University also demands Akamas transparency

The University of Cyprus (UCy) on Tuesday joined the growing number of critics of the government’s refusal to make public the Akamas plan.

The UCy Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Council said on Tuesday that there must be full transparency and unobstructed access to information related to the Akamas development plan so that the process was in line with basic democratic principles.

Transparency was key for the relevant authorities to be able to properly assess the plan’s environmental impact said the department adding that climate change occurred both globally and locally.

“Approximately half of the climate impact that we will locally experience in Cyprus will be the result of local actions and interventions,” UCy’s engineers said in a press release.

Some 400 people involved in culture, including prominent Cypriots such as Alkinoos Ioannides, Michalis Terlikkas, Varnavas Kyriazis and Anna Marangou among others, issued a joint statement rejecting the revised Akamas development plan as submitted by the department of town planning and housing.

In a joint statement, thayr said: “We have been following the recent developments with concern and note the behind-the-scenes pressures and political interventions regarding the acceleration of the process for approving and publicizing the plan…Any reckless development in the Akamas peninsula will make our living conditions even worse, will cause enormous damage to the flora and fauna and will also damage Cyprus’ cultural heritage.”

In addition, a heated exchange took place on Twitter when Savvas Hadjiminas, representative of Akamas landowners, took a swipe at Greens’ deputy Alexandra Attalides, who the latter regarded as an threat.