GREEK FRIGATE Psara arrived in Larnaca in the small hours of yesterday morning, transporting from Lebanon 190 Greeks, 68 Cypriots – among them 17 children, four Americans, one Canadian and two Australians.
Among the children were the three sons of Despina Kyriacou and Maghik Maicha, the children of a Cypriot-Lebanese marriage who had been enclaved in their grandmother’s home in south Lebanon.
Greek citizens were transferred by bus to Larnaca airport where they boarded an Olympic Airways plane and returned to Athens.
Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Ministry Sotos Zakheos said yesterday that the ministry had worked throughout the night to ensure the return of all Cypriots stranded in Lebanon.
He added that the human dynamo of Cyprus’ embassy in Beirut was small and that for this reason a large team from the centre of the city was going to notify Cypriots in Lebanon, “so that we can bring back as many Cypriots as we possibly can”.
Zacheos repeated concerns over the list of Cypriot citizens in Lebanon, which keeps fluctuating.
“Yesterday, there were 280 people and 68 of them left,” said the ministry official.
He then added that although there was enough room and arrangements had been made to bring more Cypriots during Tuesday’s effort to transport evacuees on the Psara frigate, many stated that they didn’t wish to leave for various personal reasons – at least not at this current stage.
According to Zakheos, the Foreign Ministry has received a large number of calls from concerned relatives in Cyprus. “We have all the lists, all the information and telephone numbers and we will carry out a gigantic effort,” he promised.
He confirmed that George, Lenos and Danny Maicha had returned safely on Psara and added that the frigate had also transferred a pregnant woman and an injured Cypriot who had been involved in an accident.
US thanks Cyprus for ‘truly fantastic’ help
THE U.S. has expressed its gratitude for the help Cyprus has provided in efforts to distance American citizens from Lebanon.
Talking from the State Department, Assistant Undersecretary for Embassy Affairs Maura Harty said “we are so grateful towards the Cypriots”, pointing out that they are offering food and drink to everyone who arrives on the island from Lebanon.
“They’re just being fantastic,” Hardy continued. “The Department of Defence is meeting planes as well for security reasons and for protection purposes.
“We really do want to minimise the time people spend on the ground because this cannot have been a very easy passage for them from wherever they lived to the moment that they arrive in Cyprus.
“So we will try, to the greatest extent possible, to coordinate arrival of ships with the chartered planes that we have,” Harty said.
She noted “we don’t necessarily know, until people arrive, exactly what their own option is going to be, whether they would choose instead to take a commercial flight to someplace else, but we have the fair grounds and worst case scenarios, some people will stay there.”
Asked whether Turkey or the north was helping the US in their operations, Hardy said “we are cooperating closely with our embassies in the area”.
She added that Cyprus’ Civil Aviation had been very helpful and that American’s had rented open areas and were offering air conditioned refuge.
The State Fairs Authority has rented out two large 2,000sqm rooms to the American Embassy, to offer refuge to American citizens arriving Cyprus until their further transportation is arranged.
Head of the State Fairs Authority, Kikis Petevis explained that the Authority had received the American embassy’s request to use the area on Monday, which was arranged following the approval of the Foreign Ministry.
Authority officials supervised the adjustments that took place yesterday in the area, as at 7pm last night the ship Orient Quinn was expected to anchor in Larnaca, estimated to bring with it around 800 Americans from Lebanon.
Petevis said that the state fair offered toilets and other necessities, while the Americans had among others installed beds.
He added that the area was also going to be guarded.
American citizens were welcomed yesterday morning at Larnaca port by American Ambassador in Nicosia Ronald Schlicher, while 40 American marines that had been transferred from the Akrotiri British Base, helped them disembark the ships and transported them to hotels.
Christofias lashes out at Israel
HOUSE PRESIDENT and AKEL General secretary Demetris Christofias yesterday said Israel’s attacks against Palestine and Lebanon aim at destroying the Palestinian revolution, the Palestinian state and neighbouring states, adding that G8’s announcement over the situation in the area was “worthy of Pontius Pilate” and had caused shock and outrage.
Christofias expressed his views during yesterday’s demonstration against the Israeli attacks in Eleftheria Square, which was organised by the Pancyprian Peace Council and Solidarity Committee.
Referring to the Cypriot public as “a victim of invasion and occupation”, the House President said that our neighbouring countries are suffering from decades of Israeli occupation, the aggressiveness and the opportunism of the Israeli state.
After specifying that “we do not salute and do not agree with the kidnappers’ methods”, Christofias said the Israel’s opportunism was not within reason, as with the excuse of the kidnapping of two-three Israeli soldiers, Israel has fired an attack that has destroyed the substructure of Palestine and Lebanon.
Asked whether he believed the chances were high for the implication of Syria, Christofias estimated that “Syria will not be implicated” and added that “some are possibly aiming at implicating Syria and Iran, so that they can deal with these serious, as they believe, enemies”.
“I think this is unacceptable,” he said.
