By Anthony O. Miller
DIKO Deputy Nicos Pittokopitis yesterday urged the Greek Embassy to help break a ring he said was issuing fake Greek passports to people falsely claiming to be Black Sea Greeks, and settling in what he said was “a dangerous ghetto” in Paphos.
Pittokopitis told reporters that crime was out of control in the Paphos ‘ghetto’, home to several thousand Black Sea or Pontian Greeks, and accused the authorities of “doing nothing about it”.
The Paphos deputy said the “general problem” of illegal foreign workers in Cyprus paled beside the problems caused by “Russian Pontians, Greek Pontians, Ukranian Pontians, Pontians of every race, creed and religion.”
“We have nothing against those of Greek descent,” Pittokopitis insisted following a meeting of the House of Representatives Labour Committee, “but if someone has a passport, does that mean he is of Greek descent?”
“A lot of these foreigners were criminals or agents of foreign countries,” he said. “We call on the Greek embassy, we call on the Greek ambassador to carry out an investigation and to gather all those facts that prove these passports have actually been properly given.”
“I want to make it clear,” Pittokopitis said, “that I am not and never have been a racist. But you cannot have the various wings that are active in Cyprus and Greece and in these countries from where they come buying up and handing out passports with no controls with the result that the structure of Cyprus’ society is being destroyed.”
“They have left the Cypriots without work. They have helped robberies, rapes, drugs, and every kind of crime become a permanent institution here,” he declared.
“When the police and the (Justice) Minister, himself, admit that in Paphos we have a ghetto… is it right for us to accept this and keep quiet, when in the heart of the Paphos tourist area there is an ghetto and there are people the mentality from 1908 or 1915?” he asked.
Minister of Justice and Public Order Nicos Koshis, also speaking at the House, backed Pittokopitis’ claims that there was indeed a Black Sea ghetto in Paphos, adding the police were doing all they could to control crime emanating from there, but that they really could do little to solve the problem.
Koshis otherwise steered clear of much of Pittokopitis’ remarks as “another matter”. However, he said what while “these people come here with Greek passports, we do not want to challenge their Greekness.
“We have some contact with the Greek embassy,” he added, promising further enquiries would clarify the matter.
Late on Wednesday, the ministers of Interior, Justice met with representatives of the Commerce Ministry and the police and other ministries at a meeting presided over by Interior Minister Christodoulos Christodoulou to discuss the overall problem of illegal foreign workers in Cyprus.
Christodoulou said the ministers “reconfirmed the decision that foreign workers… (in industry, labouring jobs and the like) should not be allowed to stay for more than four years.”
He said the ministerial committee’s decision allowed for exceptions “in the cases where there are contracts with companies for the completion of a specific project, and if this project has not already been completed.” But he said, “the extensions cannot be given for more than one year.”
Noting that some “15 illegal workers per day are arrested and deported or not allowed entry to Cyprus,” Christodoulou said the committee had also discussed the issue of ethnic Greeks from Albania, adding that some 160 of them now worked in Cyprus.
“It was decided to give them the opportunity to stay and work, but for the present any others that want to come to Cyprus will receive the same treatment as other foreigners until the whole issue is investigated thoroughly,” he said.
Christodoulou said the ministerial committee also decided to meet “in the next 15 days … to discuss the issued of the Russian Greeks and cabaret artistes” and the serious problems they pose.
To address these issues, he said the ministers want “a systematic investigation by all the (relevant) services, because employers have a responsibility to respect the law.”
“I am optimistic,” he said, “that with the approach we made… and the attempts that will be made, the results will surely be much better” than the current situation. “There is political will that the issue be faced as far as possible.”
