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KAROYIAN CALLS DIKO TO STOP AIRING DIRTY LINEN
By Andreas Avgousti
Cyprus Mail
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=3 7931&cat_id=1
March 4 2008
Cyprus
DIKO President Marios Karoyian yesterday called for an end to the
public airing of the party's internal politics.
"I have always respected the judgements and assessments of all DIKO
members," he said in response to comments made by DIKO MP Andreas
Angelides in Simerini on Sunday.
Among other claims, Angelides said that the Foreign Ministry had been
given to Markos Kyprianou without a collective decision being taken,
that Karoyian was wrong to personally negotiate the position of the
House Presidency as this raised objectivity concerns, and that the
European Commissioner position which had belonged to DIKO had been
abandoned by the party leadership.
Portentously, Angelides compared DIKO's current internal disputes to
those between the Spyros Kyprianou and Tassos Papadopoulos factions
of old times.
"I am not about to become involved in a public discussion that benefits
no one, in general, and the coherence and unity of the party, in
particular," was the response from Karoyian yesterday.
"The correct procedure is that of party debate and no one has ever
been deprived of the right to express their opinion.
"DIKO will emerge stronger since this is what the party base desires,"
he concluded.
An announcement from DIKO offices yesterday stated that, "the President
had never negotiated on the basis of personal or subjective criteria
and stood firm in placing DIKO's best interest as the determining
factor of his actions."
The issue of the House Presidency was on the agenda of a meeting
yesterday between Karoyian and European Party leader Demetris
Syllouris.
Karoyian pledged to "persist in an ongoing dialogue" with the European
party, while Syllouris spoke of a "confluence of ideas to a large
extent".
Although Syllouris placed his party in the opposition camp where
the government is concerned, he did not rule out the possibility of
supporting Karoyian for the Presidency of the House of Representatives.
Syllouris will be meeting today with EDEK leader Yiannakis Omirou,
who, like Karoyian, is also coveting the Presidency of the House.
THERE exists no constitutional reason why Marios Karoyian cannot be
President of the House of Representatives, according to constitutional
expert and former Attorney-general Alecos Markides.
The issue was a will-o-the-wisp emerging from rumours mentioned in
Simerini that Karoyian was ineligible to be House President because
he did not fall into the definition of 'Greek' as proscribed in the
1960 constitution.
"Article 186 of the constitution is clear that where the word 'Greek'
is mentioned, it refers to the members of the Greek Cypriot community."
"As long as the person under discussion is a member of the community,
be s/he Armenian, Latin or Maronite, s/he can be President of the
House and President of the Republic as well."
Therefore, there is no issue either as to whether Karoyian is fit to
be President of the House or as to whether he is legally eligible to
be Acting President of the Republic when the President is away.
Karoyian's Armenian descent had also been an issue when he was running
for the presidency of his party against Nicos Cleanthous.
"We condemn these attitudes which are not apposite to a European
community such as that of Cyprus," the representative of the Armenian
religious group in Parliament, Vartkes Mahdessian said in a statement.
Mahdessian told the Mail that, "it is understandable to have complaints
against Karoyian's politics, but not against his origins.
"I have put up with this for a while now, and it was high time I
published the statement."
Mahdessian went on: "With our community's service in the military,
we are now even more fully integrated into the Greek Cypriot reality.
"There is no viable reason that they should concern themselves with
these things.
"They would do well to busy themselves with more serious issues",
he advised.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
By Andreas Avgousti
Cyprus Mail
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=3 7931&cat_id=1
March 4 2008
Cyprus
DIKO President Marios Karoyian yesterday called for an end to the
public airing of the party's internal politics.
"I have always respected the judgements and assessments of all DIKO
members," he said in response to comments made by DIKO MP Andreas
Angelides in Simerini on Sunday.
Among other claims, Angelides said that the Foreign Ministry had been
given to Markos Kyprianou without a collective decision being taken,
that Karoyian was wrong to personally negotiate the position of the
House Presidency as this raised objectivity concerns, and that the
European Commissioner position which had belonged to DIKO had been
abandoned by the party leadership.
Portentously, Angelides compared DIKO's current internal disputes to
those between the Spyros Kyprianou and Tassos Papadopoulos factions
of old times.
"I am not about to become involved in a public discussion that benefits
no one, in general, and the coherence and unity of the party, in
particular," was the response from Karoyian yesterday.
"The correct procedure is that of party debate and no one has ever
been deprived of the right to express their opinion.
"DIKO will emerge stronger since this is what the party base desires,"
he concluded.
An announcement from DIKO offices yesterday stated that, "the President
had never negotiated on the basis of personal or subjective criteria
and stood firm in placing DIKO's best interest as the determining
factor of his actions."
The issue of the House Presidency was on the agenda of a meeting
yesterday between Karoyian and European Party leader Demetris
Syllouris.
Karoyian pledged to "persist in an ongoing dialogue" with the European
party, while Syllouris spoke of a "confluence of ideas to a large
extent".
Although Syllouris placed his party in the opposition camp where
the government is concerned, he did not rule out the possibility of
supporting Karoyian for the Presidency of the House of Representatives.
Syllouris will be meeting today with EDEK leader Yiannakis Omirou,
who, like Karoyian, is also coveting the Presidency of the House.
THERE exists no constitutional reason why Marios Karoyian cannot be
President of the House of Representatives, according to constitutional
expert and former Attorney-general Alecos Markides.
The issue was a will-o-the-wisp emerging from rumours mentioned in
Simerini that Karoyian was ineligible to be House President because
he did not fall into the definition of 'Greek' as proscribed in the
1960 constitution.
"Article 186 of the constitution is clear that where the word 'Greek'
is mentioned, it refers to the members of the Greek Cypriot community."
"As long as the person under discussion is a member of the community,
be s/he Armenian, Latin or Maronite, s/he can be President of the
House and President of the Republic as well."
Therefore, there is no issue either as to whether Karoyian is fit to
be President of the House or as to whether he is legally eligible to
be Acting President of the Republic when the President is away.
Karoyian's Armenian descent had also been an issue when he was running
for the presidency of his party against Nicos Cleanthous.
"We condemn these attitudes which are not apposite to a European
community such as that of Cyprus," the representative of the Armenian
religious group in Parliament, Vartkes Mahdessian said in a statement.
Mahdessian told the Mail that, "it is understandable to have complaints
against Karoyian's politics, but not against his origins.
"I have put up with this for a while now, and it was high time I
published the statement."
Mahdessian went on: "With our community's service in the military,
we are now even more fully integrated into the Greek Cypriot reality.
"There is no viable reason that they should concern themselves with
these things.
"They would do well to busy themselves with more serious issues",
he advised.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress