile (Pyla), a village inside the buffer zone where a U.N. peacekeeping force is deployed. A project to expand the road connecting the village to Yiğitler (Arsos) village in the island’s north began earlier this week, to the chagrin of the United Nations.
After a confrontation with U.N. forces, Turkish Cypriots scaled back the construction work but vowed to continue it. On Sunday, bulldozers were back at the site.
Türkiye, a guarantor state for the island, on Saturday "strongly" condemned the U.N. Peacekeeping force's intervention in the road's construction. "We find unacceptable and strongly condemn the physical intervention yesterday by soldiers of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in the sovereign territory of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) to prevent the construction of the Pile-Yiğitler road," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Türkiye fully supports the relevant statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the TRNC and the justified reaction of the TRNC authorities, it added. The U.N.'s stance on the road, a humanitarian project to improve direct access for TRNC citizens from Pile village to their homeland, and its subsequent statements do not align with the impartial attitude expected from the peacekeeping force on the island, the ministry said. It noted that the U.N. force contributed to escalating tensions, and presented itself as a victim in the situation on the ground, but expectations from the force are to address humanitarian needs on the island.
"It is inexplicable that despite this, the U.N. has for years turned a blind eye to the Greek Cypriot administration's faits accomplis in the Buffer Zone while preventing the Turkish Cypriots from meeting their justified humanitarian needs. This situation clearly demonstrates that the U.N. is not fulfilling its basic duties and functions such as approaching the two sides on the Island equally and finding solutions to disputes," the ministry added.
It urged the U.N. and its peacekeeping force to work to maintain the trust of the TRNC authorities and its people. "As a Guarantor State, we invite the U.N. Peacekeeping Force to refrain from actions and rhetoric that would overshadow the mission it has been carrying out in Cyprus for nearly 60 years, to accord equal treatment to the two sides in Cyprus, and to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the TRNC," it added.
Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş also condemned the peacekeeping force that "illegally and forcibly" tried to prevent the TRNC from working on the road. "We support all the work that the Turkish Cypriot State will do in its own territory, and we call on the UN peacekeeping force to immediately return from this biased attitude that harms the peace and tranquil environment on the island and to fulfill its main duty," Kurtulmuş said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Türkiye will continue to stand by the Turkish Cypriots, whose law and welfare it considers one of its most important duties, he added.
The road expansion is strategically important for residents as it will give them more options to reach Pile, where Turkish and Greek Cypriots live together. Residents of Pile will be able to travel shorter distances and will not have to pass through British bases when crossing to the Turkish side as a result of the 11.6-kilometer (7.2-mile) construction and repair work. Despite this, the Greek Cypriot administration and the U.N. are opposed to the project. The first 7.5 kilometers of the road will pass through Yiğitler, and the second 4.1 kilometers will pass through Pile.
Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar on Saturday described as "essential" the construction of a road that has triggered rare tension with U.N. peacekeepers on the divided island.
Turkish Cypriot authorities say the peacekeeping force, known as UNFICYP, overstepped its boundaries.
"It is unfortunate that an attempt was made by UNFICYP to obstruct the development of the road being carried out by a civilian contractor, within the sovereign territory of the TRNC," Tatar said in a statement to Reuters.
The U.N. says that just under half of the 11.5 kilometers route falls within the territory it administers.
Friday's incidents triggered a chorus of condemnation from the U.N., Britain, the European Union and the United States. In an advisory to its nationals, the U.S. Embassy in Nicosia "strongly encouraged" its nationals to reconsider plans to travel to Turkish Cyprus over the weekend. There was no construction underway on Saturday, and peacekeepers remained in the area, which was "firmly" within the buffer zone, a spokesperson for UNFICYP stated to Reuters.
Tatar said the road was essential for purely humanitarian grounds to address economic and transportation issues for Turkish Cypriots living in that village.
Pile itself is home to Greek and Turkish Cypriots and falls in territory surrounded by a patchwork of jurisdictions, from the U.N. buffer zone to British sovereign bases and to areas controlled by opposing communities. At present, people from the area wanting to travel to Turkish Cyprus have to cross a checkpoint in the British bases, then another checkpoint controlled by Turkish Cypriot authorities. The Turkish Cypriot demand for a road to facilitate travel from Pile to the nearby community of Yiğitler has been longstanding. The Turkish Cypriot project would more than halve the time of the journey, Tatar said.
Beyarmudu Municipality Mayor Bülent Bebek, who oversees municipal services for Turkish Cypriots in Pile, said the TRNC has patiently awaited the realization of the Pile-Yiğitler Road Project for 22 years.
Bebek noted that eight police officers and two private landowners within the vicinity of the buffer zone, known as the Green Line, sustained injuries during an incident on Friday as bulldozers forcibly removed U.N. vehicles parked in the area with the aim of obstructing the construction. "They claim that this is Greek Cypriot land. No, this is TRNC land. We have conveyed this to them as well. We will not give up what is ours. This road will be built," he said.
Bebek said the U.N. forces previously permitted the construction of two separate roads connecting the south Cyprus Greek administration to Pile in 1996 and 2006, however, when the TRNC initiated road construction, the U.N. displayed a biased stance.
The Undersecretary of the TRNC Foreign Ministry said the U.N. peacekeeping force deployed personnel to the area Saturday but refrained from intervening in the ongoing construction.
Citizens of Beyarmudu town, the last crossing point from Turkish Cypriot territory to Pile, have said that the road project, which is being prepared for travel from Yiğitler village to Pile without contacting the British bases and the Greek Cypriot administration in southern Cyprus, will benefit those living in border areas. Güray Kafa, who owns a house on the Green Line, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that he travels from the conflict zone to Beyarmudu for work on a daily basis, but that crossing from the Green Line to TRNC territory is difficult because of British bases.
Kafa said that the U.N. is deliberately obstructing the way to the village by providing no alternatives at the Beyarmudu Border Crossing to the U.N.-controlled Pile. "When the road construction is finished, it will be very beneficial to the citizens. This road will not pass through British bases or Greek Cypriot territory, and there will be no British soldiers at the crossings," he asserted. Emrah Eskimuhtaroğlu, another resident of the region, also highlighted the project's importance not only for the Pile residents but also for some Turkish Cypriots who have homes and land on the Green Line, pointing out the difficulty of crossing through the Beyarmudu Border Gate because of both traffic and British base areas.
"We can't go to Pile or other areas whenever we want," he lamented, highlighting the restrictions Turkish Cypriots face on freedom of movement in their homeland due to the actions of the U.N. and the nearby British base.
He criticized the U.N. peacekeepers for not allowing Turkish citizens and people who later became TRNC citizens to visit Pile.
