Patriotism is indeed the last refuge of a scoundrel

Sir,

I agree with Gavin Jones’ letter in which he criticises some Cypriot politicians as being scoundrels for hiding behind flags in the Cyprus problem because “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel”.

He says that we should “wise up politically and endeavour to take a leaf out of Turkish politicians’ way of conducting foreign policy”.

Gavin Jones must be having trouble with his eyes looking into that bathroom mirror he refers to, because Turkish foreign policy is patently so good that Mr Jones has somehow missed the huge star and crescent flag monstrosities painted on Pentadaktylos hillside.

There must be a lot of scoundrels hiding behind those then, Gavin?
 
Chris Christofi
London, UK

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.