"Turkish Bulgarian voters turned back from Ledra Palace
By Elias Hazou
AROUND 100 ethnic Turks from Bulgaria who settled in the occupied areas were yesterday turned back from the Ledra Palace checkpoint in Nicosia, where they had hoped to cross and vote at the Bulgarian embassy in the south.
During the week, the government had made it clear that it regarded the group to be settlers and would thus not be allowed into the south.
For his part, Bulgarian Ambassador Krassimir Stefanov said they were eligible to cross the Green Line under laws spelt out by the European Commission’s Green Line Regulation – a mechanism allowing various categories or citizens and goods to move between the island’s two ethnic communities.
The group (turnout was far lower than expected) showed up at the checkpoint shortly before 4pm, handed their passports to Greek Cypriot authorities and waited – even though the outcome was something of a foregone conclusion."
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