Turkish forces in Cyprus on Friday began destroying land mines placed since the war in 1974 that divided the island, following recent minefield clearing by the Greek Cypriot side, dpa reported. The United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) and the European Commission Representation on the island said Friday the demining of the buffer zone will contribute to promoting reconciliation and help open more crossing points on the island. Four military points were opened along the 180-kilometre dividing "Green Line" in April 2003, allowing Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots to meet again after 30 years. It was hoped this would also lead to the adoption of a U.N. peace plan prior to the Republic of Cyprus joining the enlarged European Union on May 1, 2004, but Greek Cypriots rejected the plan in a nationwide referendum that was, nonetheless, accepted by the Turkish Cypriots. Three more crossing points have since been opened after the Greek Cypriots cleared more minefields. To date, 13 minefields in an area of 575,686 square metres have been cleared and 2,186 antitank and anti-personnel mines destroyed by the Greek Cypriot National Guard, the U.N. and the EU-funded UNDP Partnership for the Future (PFF) demining programme. The Turkish forces, however, had refused to cooperate in the initial demining process, that has cost upwards of four million euros to date. Fridays event saw just two landmines detonated in a Turkish forces minefield in the buffer zone adjacent to the United Nations Protected Area (UNPA) and UNFICYP headquarters to mark the occasion. The U.S. embassy in the capital Nicosia welcomed the continuation of the demining process along the UN-controlled buffer zone. An embassy official said that though demining is no substitute for a negotiated peaceful solution, it would contribute to a climate of trust.
