Turkish president inaugurates controversial water pipeline to northern Cyprus

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived for a short visit to northern Cyprus on Saturday to inaugurate a controversial undersea water pipeline from the Turkish coast to the northern Cypriot shores, Turkish Cypriot media reported.

The visit and the inauguration of the project prompted a strong reaction by the government of Cyprus, which branded it as illegal.

"This visit is an action which violates international law. It is also a negative development for the Turkish Cypriots themselves," said the government spokesman commenting on the visit by Erdogan and several other Turkish government officials.

Turkey controlled northern part of Cyprus in 1974, splitting the island in separate Greek and Turkish Cypriot regions, in reaction to a coup by officers of the military junta ruling Greece at the time.

The 80-km long undersea pipe carries water from a dam a Anamur in Turkey to a dam on the northern shores in the northern part of the Cyprus island, in which the Government of Cyprus does not exercise effective control.

The inaugural ceremony was held in two parts. Erdogan turned a lever to let water flow into the dam at Anamur, in the presence of his Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci.

They and other officials then helicoptered to a water treatment plant at Panagra, near the northern Cyprus coast for the second part of the inauguration.

The internationally recognized government of Cyprus which is run by Greek Cypriots, had from the start protested against the construction of the pipe, which began in 2011. It branded the project as an attempt to integrate the controlled territories into Turkey and undermine the ongoing negotiations on the Cyprus problem. It has also turned down offers for the supply of water from the project, pointing out that the needs of Cyprus are far more than the capacity of the pipe.

Cyprus mostly relies on water collected in several dams during the rainy winter months reinforced by several desalination plants.

Greek and Turkish Cypriots are currently engaged in negotiations which for the first time in four decades offer a glimmer of hope for an agreement reunifying the eastern Mediterranean island.

• But Turkey's attitude is a source of concern for both Greek and Turkish Cypriots that the Turkish government might hold back when time comes to make important decisions which would seal an agreement, according to local reports.

These would include withdrawing its troops from Cyprus, among others.
   Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
   18/10/15
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