North ‘govt’ ridiculed for beach cleanliness report

The north’s ‘government’ was on Thursday ridiculed by environmentalists after releasing its latest beach cleanliness report.

In previous years, the reports had contained data and statistics pertaining to the levels of e. coli and enterococcus found in the water off any given beach in the north, but the latest report simply states that each beach is “suitable”, with no elaboration nor any reference to testing or data.

Additionally, previous reports had on occasion indicated that the water off some beaches was unsafe, with traces of faecal matter even having been found in the sea off Kyrenia in 2022.

Green Action Group board chairwoman Feriha Tel spoke about the report to Kibris Postasi TV on Thursday, expressing her disbelief at the assertions made.

“I will share more sea water analysis results, the sea in Nicosia is clean, you can swim in it,” she quipped.

She then stressed the “importance” of transparency and stakeholder participation in the seawater analysis process, adding that neither she nor the Green Action Group would accept the results of any analysis from which non-governmental organisations and other groups were excluded.

“Certain criteria must be met regarding the reliability of seawater analyses,” she added, hinting that those criteria had not been met by the ‘government’.

She called on the ‘government’ to take the “necessary steps” to increase transparency and the participation of other groups in the analysis.

“We must ensure that our seas are clean, and we must maintain transparency in all processes to ensure this trust,” she said.