Greek Cypriots abruptly pulled out of a plan to open a historic roadblock dividing the Cypriot capital Nicosia, accusing Turkish rivals on Monday of carrying out a land-grab on territory controlled by the United Nations, Reuters reported. Turkish Cypriot authorities in the north of the divided city started work last week to dismantle a decades-old barrier on Ledra Street, a pedestrian thoroughfare that runs perpendicular to a ceasefire line splitting the capital. The barrier is seen as an enduring symbol of Cyprus's partition but diplomats say its removal is unlikely to revive stalled talks on reunifying the island. Local authorities on both sides say its removal would boost commerce in the city. An initial lukewarm response by Greek Cypriots, who said they would agree to the project provided it was approved by the United Nations, turned to opposition on Monday and accusations that the Turkish military guarding the northern rim of the line was inching forward. "The government of the Republic has withdrawn support to open Ledra because of the advance of the Turkish occupation forces beyond the ceasefire line," said government spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides. The plan was to remove the barrier and then build a pedestrian bridge over the ceasefire line, a military zone. The new link was designed to bolster trade to businesses in the two halves of Nicosia, a sprawling city of 250,000 people. It was thought the complication focussed on different interpretations the sides had on precisely where the ceasefire line -- a winding corridor of decayed buildings held in a time warp for more than 30 years -- began and ended. A United Nations official confirmed there was a problem: "We are actively engaged in discussion with both sides at the moment and will continue to try our best to help solve the issue." Greek and Turkish Cypriots have lived estranged since the island was divided in a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a brief Greek Cypriot coup. Tension between the two communities dates back at least 15 years earlier. The first physical barriers between the sides were erected at Ledra in 1958, when Turkish Cypriots withdrew into enclaves as Greek Cypriots mounted an armed campaign against British colonial rule. Cyprus reunification talks collapsed in April 2004 when Greek Cypriots rejected United Nations reunification proposals to join the European Union a week later in the name of the whole island. -SPA 0005 Local Time 2105 GMT
