D.I.K.O. chief and presidential candidate Tassos Papadopoulos yesterday reiterated his commitment to a settlement of the Cyprus problem through negotiations aimed at turning a United Nations blueprint into a fair and viable solution.
Speaking at a news conference to present his election manifesto, Papadopoulos said that the issues which needed to be negotiated concerned Turkish settlers, security, human rights, and the functionality of the state.
He added that the plan could become more functional and viable through honest negotiations carried out with flexibility and good faith.
On the internal administration envisaged in his programme, Papadopoulos said his first aim would be to enforce meritocracy in the state where citizens would be equal and not judged according to their party preferences.
The DIKO chief said he will define new priorities for economic growth and encourage measures to restructure the economy.
On education, he said he aimed to promote large-scale reform at all levels, which included support for state and private higher education on the condition that private schools are turned into non-profit institutions.
He also pledged improvements in the health system, that women would have equal representation in the state and culture, and that sport would be strengthened and developed.
Papadopoulos suggested the creation of a police internal security body tasked with evaluating the methods and procedures used by the force and answering directly to the minister of justice or the president.
He also took a shot at President Glafcos Clerides, saying he has not presented, and does not look like presenting, his own programme.
“Do they think citizens do not have to know how they will govern? Or maybe they don’t know that themselves,” Papadopoulos said. “On what logical basis are they asking for the people’s vote? Is it on the basis of the continuation of the failed policy they have followed so far?”
When Clerides announced on January 3 that he would stand for re-election for a limited 16-month term, he said he would not be getting involved in pre-election campaigning.
Papadopoulos pledged yesterday to implement his programme aided by the majority the opposition enjoys in the House of Representatives.
Voting in the presidential elections takes place two weeks today, on February 16.
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.
