CYPRUS IS once again being held to account for its treatment of homosexuals with the release of the Ombudswoman’s report citing violations against the third-country partners of EU citizens.
In the report, in her capacity as head of the Anti-Discrimination body, Iliana Nicolaou says Cyprus is guilty of discrimination by not recognising the marriage or civil union of EU nationals with those from outside the bloc.
These partners of EU citizens are deported from Cyprus despite EU directive that they are to be classed as family members. Cyprus needs to stop acting as if homosexuality does not exist, Nicolaou said.
Nicolaou may be putting it a little mildly. Cyprus is not just acting as if homosexuality doesn’t exist, but actively trying to make life as difficult as possible by interfering with the private lives of EU citizens, including Cyprus’ own gay community who may have partners from non-EU countries.
It’s barely ten years since homosexuality was decriminalised in Cyprus and no doubt the army still classes it as a mental illness. Cyprus is eons away from recognising gay marriage but putting that aside, it needs to be borne in mind that gay marriage and civil unions do exist in other countries and these are increasingly being recognised by EU member states.
Whether Cyprus likes it or not, a good portion of the world’s population, and therefore statistically Cyprus’ population is homosexual. Branding all homosexuals as perverts – the general view in Cyprus – is quite ludicrous given that statistics prove the vast number of perverts in the world are actually heterosexual.
How many cases of incest have come to the court’s attention recently in Cyprus? Globally how many cases of child abuse or rape by relatives, neighbours, care homes and the clergy have been plastered all over the headlines in other countries?
This is debate that will have to be had at some stage in Cyprus, probably inside the next twenty years or so as more and more countries will head towards recognising gay partnerships and ultimately marriages.
In the meantime, the least Cyprus can do is respect a homosexual person’s right to a private life by allowing them to have a relationship with the partner of their choosing. It’s none of the state’s business who you sleep with as long as everyone involved is over the age of consent.
If Cyprus is not willing to accept EU rules on allowing in the partners of EU citizens – irrespective of sexual orientation – it might as well align itself with some Middle Eastern countries where homosexuality is punishable by death. At least it would be more honest. Either you respect human rights or you don’t.
Paying lip service to human rights seems to be a unique trait in Cyprus unless you are a Greek Cypriot who lost his home in 1974. Then, human rights become the Cyprus government’s raison d’etre.
Simply saying all the right things and signing human rights conventions, while doing the opposite, will eventually carry a price in Europe where the homosexual lobby is influential . When Cyprus starts harping on about the human rights of Greek Cypriot refugees it might find itself having a less sympathetic audience than it thinks.
