AKEL YESTERDAY said the issue of granting citizenship to children of mixed marriages was being blown out of proportion while an effort was made to put the blame the interior minister
The issue emerged on Wednesday after EDEK and DIKO deputy Nicos Pittokopitis suggested that Turkish settlers were being granted citizenship en masse.
Interior Minister Andreas Christou countered that the cabinet proceeded to grant citizenships to children one of whose parents was from Turkey, with the agreement of all political parties.
But reactions continued yesterday, forcing AKEL to come to Christou’s defence.
Party spokesman Andros Kyprianou suggested the matter had been blown out of proportion and that the facts were being twisted to put the blame on the minister.
“Based on the information we had… all parties participating in Parliament had agreed on the enforcement of the specific legislation and the cabinet – and not any individual – proceeded in implementing the specific legislation,” Kyprianou said.
He added that Christou was acting on the basis of a cabinet decision and rejected media reports that he was solely responsible.
Kyprianou also rejected reports that AKEL members who disagree with Christou on the Cyprus problem were behind the issue: “We think that this twisting is done in bad faith and it does not in any instance reflect good journalism”.
Kyprianou noted that the legislation not only regulated settler issues but other foreigners who have entered the island illegally as well.
“I think the reply to this concern was given by the President of the Republic himself and we absolutely agree with him that each case should be examined according to its own characteristics and applications are not approved en masse,” Kyprianou said.
He added that the legislation has been in effect for the past 14 months and the applications were not “in their thousands”.
DIKO deputy Nicos Pittokopitis conceded yesterday there apparently had been a communications breakdown within his party. He was quick to add however that the matter should be re-examined by all parties either at the National Council level or wherever necessary.
“My opinion is that the issue should be urgently discussed,” Pittokopitis said.
EDEK leader Yiannakis Omirou warned that legalising the citizenship of children of mixed marriages would take away the Greek Cypriot side’s arguments against the issue at a future stage.
Omirou requested that the issue be re-assessed on a cabinet and National Council level.
United Democrats chairman George Vasilliou said he was surprised by the fact that politicians were disputing basic EU principles and pointed out that Cyprus had an obligation to observe the Union’s basic rules.
Vasilliou suggested that such comments damaged Cyprus and gave a negative impression.
“Our politicians should see what is going on outside Cyprus before opening their mouths to speak,” he said.
