Filenews 18 June 2022
A protest march for Akamas is currently being held by a group of citizens in the presence of political figures. The participants gathered outside the Ministry of Interior and will march to the Presidential Palace.
Dozens of citizens gathered outside the Ministry with banners sending messages to protect Akamas.
According to an announcement, the protest will be peaceful, with slogans and songs, demanding the preservation of the Akamas Peninsula from scattered construction and uncontrolled development, as well as sustainable development and financial support for local communities. The protesters will bring with them placards, banners, whistles and plenty of water. "Hands off Akamas! It will not pass the Akamas Revised Local Plan!" the statement reads.
The protest is also supported by AKEL, whose executives are at the spot.
According to the communication, in recent weeks, behind-the-scenes pressure and political interventions have intensified to have the Revised Akamas Local Plan approved with fast-track procedures, as it has been submitted by the Department of Town Planning and Housing and the Urban Council.
The Revised Akamas Local Plan promotes scattered construction and uncontrolled development, through the policies of building individual residences and a visitable farm, the siting of three areas of specialized developments near the Gorges of Androliko, the Rocks of Inia and the Gorges of Arodes and Kathika, as well as the creation of a new Quarry Zone in the Gorge of Androliko and a new Tourist Zone in the Rocks of Inia.
And all this, despite the fact that these provisions have already been rejected by the Opinion issued by the Department of Environment in October 2021, while at the same time the reports of the competent authorities and environmental organizations prove, beyond any reasonable doubt and scientific reservation, that they will have serious, negative, cumulative and irreversible effects on the natural environment and the unique landscape of the Akamas Peninsula.
We consider that the Akamas Revised Local Plan is completely incompatible with the objectives of preserving our common natural and cultural heritage, as well as the sustainable development of the communities of the Akamas Peninsula.
We demand the rejection of the Revised Local Plan Akamas, so that the Urban Council and the Department of Town Planning and Housing can proceed immediately to the complete revision and radical modification of several important proposed provisions, policy measures and urban zones of the Plan.
