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[Get Real!]

Well said by Andros...

Kyprianou accuses NATO of spreading death and destruction
By Charles Charalambous

REACTIONS came thick and fast yesterday to the European Parliament (EP) vote to adopt the report on EU-NATO relations by Finnish MEP Aro Vatanen.

The report, which was approved by a relatively small majority – 293 votes for, 283 against, 60 abstentions – broadly endorsed the Presidency Conclusions of the December 2008 EU Summit, and included a clause inserted by Cypriot MEP Yiannakis Matsis calling on the Cyprus government to join NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme.

AKEL General Secretary Andros Kyprianou described the move by Matsis and support for his position by fellow DISY MEPs as “unacceptable and unethical”.

Describing NATO as “an aggressive organisation that has scattered death and destruction in many corners of the world”, and one which “continuously violates international law and the UN Charter”, Kyprianou wondered whether Cyprus should abandon its reliance on international law and the UN Charter, which so far had provided a “shield of protection for freeing and reunifying the Republic of Cyprus”.

He also said that PfP membership would involve submitting defence plans and defence budgets regularly to all NATO members, include Turkey, adding: “If that doesn’t bother some people, they should say so openly to the Cypriot people.”

He also turned his fire on the European Parliament itself, saying: “It is unacceptable for a democratic country, operating on a completely democratic basis, to have its sovereignty compromised and have opinions imposed on it from abroad, wherever that opinion may come from.”

What was unexpected is that, according to Matsis, the result of the vote was influenced by intense lobbying: “If three countries – Greece, Cyprus and Turkey – had not pushed for a vote against the motion, I estimate that as many as 90 percent of MEPs would have voted in favour.”

AKEL MEP Kyriacos Triantafillides saw it differently. He told CyBC radio: “If some PASOK members had followed their colleagues in voting against, the motion would have been voted down.” As for the unlikely bedfellows in the “anti” lobby, Triantafillides said: “To suggest that Cyprus and Turkey worked together against the EP report is laughable. Cyprus and Turkey [through its embassy] each opposed the motion on very different grounds.”

DISY President Nicos Anastassiades acknowledged that the final decision on PfP membership lay with the government, “but at the same time people should be aware that we are part of Europe”, adding that “we should behave like real Europeans and not like eurosceptics standing on the fringes.”

The verbal free-for-all continued with MEP Marios Matsakis accusing EDEK President Yiannakis Omirou of double standards. Matsakis called on Omirou in an open letter to explain why he said “one thing publicly in Cyprus and quite another thing to PASOK and the EP Socialist Group”, saying to Omirou: “You want to appear publicly as if you disagree with President Christofias on matters of principle, but in reality, and on the quiet, you agree with him because you want your party to continue to participate in the government”.


Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009

[Bananiot]

Greece, Turkey and Cyprus voted against the motion for different reasons ... what a strange country!

Let us all remember that AKEL was against making an application for joining the EU because "it is the same syndicate with NATO".

Then, AKEL was against adopting the euro in Jan 2008. We should have waited until 2009, AKEL said.

Now, we are told that the PfP programme is bad for us. Even Turkey agrees with them and GR, of course (but always for a different reason, suckers).

[miltiades]

What does one expect when the kalamarades are involved !!

[DT.]

Greece, Turkey and Cyprus voted against the motion for different reasons ... what a strange country!

Let us all remember that AKEL was against making an application for joining the EU because "it is the same syndicate with NATO".

Then, AKEL was against adopting the euro in Jan 2008. We should have waited until 2009, AKEL said.

Now, we are told that the PfP programme is bad for us. Even Turkey agrees with them and GR, of course (but always for a different reason, suckers).

As always AKEL are here to save the day. Just like they would have done had we lisdtened to them and delayed the EURO for a year bringing us into the crisis with the Cyprus Pound. Iceland anyone?

Now they insist that the PfP is basically membership into NATO, regadless if Russia (!) Switzerland (!!) and Serbia who were recently BOMBED by NATO are now members. What the hell I'm sure our Senior officers enjoy having to leave the room in Brussels whenever the PfP is discussed only to have their vacant chairs taken over by the Turkish Generals who are members.

What do I know, maybe AKEL is right. Why join a program which gives you the authority to commit your FIR or waters for joint EU exercises when ther English and Turks are already committing parts of Cyprus for the same program.