AHEPA lends support to president

AHEPA (American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association) are arriving in Cyprus today to congratulate Cyprus for its accession to the EU and to lend their support to the Greek Cypriot people and President Tassos Papadopoulos in the difficult days that could lie ahead.

AHEPA’s Supreme President A. Jack Georgalas, Supreme V.P. Franklin Manios, Executive Director Basil Mossaidis and Dr Takey Cris will be the first to arrive after the referendum last Saturday that resulted in a resounding no and a divided island entering Europe.

President of AHEPA in Cyprus Costas Pereos yesterday told the Cyprus Mail that the order of over 60,000 members was dedicated to supporting and standing by Cyprus, despite the fact that none had been able to return in time for the referendum and cast a vote of their own.

Pereos said that AHEPA had sent letters to President Bush asking that he continue his efforts for a solution in Cyprus, but also to respect the peoples’ decision.

“I remember when AHEPA had a meeting with the President at the White House in Washington and member Alex Spanos, a very influential man in America, made a strong point to President Bush,” said Pereos.

“He said you may lose the elections because of the Greek Cypriot American votes because something is not right with the Annan plan and there are approximately 1 million Greeks and Cypriots in the US.”

Pereos said Bush had at the time expressed his doubts at this assessment, but that thre was now concern in the US administration about the prospects for Bush’s re-election.

“I mean the plan was just not fair. There were reports that the Cypriot government hired a Washington public relations firm to explain the referenda to them,” said Pereos.

He added that by AHEPA coming to Cyprus they were showing their high level of commitment to the Greek Cypriots and their influence in America.

AHEPA was established in 1922 in Atlanta for the protection of Hellenism during the time of the Ku Klux Clan and other organizations. “Our constitutional mission is to promote philanthropy and this is what we hope to establish here in Cyprus,” said Pereos.

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.