Residents of Mazotos blocked the Mazotos–Kiti road for half an hour on Saturday morning, using a tractor and a truck, in protest against plans to proceed with a desalination plant in the area. Holding banners and chanting slogans, they called for the plans to be stopped and appealed to the President of the Republic to intervene.
MPs and representatives of parties, bodies and organisations attended the protest. Messages on the banners included: “Save the sea of Mazotos”, “Keep your hands off the sea of Mazotos”, “The sea of Mazotos is in danger”, “You are destroying our sea” and “No to desalination in Mazotos”.
Lambriani Alexandrou, a member of the Mazotos Community Council and the Initiative Group for the Rescue of the Mazotos Coast, said residents would continue their struggle and rejected any attempt to offset the project’s effects.
“Mazotos is not for sale, it will not be given away and it will not remain silent. We will defend it to the end,” she said, adding that, in her view, the case should be investigated immediately and residents should receive answers.
Alexandrou claimed that an Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) proposal had been rejected, describing it as lower-cost and capable of supplying more cubic metres of water. She also said the Initiative Group had collected 500 signatures and would continue collecting them. According to her, residents have filed two appeals and are prepared, if necessary, to take their case to a European court.
No answers from the govt
She said residents were awaiting a meeting with the President of the Republic and had repeatedly sent documented studies but had not received the answers they were seeking. Asked whether the community would consider compensatory measures or other benefits from the Ministry of Agriculture, she replied that nothing could offset the damage that, in her view, would be caused to the area.
Eleni Haili, a representative of the Initiative Group, also appealed to the President of the Republic to intervene, expressing residents’ strong opposition to the project.
“Enough, we have had enough, we are at our limits. We don’t want them in our village,” she said, adding that the community was the residents’ life and that they would not allow, as she put it, the area to be destroyed.
Haili described the decision concerning Mazotos as urgent and irregular. She claimed it was taken in January because of an emergency, bypassing procedures and without a prior environmental study. She also spoke of significant interventions to the seabed, coast and land environment, claiming the project provides for 40,000 tonnes of waste to be discharged into the sea each day.
The Community Council’s position
In a statement, the Mazotos Community Council clarified that it did not take part in the protest, saying it had not been informed of its organisation in advance and had not been asked in good time to assist or participate.
According to the statement, the Initiative Group organised the protest on Wednesday, just three days before it took place. The Council noted that when it intends to organise or officially support a protest, it must follow the prescribed procedures and take the relevant decisions through its competent collective bodies.
It said it always acts in accordance with the Communities Law and the legislation in force on organising public gatherings and demonstrations, with the aim of ensuring legality, transparency and respect for its institutional role.
Source: CNA
