AKEL on the construction of a new hotel on an ancient coastal site
Statement BY Costas Costa Head of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the C.C. of AKEL on the decision to allow the construction of a new hotel on an ancient coastal site
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 4th September 2020, Nicosia
While the excavations in Yeroskipou are ongoing, the government is proceeding with the procedures to grant the Archdiocese a planning permit for the construction of a huge hotel, completely ignoring the archaeological findings so far and breaking its own pledges. The government is fully in line with the Archbishop’s plans aimed at the coexistence of the hotel and the antiquities, with the ultimate goal of the antiquities becoming the backyard of the hotel.
It is now clear that salami tactics are being applied. That is to say, a part of the plot is gradually being alienated, no excavations are being made in this plot and subsequently the individual developments are approved. The Department of Antiquitie’s recent decision to “approve in principle the location of the buildings” is part of this tactic, despite the fact it does not rule out the existence of antiquities on the site where the hotel is to be constructed. Finally, we remind you that a permit has already been given for the construction of two 12-storey buildings.
The decision to allow the construction of a new hotel on an ancient site by giving an urban planning permit before the completion of the excavations is scandalous, as was the position of the competent Ministry and the Department of Antiquities, who were stressing the “imperative completion of the excavations in the plot as a whole so that they can safely assess the value and magnitude of the findings”.
AKEL demands from the government that it facilitates the completion of the investigations into the whole area of the plot, but also that it restores the situation as it was before the declassification of the relevant area of Yeroskipou in 2017. That this plot falls into the category of Ancient Monuments is unquestionable and as such must be protected. AKEL will continue until the end to fight for the defence of this very important archaeological site, but also more broadly for the defense of Cyprus’ cultural heritage.
The government is primarily responsible for the cultural crime being committed in Yeroskipou, as well as for the transfer of the management of Cyprus’ antiquities to the Archbishop.
