Time for a new generation

Sir,
I have been reading your newspaper for several years now and I have been especially interested in the articles pointing out the inconsistencies of statements given by President Papadopoulos to other world leaders and to the people of Cyprus concerning a solution for the Cyprus problem.

I wonder if there should be a mandatory retirement age for politicians. Think about it, why should they be any different then other industry? Papadopoulos is one of the few politicians that was born before World War II, the jet plane, and one of the largest forms of media – the television. The world has changed a lot during his life, and unfortunately, he might not be the one to lead Cyprus now and/or into the future.
The political landscape throughout Europe and the rest of the world is changing. Older politicians are looking beyond their egos and stepping aside for the younger generation. The new Prime Minister of Norway, Jens Stoltenberg, is 46 and the average age of the cabinet is 44. What is the average age of the cabinet here in Cyprus? The President of the European Union is in his forties. The front-runner for leadership of the Conservative party in the UK is 39.

The regime here reminds me of the old photos of the Kremlin leaders in the 1960s and 70s. They didn’t want to relinquish power to the younger generation and look what happened to the USSR and the Warsaw pact countries and their leaders.

With respect to the Cyprus solution or “problem”, what is he waiting for? Is he waiting for the UN to set up a committee to revisit the history of Cyprus in the 1960s and the atrocities committed by the Greek Cypriots against the Turkish Cypriots. What would happen if the UN started passing resolutions punishing the Republic of Cyprus? This may not be out of the realm of possibilities. What would he do then? Blame Britain and/or the US?

The President of Cyprus appears to be a bitter old village elder who is afraid of giving up his fiefdom to the detriment of the younger generation and to the Republic. That in itself is the biggest crime of all.

Patrick Barry,
London

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.