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RICCOS
Beach Bar in Yeroskipou, Paphos~Cyprus, yesterday
earned an eleventh-hour reprieve after bulldozers came
to flatten the popular beach café yesterday.
Locals, tourists, friends and family of Riccos
banded together yesterday morning, and formed a human
chain around the beach café. The demolition team was
turned away.
Riccos, has had some form of café on the beach since
1975, but he doesn’t have a license, and yesterday
the bulldozers showed up with a court order to tear
down his café. They were only turned back by the
spontaneous human chain of supporters.
Paphos locals are horrified over plans to remove the
popular meeting place.
“I have lived in Paphos for the last 17 years,”
Susan Andreou, 56, told the Cyprus Mail. “I come to
Riccos every weekend during the summer. It is the best
beach in Paphos, and I have a snack with my family.
Riccos is part of Paphos. It would be like blowing up
Aphrodite’s rock. It’s disgraceful what the
government are trying to do. Give the man a permit and
let him stay. Visitors from all over the world come
back here year in, year out.”
Riccos yesterday called Radio Paphos, and announced on
air that if the bulldozers came back, they would have
to drive over him to reach the café. He asked to be
allowed to stay open until after the summer season,
which is his busiest time.
The structure has been pulled down twice in the last
decade, and each time, the war veteran has put it up
again.
Radio Paphos put
the Mayor of Yeroskipou on air after Riccos’ defiant
outburst. The
Mayor promised that, providing that Riccos delivered a
letter to him, stating his intention to pull down his
café at the end of the season, he would be permitted
to stay open until the end of summer.
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2008
5/6/08
29/5
22/5 15/5
8/5
SanJuan
Fiesta, Menorca 21 June
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