DEFENCE Minister Socratis Hasikos had to scramble to the House yesterday after deputies on the House Defence Committee, raised their eyebrows at the prospect of having to testify to police in connection with leaks of classified information concerning arms procurement.
On Wednesday, Hasikos said deputies could be called to testify in a criminal investigation concerning leaks to the press of classified information.
Deputies, apparently not too comfortable with the idea, yesterday decided to call the minister to the House to brief them on the issue.
The briefing was done behind closed doors.
Afterwards, Hasikos told reporters that there was no problem, stressing that nothing had been said to offend the members of the committee.
Hasikos took the chance to re-table the issue of the House being involved in arms procurement, reminding that when he served as deputy he had proposed to change the current state of affairs.
He nevertheless added that as a minister he wanted to be under the House’s scrutiny.
Hasikos said too much time was wasted through the current procedures and there was also the issue of the legislature meddling with the executive branch.
“It could have been a clear cut procedure like all other purchases done by the state; but I repeat that as long as I’m minister I want to be checked by the House,” Hasikos said.
The Chairman of the Defence Committee Yiannakis Omirou did not rule out deputies testifying, while DISY deputy Antonis Karas warned that testify or not, the rumour that classified information might have been leaked by committee members would linger for ever.
Karas also took the chance to voice his opposition to Cyprus buying arms from Israel, because of its alliance with Turkey.
Karas said this was a tragic mistake and revealed that he would vote against any funds earmarked for procuring arms from Israel, including UAVs and coastal surveillance radars.
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.
