NICOSIA (Reuters) - A man and his donkey were arrested in Cyprus Monday when they tried to poke fun at passport checks by crossing the island's divide equipped only with a "donkey passport."
Greek Cypriot pensioner Savvas Christodoulou and his donkey, Shelidona, were part of a protest which activists hoped would highlight opposition to passport checks at the recently opened border, which has divided the island since 1974.
Turkish Cypriot police encouraged them to cross the Nicosia checkpoint into Turkish-controlled territory but moments later plainclothes officers bundled Christodoulou into a car.
His donkey, the heavily pregnant Shelidona, was led off to the nearest police station to be put in quarantine.
"They've been taken into custody," a Turkish Cypriot guard at the checkpoint told Reuters.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20030923/od_nm/odd_cyprus_donkey_dc
Greek Cypriot pensioner Savvas Christodoulou and his donkey, Shelidona, were part of a protest which activists hoped would highlight opposition to passport checks at the recently opened border, which has divided the island since 1974.
Turkish Cypriot police encouraged them to cross the Nicosia checkpoint into Turkish-controlled territory but moments later plainclothes officers bundled Christodoulou into a car.
His donkey, the heavily pregnant Shelidona, was led off to the nearest police station to be put in quarantine.
"They've been taken into custody," a Turkish Cypriot guard at the checkpoint told Reuters.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20030923/od_nm/odd_cyprus_donkey_dc