CONTROVERSIAL psychiatrist Yiangos Mikellides has hit out at what he calls a “smear campaign” against him after recently airing his views on the usefulness of an army in Cyprus.
Mikellides has hit back at a Defence Ministry complaint against him made to the Medical Council citing a conflict of interests in that he was anti-army buy yet issuing certificates to would-be draft dodgers.
In an earlier article of his published in Politis in July, Mikellides remarked that “only idiots and the manufacturers of signs, flags, underwear, cheese pies, and the importers of weapons could think we have an army.”
Not one to pull any punches, the doctor posed this rhetorical question to the powers that be: “Why do you collect teenagers every year and ruin two years of their lives when you already know that apart from their death, they can offer nothing else to the Republic of Cyprus?”
The article seems to have struck a cord with Defence Minister Costas Papacostas, who urged the Medical Association to investigate Mikellides’ ‘ethical and objective integrity’.
In a second article published last Saturday, Mikellides likened Papacostas’ tactics to the sham trials held in the Soviet Union under Stalin.
“The methods used by the Defence Minister are reminiscent of the trials in Moscow in 1936. I wonder, who is behind the Defence Minister, and whether this accusation of his has anything to do with the Stalinist view of the communist party of Cyprus which wants…to shut the mouths of those who criticise the Little Father.”
The term “Little Father” was applied to Stalin; in this case, Mikellides must have been referring to Cyprus’ head of state, Demetris Christofias, and in a more abstract way, to the AKEL government.
In short, the psychiatrist believes that certain quarters are out to gag him, since his views concerning the military are embarrassing to authorities.
Mikellides points out that his views on the army are known for a decade now, and wonders why the Defence Minister has only now decided to confront him, as if “he’s just woken up from hibernation.”
The doctor denied his stance on the issue had anything to do with his profession.
“I wish to state that I have no connection whatsoever with army deferments, nor have I ever tried to contact or influence anyone [to secure a deferment]. All I did was to sign certificates on the [psychological] suitability or not of various patients of mine, when they were about to join the army. My opinion is not binding on the army’s evaluation committee.”
“Right now, freedom of speech is being threatened by people who were not raised with democratic thought and expression. We, the free-thinking people and the Medical Association, have an obligation to safeguard this freedom of speech.”
He noted, however, that he did not think Papacostas was the mastermind of the onslaught, adding that “others must be behind him.”
