Bicommunal response to foot and mouth outbreak praised

Turkish Cypriot opposition political party CTP deputy leader Erkut Sahali on Friday praised the bicommunal nature of the response to the recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the Larnaca district, with the Turkish Cypriot authorities having donated 60,000 doses of the disease’s vaccine so far.

“Sometimes, the reality imposed by life instantly takes us to places we could not reach, even with long preparations and negotiations. The fact that the first support for meeting the vaccine needs … came from northern Cyprus, which is not event considered a last resort, should not be overlooked or ignored,” he said.

He added that “this example produced a positive result because it was an active negotiation process” and said to this end that “a more useful example of cooperation may not easily be experienced again”.

As such, he said, “its value must be well understood and kept at hand for new events which life will impose”.

“On our island, which is too small to be divided, there are still countless problems which Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots must address and solve together. At the top of these, of course, is the Cyprus problem, which hinders people’s access to their rights,” he said.

He added that in light of the bicommunal cooperation experienced over the foot and mouth disease outbreak, “I hope that the greatest gain and the strongest source of hope will be that the challenges life imposes contribute to a greater awareness and a better understanding of the need for solutions”.