Kyprianou ‘saddened’ over DIKO withdrawal

AKEL General Secretary Andros Kyprianou expressed sorrow over the withdrawal of DIKO from the government, saying however that the decision was respected.

Kyprianou was speaking after a meeting between himself, President of the Republic Demetris Christofias and AKEL Parliamentary Spokesman Nicos Katsourides, following the meeting of Christofias with DIKO chief Marios Garoyian.

Kyprianou said the country was going through a crucial period with the Cyprus talks, the economy, the fallout from the Mari naval base blast and subsequent energy crisis, and the Cypriot EU presidency in 2012

The AKEL leader said it was necessary to work collectively to overcome the problems.

“The message we send to the people of Cyprus is that they should not worry. We will try to make things work as smoothly as possible with the highest possible effectiveness, always with the interests of Cyprus and its people in mind,” he said.

Asked if the reshuffling of the cabinet had been discussed, Kyprianou said they had exchanged views and AKEL submitted some proposals but the decision is up to the President, he said.

To comments that some political parties had requested early presidential elections, Kyprianou said that, according to the Constitution, the President is elected for a five-year term and that Demetris Christofias would be seeing out his term, which ends in 2013.

 

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.