Members of the House refugees committee on Tuesday called on the government to build more houses in the Larnaca village of Kofinou, with committee chairman and Akel MP Nikos Kettiros saying efforts should be made to “formulate a plan which is both sustainable and attractive” to the descendants of displaced persons.

Committee members said housing should be built on unused state-owned land in the village, given that almost all of it is Turkish Cypriot-owned.

Meanwhile, Kofinou mukhtar Constantinos Antoniou explained that at present, there are 400 houses in the village, of which 300 are inhabited.

He added that at present, many young people living in Kofinou “continue to live with their parents due to a lack of alternative options”.

Kettiros also made reference to this issue, saying that many young couples who grow up in Kofinou “are forced to move to neighbouring villages” or, in some cases, as far afield as Nicosia, Larnaca or Limassol, “as they have been waiting for more than 10 years for a solution”.

“We do not consider the plan for Kofinou to be closed or a failure,” he said after the committee session, before adding that the committee is now awaiting the results of consultations to be held between the Cyprus land development organisation, the interior ministry and the village council on the matter.

He said the most recent plan put forward by the land development organisation had drawn objections from local residents, given that it entailed the construction of two-bedroom apartments.

Instead, he said, plans for apartments with three bedrooms should be put forward, as these would be more suitable for young families.

Disy MP Rita Superman, meanwhile, called for “the establishment of a special regime for the development of unused state-owned land” and also for the government to begin developing Turkish Cypriot-owned property in the village.

She also said the government should re-examine the current zoning regime in and around the village for the benefit of young people who grew up there to allow them “the right to build a house at a low cost”.

“If decisions are not taken immediately, there is the risk of a silent displacement of young people from Kofinou due to the inaction of the state,” she said, before adding that “housing is a right and not a privilege”.

Dipa’s George Penintaex warned that already, Kofinou’s permanent population “consists mainly of people over 65 years of age, retirees, and the elderly”.

“The village is now clearly sending out a distress signal and mobilisation is required,” he said.

Kofinou was historically a majority Turkish Cypriot village, and was the scene of one of the starkest incidences of violence in Cyprus during the 1960s, when, in November 1967, National Guard forces led by George Grivas overran the village.

A total of 27 Turkish Cypriots were killed in the incident, with Turkey threatening direct military intervention as a result and flying fighter jets over Nicosia. 

Greece was then persuaded to withdraw several thousand troops and Grivas from the island, and the village’s remaining native population stayed in the village until September 1974, when they were moved to the Famagusta district village of Lefkoniko.