Sir,
It is with great disbelief and disappointment that I hear the latest histrionics from Justice Minister Doros Theodorou encouraging public vigilantes and have-a-go heroics (Cyprus’ bravest woman, Sunday Mail December 11).
This man must only yesterday have climbed down from the hills. What in God’s good name he is doing in such a position of responsibility and power is beyond me.
Encouraging citizens to take the law into their own hands is one thing, but rewarding them with instant appointment to the police force for ‘acts of bravery’ is really beyond belief. Surely our esteemed minister must know that banks and co-operatives are insured against armed robbery and employees or members of the public caught up in one should never, repeat never, tackle robbers or thieves ? Why then does he encourage such actions with medals and instant government jobs ? I really wonder where this will all end. Maybe the next gung ho mother-of-four from the nearby village who tries this stunt will not be so lucky and end up on the receiving end of a bullet.
Do not misunderstand my point here. Defending yourself against criminals who wish to harm you or your loved ones is one thing, but charging head-on into an adrenaline fuelled act of ill perceived heroism is something else entirely.
Maybe our government can develop this ridiculous policy a step further. Perhaps we will see those citizens who give first aid to others at accident scenes appointed as doctors to government hospitals. Or how about commisioning the young man who opened fire in the buffer zone last month to the national guard. With what we have seen so far with Mr Theodorou I guess anything might be possible.
Furthermore, we often hear Minister Theodorou lamenting the rise of road related deaths and openly blaming the public for their careless driving. He must be incredibly ignorant if he cannot see that this all filters down from the very top and the blame can be laid directly at his door. Without proper and strict enforcement, citizens in any country will break the law. It is human nature to test the boundaries when no one is looking and so it is up to Minister Theodorou to motivate the police to do a better job. If need be, he should come down hard on them with disciplinary repercussions and threats of dismissal to get them out there policing and taking more of an interest in their job. But of course, we know he will not have the guts to do this because he and his party will lose the police vote at the next election.
Sometimes I wonder exactly what planet these people are on.
Ioannis Ioannou, Limassol
