President hopes 2012 will be a better year

THE PAST year has been one of the most difficult in the island’s history, President Demetris Christofias said yesterday, while expressing hope that the New Year would ‘heal wounds’ and bring better times.

Christofias was speaking after a carolling event held at the Presidential Palace by the Police Band, National Guard and Greek army contingent ELDYK.

“Things are difficult but we will fight and we’re here to get over these difficult times,” said Christofias.

He hoped among other things for the recovery of the economy which is ‘significant for everyone’s survival.’

“I wish and I hope now that we’re entering 2012, either on the right foot or the left, I don’t know, that we’ll do better and that the Cypriot people will have a wide smile [on their faces],” said Christofias, adding that this also included Turkish Cypriots who would “surely have a smile on their faces when they are freed from Turkish occupation”.

Referring to Cyprus’ upcoming takeover of the EU presidency in the second half of 2012, Christofias said that at the moment, they are experiencing feelings of anxiety which will only subside in December 2012, when Cyprus hands over the presidency to Ireland.

When the turn of the century was celebrated in 2000, leaders of the world declared peace and prosperity for the world, however, the first eleven years of this new millennium people have not seen prosperity and do not live in peaceful conditions, he said.  

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.