POLICE WARNED yesterday that irresponsible reporting of the events surrounding the Omeriye Mosque in Nicosia could help fuel racial hatred.
Police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos, commenting on press reports which made unsubstantiated references to Islamic “extremists” and talked of the “madness of an enraged mob”, said: “We are living in a European country which needs to deal with multiculturalism, in both its positive and negative aspects. We must accept differences relating to skin-colour and religion, for example.”
“If what is published does not stand up to scrutiny, then we will start to cultivate racial hatred and racism,” he added.
Katsounotos said that getting to grips with multiculturalism is a two-way street, pointing out that “immigrants also need to respect the laws and rules of the host society.”
Yesterday’s Phileleftheros carried an article under the headline “Extremists ready to act”, which described those taking part in the recent disturbances as “fanatical Muslims”. The article said: “The police are afraid that the incidents might spread to other towns, while there is information about activity by extremists, although this has not been confirmed.”
“Of course the police have concerns, but we don’t want to overinflate the matter, nor understate the possibilities. Reporting must be serious and objective, as exaggeration does not help in any way,” said Katsounotos.
Another example of overblown presentation was to be found in yesterday’s Simerini, which carried a piece headed “Nightfall brings hell to old Nicosia”. The piece quoted three residents of the area around the Omeriye mosque, two of them shopkeepers. All of them used measured terms to express concern about their property and comment on the commercial decline of the area.
One said: “I have never had problems with the migrants and they have never bothered me.” Another said: “They have never bothered us, but with the disturbances I was afraid the windows of my shop might have been broken; thankfully, though, they did not bother us.” The third said: “Nobody bothered me, they are fighting among themselves. … In any case, up to now they have not bothered anyone [of us], but who knows?”
The exception was a fourth interviewee, who was reported to have refused to give his name or have his photo taken. This person said: “When I saw them during last two days, but also all the other times they set about each other, I said to myself that they wouldn’t think twice about killing us. They are fanatical.”
The piece carried a subheading which said: “Shopkeepers in the area are wondering: ‘Up to now they are fighting among themselves and haven’t bothered anyone of us. But who can know where the madness of the enraged mob could lead?’”
This tendency to exaggerate can also find its way into official statements. During CyBC radio’s lunchtime news bulletin on Wednesday, Nicosia police chief Kypros Michaelides was heard to say that “if any migrant is found to be acting outside of the law, he will be pursued and deported to his home country.” At the very least, one questions how a police officer can state with such certainty that a migrant arrested for an alleged offence will ultimately be deported.
Nicos Trimikliniotis, Professor of Law and Sociology at the University of Nicosia and director of the study centre which serves as the Cyprus National Focal Point for RAXEN (European Information Network on Racism and Xenophobia), said that his own studies show how the press often inflate issues containing a racial element in their attempt to sell papers.
Trimikliniotis said he welcomed Katsounotos’s call for objective reporting, as we seem to be witnessing the importing of Islamophobia, which usually is to be found in extreme right-wing politics.
“This expression of Islamophobia is being reported by the press on a very populist basis, which is a short step away from inciting racial hatred”, he said, adding: “Things need to be placed in context, and the press should assume their responsibilities.”
