Cyprus-Forum.com

[insan]

Feeling safe?

By Charlie Charalambous

How safe do you feel? Some idiot does a wheelie and kills two innocent kids coming home from school and a family are abducted in their pyjamas in a Nicosia suburb and executed on the highway like stray dogs.

Maybe there is nothing much that can be done about an underworld hit on a Turkish Cypriot family but simply blaming it on criminal elements in the north isn’t really good enough, even if the Turkish secret service wanted to take out Elmas the banker and "shut up" his family as some kind of payback.

And the chances are we will never know.

Just as with countless underworld killings in our own backyard concerning the Greek Cypriot mob.

Take it from me, police aren’t much good at solving gangster-related murders and they know it, badly.

Which is why a lot is being said about this latest shocking triple murder having its roots in the illegality of the ‘TRNC’.

Apparently, it’s a haven for all kinds of dodgy business and the Green Line can’t stop them coming over any more. Not to mention those training camps for hired killers on the payroll of the Turkish secret service and maybe a few other "hostile" countries who want to scare us into accepting the Annan Plan.

Some of the worst unsolved crimes - remember the three Russians who got chopped up in their Paphos villa - are not linked to the Cyprus problem. And even if the island was somehow reunited by magic - that’s the only way it’s going to happen - unspeakable crimes would still be committed to settle outstanding scores.

Anyone claiming the divide breeds undetected criminal activity in the illegal north, quickly forgets that bona fide mobsters can get on a charter flight to the free areas and bump someone off without too much difficulty.

It’s all part of the European Union’s strategy for greater access to a single victimless market.

You can even hire hitmen on the Internet these days, never mind going to a dodgy coffeeshop in occupied Kyrenia with a few names in a brown envelope (not that I would know).

Some contract killers even have their own on-line blog, like say "Diary of a Psychopath".

Most of the stuff is like: "Yeah, got up this morning, it was a Monday, had to waste a few people. Back home for dinner. Thinking of changing jobs, but the money’s good..."

Blaming the occupation for such terrible crimes is not going to stick, so let’s focus on smarter policing methods and better use of modern technology to prevent it.

This was a terrible crime which makes us all feel a lot less safe in a society becoming more accustomed to street violence and senseless death.

The two teenagers killed in Lakatamia after a bike crashed into them on a pavement - after a wheelie went wrong - is not only tragic but the cause of unimaginable pain for the family that lost their only son and daughter.

The last thing any parent expects to happen is for their children to be killed on the way home from school. It makes no sense, like most deaths on our roads that puts Cyprus among Europe’s worst. What has made this recent incident touch most people is that they understand it could happen to them because the roads are populated by lawless drivers who have no common sense. Obviously, there are calls from politicians to get something done and put a stop to the carnage. Well, that’s just it, nothing is being done, apart from one MP asking everyone one of us to fork out Θ10 each to put more policemen on the traffic beat.

But, we’ve already got 5,000 bods in blue either hiding or running scared from the criminal fraternity.

The only way to get drivers to behave and teenage kids to stop revving bikes up and done the street is to get more blue in their face.

Only when the police become more visible and ready and willing to enforce the law will the casualty figures start coming down. When motorists start to believe that every time they speed, not wear a seat belt, use the phone at the wheel or drive like maniacs, more often than not a policeman will be around to book them, they may think twice.

However, evidence suggests that when the public name and shame offenders, the police have something better to do. If the police want to stop unruly behaviour they should deploy a zero tolerance policy. At the moment, whatever road safety campaign is going on it resembles a crumpled mess of steel.

[cannedmoose]

Although he can sometimes be a little over the top, I often agree with the points made by Charlie Charalambous. I wrote a similar piece in a letter to Cyprus Mail earlier this week condemning the disgraceful antics of many young (and indeed old) drivers in Cyprus. I've posted it below.


There must be restrictions for young drivers

Sir,

I was shocked to read the awful news of the killing of two youngsters in Lakatamia by a reckless motorcyclist. Although, ‘shocked’ may actually be the wrong word, ‘unsurprised’ may be more appropriate.

During many visits to Cyprus where I have family (having had the privilege of marrying a Cypriot), I have often been appalled by the standard of driving displayed by people of all ages, but particularly young men on motorcycles and in jazzed-up cars. Elsewhere in Europe I have never seen anyone pulling a wheelie or doing a burn out on a public road, let alone a residential street. Nor have I seen a motorcyclist not wearing a crash helmet. Yet in Cyprus, this is almost a daily scene in my experience.

There is a solution to this kind of madness, but it’s one that requires public pressure and gutsy politicians to force it through. Cyprus needs a provisional driver status similar to that operating in Australia and a number of other countries. For the first years of driving, there are controls on the specification of car that new drivers are allowed to control, they must display a provisional drivers plate in their car, and they are governed by lower speed limits on all main roads (10km below the usual limit). In the event of a failure to meet these terms, the driver loses his/her licence for a period of time and must then take the test again.

For motorcyclists, similar restrictions should apply. What should also apply is a motorcycle-specific drivers test, similar to the Compulsory Basic Training system in the UK. All those wanting to drive a motorcycle of any size should take this training, regardless of age and driving ability.

Yes, this may sound heavy-handed, but I don’t believe that in Cyprus (as well as many other countries), driving is regarded as a privilege and a responsibility. Instead, people feel that they have a right to drive and a right to drive how they please.

Until Cypriots take collective responsibility for the recklessness and ongoing murder on Cyprus’ roads, tragedies as Lakatamia will continue to take place and will shame all of us who love driving on the island.

[brother]

Unfortunately this plague is all over cyprus, in the north at least 3 deaths a week on the roads.