Language and the Peyia election

Sir,
I have noticed that in your December 10 edition you published a paid announcement from the “Concerned residents of Peyia”, who criticise the efforts I am jointly making with the mayor of Peyia Mr Neophytos Akoursiotis to overcome the language barrier in case, as is highly likely, a continental resident is elected to the new municipal council of Peyia.

I am sorry that the authors of the announcement didn’t manage to remain serious and contained, since their announcement is imbued with irony towards the mayor of Peyia and my person. The said announcement is riddled with mistakes and inaccuracies and I ask for the chance to reply to them:

1. It is inaccurate to talk only about the English language. The candidates of the “Coalition of Independants” are not only native English speakers. A little respect to the cultural background of these candidates would not do any harm.
2. The residents of Peyia will not pay for language translation service. The government will, and I responsibly inform you that the new Minister of Interior Mr Sylikiotis has already been contacted and is viewing this possibility positively.
3. The translation will not affect the workings of the council because it will be done live (with the use of headphones). As far as the studying of documents is concerned this is the sole responsibility of the elected members of the council. From my experience in the House of Representatives one can easily review such documents, with the help of someone who knows the language, even if they are not familiar with the original language they are written in. They may even be better at this than someone who knows the language but whose skills are limited.
4. The measure will not be permanent. The joint proposal of Perdikis and Akoursiotis includes the preparation and application of programmes to teach the Greek Language, both to the elected Council members as well as any other citizen of Peyia who will wish to use them. The envisaged election of the
municipal council will lead to a wave of Greek-learning on behalf of the continental residents, which will be to the benefit of all.
5. Our efforts do not remain limited to this letter. I have already contacted all the ambassadors of EU countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the minister of Education. Their initial reactions are positive. With the election of the new council, to which it seems that continental residents will be elected, our initiative will go ahead. Unless people with views such as the anonymous “Concerned residents of Peyia” are elected to the Council and they refuse any co-operation. It is the duty of the Peyia citizens to make sure nothing like this happens.
I want to thank your newspaper for giving me the chance to reply to at least some of the arguments raised by the so-called “Concerned residents of Peyia”. After the elections I would like to return to this issue, listing all that has been achieved so far by the “Coalition of Independents” and the Green Party in order to give the opportunity to many continental residents to vote and be elected next Sunday.

George Perdikis
Secretary General, Cyprus Green Party

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.