‘Begging gangs from Greece muscling in to Cyprus’

AKEL deputy Kikis Yiangou claimed yesterday that organised beggars were arriving from Greece to take advantage of the generosity of the Cypriot people by trading in human need.

Speaking before the Human Rights Committee, the outspoken deputy alleged that, “this unfamiliar phenomenon for Cyprus, which is common in big cities abroad, can be attributed to certain cunning people who trade in human need and pain, touching the sensitivity of our generous people”.

Yiangou said he had information that these beggars came from Greece as part of an organised plan.

“Cyprus is virgin territory for this kind of trade,” Yiangou said.

He suggested that police look into the issue and stamp it out before it bedded in.

The chairman of the committee, Sophocles Fyttis, asked the legal service to submit a list of possible improvements to the law to stamp out organised begging, but the legal service, through its representative Lambriani Usta, said their was no specific law regulating the issue.

Justice Ministry representative Agathi Zacheou told the committee that her ministry would look into the issue and table its suggestions in the next meeting.

Labour Ministry spokesman Vladhimiros Aristodimou told Zacheou that the law on fundraising should be reassessed in co-operation with the Ministries of Interior and Justice and the legal service.

He charged that special bureaus undertook fundraisers without permission, adding that icons and calendars were also sold without necessary permits.

Interior Ministry official Kypros Manoulos told deputies that the ministry last year had issued 54 permits for fundraisers, and 33 so far this year.

A police spokesman said the force would crack down on such phenomena and urged the public to inform authorities the moment they noticed beggars.