Unholy row over Cyprus settlement

[half greek]

Unholy row over Cyprus settlement
By Elias Hazou
26 August 2008

Archbishop criticises Christofias and prompts hard-hitting response from President


Α row of biblical proportions broke out this week between President Christofias and Archbishop Chrysostomos over the government’s Cyprus policy.

The venue: The annual conference of overseas Cypriots, held this year at Nicosia’s Hilton Hotel.

It all began on Tuesday when the Bishop of Paphos Georgios read out a speech on behalf of the Archbishop, who was away in China at the time.

The statement had been prepared by Georgios, although the Archbishop had instructed him what to write. In it, the Prelate questioned the government’s handling of the new peace drive.

The Cyprus problem had been downgraded from an issue of invasion and occupation to one of differences between the two communities, the Prelate complained.

Going on, the absent Archbishop raised serious doubts over a number of the government’s proposals, such as that of a rotating presidency in the reunited federal state, wondering whether this was in line with European "values and principles."

Defeatism

"Our common sense raises questions in our minds and has created concern," said Georgios on behalf of the Archbishop.

He went on to wonder how the motto "the solution will be from the Cypriots, for the Cypriots," was commensurate with Talat’s remarks about the presence of two nations on the island.

And he suggested the Greek Cypriot side has been consumed with defeatism.

"Our positions have steadily converged towards those of the Turkish side, which has not budged at all. Unfortunately, it seems we [Greek] Cypriots have become desensitised,» he added.

One example of this attitude was the government’s recent stance on the Limnitis dispute and the crossing of Turkish Cypriots to Kokkina in the south. The Greek Cypriot locals of Tilyria had threatened to stop the Turkish Cypriots from crossing, but backed down after repeated pleas from the government.

Murders

Calling the Turkish Cypriots’ crossing "a passage of Attila [the invader] to celebrate the murders of civilians in Tilyria," the Archbishop wondered: "Did we have to silence the matter and welcome them with open arms?"

Stepping up to the podium, Christofias hit back. Visibly flustered, the President broke with the text of his speech to lash out at the Archbishop.

Theocracy

"This state is not a theocracy," Christofias blared, in a clear dig at Chrysostomos. It is a modern [secular] state that emerged from the Zurich and London agreements, and it is a partnership with the Turkish Cypriots.

"We need to stop chasing illusions," he cautioned.

"It is patriotic slogans that have led us to near-disaster. If these slogans persist, in the name of religion and of cultural heritage, then total catastrophe shall come about."

Delegates to the conference were left stunned when Christofias took a personal swipe at the Archbishop.

"The President has been elected by the people, with a 53% vote, and not with 8% nor 10%," he remarked.

It was an unmistakeable reference to the election of Chrysostomos as Archbishop two years ago, when the Paphos cleric managed to win despite having far fewer popular votes than his rival candidates.

So incensed was Christofias that, with the microphone still switched on, he turned to the organiser of the event and complained:

"This sort of thing has happened before...I won’t tolerate it any more. I’m sorry for my tone, but patience has its limits."

Warn

It’s understood that Christofias was referring to previous conferences, when similar comments were made by men of the cloth.

There’s been a lot of bad blood between the communist leader and the outspoken Chrysostomos. During the Archbishopric elections, Akel had openly backed one of Chrysostomos’ rivals, causing the latter to warn political parties to mind their own business.

Then in the presidential elections this year, the Archbishop sided first with incumbent Tassos Papadopoulos and later with Ioannis Kasoulides in the runoff against Christofias.

Oddly enough, Chrysostomos and Christofias seemed to have buried the hatchet when they met at the Presidential Palace a few weeks ago.

Chrysostomos is well known for his hard line views on Cyprus, which many feel border on the nationalistic and was a key campaigner against the Annan Plan in 2004.

On Wednesday Paphos Bishop Georgios, who had the task of delivering Chrysostomos’ speech, said he was saddened by Christofias’ "outburst."

"We simply posed some questions in order to get answers," said the bishop, who insisted the Church was behind Christofias as he begins Cyprus talks.

"The state may not be a theocracy, but neither is it a totalitarian regime, and everyone is entitled to their opinion and to express it," he said.

Government spokesman Stephanos Stephanou called the Archbishop’s remarks regrettable and "divisive," while Akel’s Nikos Katsourides suggested that, because the Church was behind the times it was chasing windmills.


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