Nikiforos 2007 kicks off

NATIONAL GUARD reservists yesterday took part in the beginning of the annual Nikiforos 2007 military exercise, which will last until October 14.

“In a semi-occupied country that is under threat, the realisation of military obligations is an imperative necessity,” Defence Minister Christodoulos Pashiardis said before the exercise commenced.

Pashiardis, who joined NG Chief Constantinos Bisbikas to observe the opening, congratulated reservists for participating in the exercise.

“The attendance of reservists and conscripts in military exercises cannot in any way be considered as an aimless hassle or waste of time,” he pointed out.

“It is a symptom of national and moral decline if some consider their military duty towards their country as tiring or a waste of time,” he said, adding: “Greek Cypriots do not show these worrying symptoms.”

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.