By ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ (GREEK) TÜRKÇE (TURKISH)
A fire which broke out in a “mountain cabin” in a forest area located between Ağıllar (Mandres) and Mersinlik (Flamoudi) turned more than 16,000 donums into ash. When we questioned the ownership of the mysterious cottage and the surrounding garden located at the centre of the valley where the fire started, the Minister of Agriculture Dursun Oğuz replied, “I asked the Director of the Department of Forestry, I was told it was private property. How could private property exist in such a place, I too was surprised.”
The owner of the cabin and the surrounding grounds, H.K is in police custody.
The Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources Oğuz says the person in question is a 1975 migrant, which is why “he probably purchased it from someone else.”
I ask, “Can someone own private property in the middle of a forest.”
“I don’t know,” he replies.
The minister is tired, he hasn’t slept in three days, having gone to Parliament directly from the fire zone, and we are now talking on his way back to the village of Mersinlik (Flamoudi).
He says, “The fire burning towards Ağıllar (Mandres) was completely brought under control, but then it flared up again. Now the fire is also spreading towards the Five Finger Mountains. The flames have turned towards the village of Mersinlik (Flamoudi). That’s why, because of the situation, we haven’t had much of a chance to investigate the place where the fire broke out.”
“The housing permit will definitely be investigated”
I ask, “What do you know so far.”
“What I have been told is that the place is privately owned property. A heavy vehicle operating at the site suddenly overheats; catches fire and the flames spread to the forest. The Forestry Department intervenes immediately but the fire grows. The Forestry Department arrives on time. But they fail to prevent it from spreading.”
I ask, “Can one issue a permit to reside here?”
“I had no knowledge, no idea, I was surprised myself to learn that private property could exist in such a place. If any construction or building permit has been given, then this will be investigated. Anyway, the person in question is in police custody.”
The cause of the fire: An unregistered, digger without number plates
The owner of the ‘Mountain Cabin’, H.K., who is held responsible for being negligent at the start of the fire and A.Ş., the owner of the digger, which caught fire in the forest, are both being held in police custody at the moment.
Police arrested both on the charge of “causing a fire due to negligence.”
It emerged during the court hearing that the digger was “unregistered and without number plates”. However, the status of the house was not disclosed. According to the police officer’s witness testimony given to the Famagusta District Court, “the unregistered digger which did not have any number plates caught fire after the vehicle’s poorly connected battery cables short-circuited.”
‘It was leased in 2015 with the permission of a minister’
I’m speaking with a former employee from the Forestry Department, who tells me that you cannot have unplanned development, uncontrolled activity or heavy machinery operating in forest areas.
The employee – who claimed that a house and the surrounding grounds at the site where the fire had started had been leased (to the individual) in 2015 by the Forestry Department with ‘Ministerial approval’ – said, “The site has been a forest area since 1960. They’re claiming it’s private property, but I don’t think so. They used to build mountain cabins during the British era. The aim of these cabins was to accommodate mountain rangers responsible for protecting the forests. These cabins were used for patrols, not for recreational purposes…”
It has been claimed that the site located close to Mersinlik (Flamoudi) was leased to H.K by the then Minister of Environment Hakan Dinçyürek.
I get a hold of the National Unity Party (UBP) MP Hakan Dinçyürek who tells me it was impossible for him to remember a procedure that had been carried out seven years ago. “Thousands of (hectares) of forest land are leased; this is done during every minister’s term in office and the same applies for my term. I do not have any information about this mountain cabin, and I do not remember. There have been no illegal practices during my term.”
Who is responsible?
Now I would like to openly ask:
Had that unregistered digger without number plates not been in the forest area between Mersinlik – Ağıllar (Flamoudi – Mandres)…
If the cabin had not been leased.
Would this fire have started?
There is no point in crying at the “murder” scene if there is negligence, an unlawful act, preferential treatment, the turning of a blind eye or the granting of a favour to a crony and if no one is held accountable.
The trees, the wildlife, nature, and the vegetation paid the price.
What about those responsible?
Source: “I ASKED THE DIRECTOR OF THE FORESTRY DEPARTMENT, HE SAID HE WAS TOLD IT WAS PRIVATE PROPERTY”
