Clerides promises extra aid for Athens quake victims

PRESIDENT Clerides, moved by what he saw on a tour of quake-hit Athens yesterday, has promised further financial and material aid for victims of the disaster.

The government has already pledged $1 million towards relief and rebuilding efforts following the September 7 earthquake, which killed more than 120 people and left hundreds homeless.

But Clerides yesterday vowed to push his cabinet to approve more aid for Athens. He ordered that more tents and blankets be sent from Cyprus immediately for the needs of quake victims. He also promised to have his officials look into the possibility of supplying pre-fabricated homes for the homeless Athenians to survive the winter months.

The pledges came as the President took time out from his official contacts in Greece to visit the worst-hit areas of the Greek capital, meeting displaced persons and relief workers.

Political parties, the Church, groups and individuals in Cyprus have been queuing up to send relief for the Athens quake victims. Four Cypriots were among the earthquake dead.

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.