Government: some things need to improve

THE GOVERNMENT yesterday acknowledged the US report on human trafficking, with Government Spokesman Vassilis Palmas saying not everything works perfectly in the country.

“We have never claimed that everything runs smoothly and that everything that relates to the Republic of Cyprus is perfect and operates in an ideal manner,” Palmas said, when asked to comment on the chapter on Cyprus in the US State Department report, released Tuesday.

The report, which covers the period April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007, said that the government of Cyprus does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.

According to the report “Cyprus is a destination country for a large number of women trafficked from countries in Eastern and Central Europe, including Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, and Russia, for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation.

“Women are also trafficked from the Philippines, the People’s Republic of China, and Morocco.”

The government of Cyprus has been placed on Tier 2 Watch List for a second consecutive year “We certainly acknowledge that there are weaknesses in some matters. We are not among those who do not accept that we must improve, if we detect weaknesses,” the spokesman added.

This, he pointed out, is a general principle which the government espouses.

“There are things in the Republic that need to be put right,” he concluded.

The spokesman refrained from any comment on the report extract that deals with the situation in the north.

A US embassy official in Nicosia, invited to comment on the report, told CNA that “cooperation with the government of Cyprus has been excellent” and explained that the government, NGOs and civil society have been forthcoming with supplying embassy officials with information on the matter. (CNA)

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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.