Turkish Cypriots demolish symbol of island's division

Turkish Cypriot workers began demolishing a roadblock yesterday that has divided the Cypriot capital for over 40 years, but the symbolic power of the action was unlikely to revive stalled talks on reunifying the island.

The roadblock on Ledra Street, a pedestrian thoroughfare running north to south through the heart of Nicosia, had been in place since the 1960s.

Bulldozers and trucks suddenly appeared yesteryday and began tearing down an observation post, scrap metal and barrels forming a barrier on the Turkish Cypriot side, witnesses said.

Greek Cypriot authorities said they would follow suit and remove barriers on their side after consulting the United Nations, which controls the area.

Opening up Ledra Street is hugely symbolic for the 250,000 residents of the mediaeval city, ringed with Venetian walls.

Both sides have been under pressure from business leaders to open up the street to boost flagging commerce in the historic heart of the city.

"It will open, hopefully, before Christmas. The plans are all ready," said Simavi Asik, deputy mayor of the Turkish-Cypriot part of Nicosia. "This is a welcome approach if they are opening their side.

We are waiting from the green light from the UN, but if they (Turkish Cypriots) open the street we are ready to open too," Nicosia's Greek Cypriot Mayor Michalakis Zampelas said.

Ledra Street was first blocked in 1958, when Turkish Cypriot residents temporarily withdrew into enclaves as Greek Cypriots mounted an armed campaign against British colonial rule.

Independence in 1960 was followed by a constitutional crisis in 1963, when the Turkish Cypriots withdrew from a power-sharing administration and animosity and mutual distrust deepened.