Mitsero protesters demand halt to asphalt plant relocation works

Mitsero, Cyprus. Hundreds of demonstrators demanded an immediate halt to works to relocate an asphalt plant to their area on Sunday, citing public health concerns and children’s right to grow up in a safe environment and breathe clean air.

Residents oppose relocation

The protest, organised by Communities in Action and attended by residents of eight affected communities, took place on the Ayios Ioannis to Kato Moni road, where work to establish the plant has already begun. The plant had previously been shut down.

Protesters held banners reading “We claim our rights to clean air” and “We must safeguard the future of our children”.

Community leader raises health concerns

“We are facing the scandalous indifference of the state to the health of 15,000 inhabitants,” Kato Moni community leader Marios Makriyiannis said.

“It is not enough that our area is full of all kinds of dirt that makes our lives unbearable, they have the audacity to move the asphalt plant to an area where they think second-class citizens live,” he said.

“It is a political and social issue that highlights the inability to properly design industrial and livestock zones.”

Calls for authorities to reconsider

Former Ecologists MP George Perdikis said residents had been fighting for six years. He argued that another asphalt plant was not needed because eight were already operating.

Communities in Action called on the competent authorities to reconsider the relocation decision and said government promises must be kept, rather than forgotten after elections.