I confess I was left literally speechless and stunned reading the article by the editor-in-chief of Phileleftheros, that appeared on November 21, under the headline “But, what brains appear in the Cypriot scene.” The writer of the article is obviously against bizonal, bicommunal federation (BBF) and this is his absolute right.
At the same time, though, it is the democratic right of any citizen of the Cyprus Republic to support BBF and hold the view that President Nicos Anastasiades contributed in a variety of ways to the electoral victory of Ersin Tatar. The editor-in-chief of Phileleftheros, Aristos Michaelides, should have taken the stand demanded of his position and showed respect to the opposing view, to pluralism, to dialogue, to discourse. Instead, he attacked, with unprecedented viciousness, abused and humiliated all those that disagreed with him, a method he has used in many of his articles as friends of mine that read the paper regularly inform me.
In any case, in the above-mentioned comment piece Michaelides referred to commentators/analysts who on some radio show expressed the view that Anastasiades was “calculatingly creating problems from Akinci, so he would lose the elections and Tatar wins”. It is a view shared by the large number of Greek Cypriots, even though this is not the issue. The real issue in this case is the blatantly and provocatively undemocratic behaviour of a leading member of the press and the deeply undemocratic way of dealing with institutions by the newspaper that employs him.
What else could it be when in the article the said writer labels all those that embrace a different view from his on the Cyprus issue as “filthy and vile”? To be precise, this is what he actually wrote: “What else are they? Filthy. In the sense my grandfather used to say it when talking about some dirty and vile fraudster.” So, as a professional journalist being the custodian of freedom of expression, supporting civilised dialogue, he resorts to vulgar mudslinging. His stance recalls the role of the press in Stalin’s Soviet Union, Hitler’s Germany and the Junta’s Greece. Anyone who dared criticise the regime truly was considered vile, insane, filthy and accordingly punished.
I would suggest to the editor-in-chief of Phileleftheros to read the articles of writers of the quality newspapers of Europe such as Germany’s Die Welt, France’s Le Monde, Britain’s The Times. I strongly believe that if he does this and proves a good learner, he would significantly improve his writing skills. He would find out that in these newspapers a heightened sense of responsibility is shown by writers with regard to the right education, moderation, prudence, moral conscience, tolerance, commitment to truth, sincerity, respect for the opposing view, objectivity and respect for the public. Only in under-developed or authoritarian countries are dissidents referred to as “filthy” and “vile”.
The Union of Cyprus Journalists (Esk) also bears responsibility for this slide in writing standards in newspapers. As we all know, after the meeting of the Holy Synod, dealing with the Ukraine Church issue on November 25, journalist Aristidis Viketos asked the Bishop of Kykkos and Tylliria, Nikiforos, if he considered himself Mark of Ephesus and received the following response: “Shut up. Horrible man, you are vile.” Quite rightly, Esk, immediately castigated this behaviour and Nikiforos, to his credit, apologised. Why could the journalists’ union not have reacted as strictly to what Phileleftheros’ editor-in-chief wrote? His outburst was even more serious as he channeled his abuse through an article that, before being forwarded for publication, he would have read one, two or more times, in contrast to the bishop whose improper conduct was impulsive, on the spur-of-the-moment. Esk must explain its half-hearted stance otherwise it will be guilty of double standards.
The free and responsible press constitutes a basic element of every democratic function. The fourth estate is the bastion of the rule of law and the main source of information necessary for the effective participation of citizens in a democratic society. Vulgar mudslinging, as witnessed today in Cyprus, has no place in the press of a democratic country.
When the clean water of the press is contaminated the harm caused to the country is huge because clean water becomes filthy mud. Aeschylus, in Eumenides, said: “When you contaminate clean water with mud and stinking effluent, you will not be able to drink it.” It is from this stench that the clean water of the institution of the press must be protected so it does not become contaminated. This, of course, applies to all professions. For a profession to maintain its ‘cleanness’, its prestige and reputation it should by itself get rid of its contaminated, stinking, filthy members.
George Koumoullis is an economist and social scientist
