ANKARA, Sept 12 (AFP) - Authorities in northern Cyprus are opening a secondary school for the Greek Cypriot minority living in the breakaway Turkish-held part of the divided island, a Turkish Cypriot leader said Sunday.
The school will open on Monday in Rizokarpasso, on the northeastern tip of the island, Serdar Denktash, deputy premier of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), told Turkey`s CNN-Turk news channel.
Rizokarpasso`s original population was almost entirely Greek, but only about 300 remain today.
Denktash, the son of veteran Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, said 12 students would attend the new school.
There is already a Greek Cypriot primary school in the region, with two teachers -- a husband and wife -- for nine students.
Both schools are under Turkish Cypriot control.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey occupied its northern third in response to an Athens-engineered coup to unite the island with Greece.
A last-ditch UN initiative to bring the island`s internationally-recognized south and breakaway north together failed earlier this year when the Greek Cypriots voted down a reunification plan, which was approved by the island`s Turkish community.