More than half of the Larnaca palm trees facing the sea, which have been a landmark in Larnaca for over a century, now bear slogans of a football team and spray-painted designs.
As reported to Phileleftheros by Larnaca Mayor Andreas Vyras, efforts are being made with the assistance of the municipality’s agronomist to find a way to remove the slogans without affecting the towering palm trees adorning the coastal front.
“We have started cleaning up the other slogans written on flowerbeds, shop windows in Hermes Square, and elsewhere, and we have yet to decide what to do with the palm trees,” Vyras noted, expressing his disappointment.
“Some people need to respect the city’s property and our fellow citizens; what is happening is unacceptable,” added the mayor, indicating that a complaint has been lodged with the Police.
“I appeal for this situation, which does not honor our city, nor the perpetrators themselves, nor their teams, to stop. We are talking about historic clubs that have contributed on a social and national level,” he concluded.
Specific information is available to the Municipality of Larnaca regarding the identities behind the vandalism.
The perpetrators seem to have hidden behind the carnival celebrations to plaster the city with slogans without being noticed.
Moreover, the Municipality of Larnaca possesses video footage captured last Sunday showing a group of 40-50 young people wearing white masks and black clothes in Hermes Square, where slogans of Anorthosis were written.
It is believed that the same individuals are involved in the vandalism on the coastal front of Phinikoudes, as some palm trees bear slogans of the specific team.
