Occupied mayorships upset over Hillary snub

THE MAYOR of the occupied town of Famagusta wants the government to protest to Washington because US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “refused” to see the mayors of occupied townships when the opportunity arose recently.

According to Alexis Galanos, a delegation of PSEKA had arranged a meeting with Clinton and they had asked that the meeting include mayors of occupied municipalities.

However it seems the Secretary of State resorted to a bit of diplomatic legerdemain. According to Galanos, prior to her meeting with PSEKA, Clinton had set the condition that she would see only American citizens—effectively disqualifying the Greek Cypriot mayors who were keen for some face-time with the top US diplomat.

Galanos speculated this was part of US protocol of “keeping equal distances”: had Clinton agreed to meet with the Greek Cypriot mayors, this might have upset the Turkish Cypriots.

But Galanos was none too impressed, calling the treatment of the mayors “unacceptable.”

He said the snub was a sign the Obama administration was not as “involved with refugee issues as much as we’d like.

“It is the first time this has happened…and we express our bitterness,” the Famagusta mayor told newsmen.

“We believe our Foreign Ministry should issue a demarche to Washington,” he added.

On a smaller scale, the mayors’ grievance echoed the fuss made by certain quarters last month after Clinton had agreed on a one-on-one with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat.

Galanos praised the Greek Cypriot community in the United States for its solid work in promoting the Cyprus issue, but bemoaned the lack of coordination between expat organizations and the government.

PSEKA, also known as The International Coordinating Committee “Justice for Cyprus,” was founded in 1975 by the late President of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios. The organization, with headquarters in Nicosia, Cyprus, has chapters all over the world. Its North American headquarters are located in New York City.

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