Anti-corruption protest held in Nicosia

Some 350 people gathered outside the presidential palace on Thursday evening to protest corruption in Cyprus, in the wake of the passports scandal brought to light by the Al Jazeera network.

The demonstration, which began with a march from the interior ministry building, wrapped up at around 9pm.

Demonstrators held banners reading “This is not Cyprus” and “Enough already.” They placed a mockup coffin on the perimeter wall of the presidential palace, with the words “Integrity, Transparency and Honesty.”

A camera crew from Al Jazeera was on site tracking the event.

The demos – Thursday’s was the fourth so far – are being carried out by the self-styled ‘Active Citizens’, a non-partisan loose grouping of concerned citizens.

Rena Yiavri, a spokesperson for the group, told the Cyprus Mail a similar event is being planned for Saturday afternoon, again at the presidential palace.

The revelations over the citizenship-by-investment scheme led to the resignation of House president Demetris Syllouris and Akel MP Christakis Giovanis, both featured in the undercover investigation by Al Jazeera.

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.