Talat’s comments were outrageous

Sir,
Your opinion regarding the reaction of the government following Mr Talat’s comments on marriage between Greek and Turkish Cypriots (‘Surely they can do better than this’, April 7) once again reflects the Cyprus Mail’s obvious partiality that prevents objective consideration of many issues in this paper.

Mr Chrysostomides simply underlined the fact that Talat’s bizarre comments do not reflect the modern social and political views of the 21st century. Furthermore, they do not reflect the point of view of a co-operative person.

Imagine George W. Bush saying that he would not want his daughters to marry African Americans. Imagine Gerhard Schroder saying that he would not feel comfortable if his daughter married a Jew or a Turk. Imagine Mr Chirac saying that he would feel much better if his daughter married a Frenchman than an Arab.

Such statements would be widely condemned for obvious reasons or they would at least raise countless eyebrows. However, according to this newspaper, Talat gave “an honest and perfectly reasonable reply”. 

Obviously, the Cyprus Mail aims to criticise the Cyprus government at any given opportunity; your biased opinions are thus not a surprise.
Alex Ioannides, Dallas, Texas

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.