Gay bill will go straight to plenum debate

By Jean Christou

THE ISSUE of decriminalising homosexuality is likely to go to a full parliamentary debate without approval at committee level.

With little hope of approval by the parties in the Legal Affairs Committee, there is no option but to send the bill directly to the plenum for a full debate by May 28.

The Council of Europe (CoE) has given Cyprus one last chance to comply with a 1993 European Court of Human Rights ruling to reform the island’s gay laws.

Cyprus has only until May 29 to comply or face serious repercussions, which could include expulsion from the CoE.

Legal Affairs Committee Chairman Panayiotis Demetriou told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that the parliamentary committee’s report on the controversial issue would be released next week.

The report is likely to deem the committee’s conclusion on the issue over the past three years as inconclusive. It will also set out the positions of each of the parties.

Only three House committee meetings and three plenum sessions remain before the May 29 deadline, and the issue has not been put on the agenda for this week, Demetriou said.

He said it had been impossible to obtain majority approval for the controversial bill at committee level.

Deputies have procrastinated on the matter for years in the face of public and Church opposition.

The Church, which lat month launched a scathing attack on Europe over the gay issue, has sent letters to all deputies calling on them to vote against the changes.

Previous attempts to approve the bill were met by demonstrations outside the House and threats that parties would lose votes.

Further demonstrations are likely when the bill does come up for discussion at the plenum.

Attorney-general Alecos Markides has repeatedly told deputies that Cyprus has no choice but to comply with the European decision.

He has warned that the island’s failure to implement the European Court’s 1993 ruling will have repercussions on outstanding cases by Greek Cypriot refugees against Turkey.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.