Cyprus Mail, Cyprus
Oct 28 2006

FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE RIDICULOUS
By a scribe called Haji Mike

ENTER-EXIT recent elections in DiKO mean the affable but overloud
Cleanthous lost the presidential race to relative newbie Karoyian.
Most disturbing was the last minute `scare mongering’ on the part of
some Cleanthous backers that Karoyian was in fact… Armenian! Playing
the dangerous `race’ card in this case backfired like an A-Bomb on an
acid trip.

Karoyian represents a new breed of politician in Cyprus, and whether
I agree with him or not, it is always good to see change, in whatever
shape or form it comes. Added to this. he is a far more eloquent and
fluent speaker than Cleanthous, who at times reminded us of a raging
bull in a fine china shop.
One thing I would point out though, maybe Karoyian could speak a
little slower – at times his over-enthusiasm sounds like he is trying
to rush things through – and that leaves an air of mistrust.

Reminds me of the first person who sold me an insurance policy in
Cyprus back in 1993. He raced through a five page contract in one
minute `zirt-zart-zourt’ and then just said `oh by the way you sign
here!’ I spent the next hour or so with him analysing the whole thing
paragraph by paragraph!!!

JOHN IS A LEGEND AGAIN sophomore music releases are the trickiest of
things – especially when your first CD sells so much and wins
grammys. John Legend’s new release `Once Again’ has the confidence
and style of anything by Marvin Gaye during his most creative heyday.
Even the cover has that retro vibe to it.

But this is by no mean a backward looking old soul meets neo-soul
effort. It is simply John Legend being his expected talented and
moving self, which makes him one of the best living songwriters of
our times. The first single is a classic case in point. `Save Room’
has this ethereal quality to it. Initially I felt it had this Jim
Morrisonesque baritone quality to it – even making me wonder whether
Legend was actually covering an old Doors tune! Then when he hits
that bridge – wow! More info on the `Ledge’ and the new CD @

CRYING TIME: Each Thursday we wait with bated breath on the latest
revelations from various neo-Mcarthyite MPs and the parliamentary
committee that is allegedly investigating the so-called facts on
UNOPS funding and the referendum.

This week there was a sort of numbed silence – which applies just as
equally to our President. The media were more concerned with car tax
decreases than hunting down so-called `traitors’.

The issue, however, as predicted last week in `sublime…’, has taken
on a new dimension, with UNFICYP Chief of Mission Michael Moller
stating that the witch-hunt was `poisoning the atmosphere’. As few
politicians are speaking publicly about the need for a real inquiry
into referendum funding, I’d like to bring to their attention an
insight by Yiangos Mikkelides, the wise commentator on life in the
Banananation from last Sunday’s Politis newspaper. As one of the
founding members of the `Yes’ platform, Mikkeliddes confessed that
`we had to beg to raise the £700 needed to pay the money for renting
the Conference Centre for our mass rally’. And I thought these people
had all the bucks!

In addition, the mythical `Nathan’ report, which is nowhere to be
found, and believe me I have for over two years been searching high
and low for a widely available copy, is actually a complete farce.
What certain MPs have in their hands and some journalists is
presumably a first draft by Nathan Associates, who for whatever
reasons never finished the report.

Its real title is `Final Report Cyprus Bi-Communal Development
Program Evaluation’ submitted by Development Associates. And if no
one believes me just go to
, it’s public information and downloadable for free. Nowhere in this
document are any names listed regarding funding – which leads one to
presume that the `evidence’ referred to as `The Nathan Report’ is
highly dubious as a valid official source.

It’s `puzzling’ how MPs in the Republic of Cyprus, and elements in
the press acquired such documents without, it seems, official
endorsement from UNOPS. Perhaps what we need is transparency all
round on this issue. Maybe an investigation of the investigative
process itself would reveal a few surprises.
In a week when phone tapping was endorsed by the government, in this
light, I admit I have some serious doubts if this will not be abused
for other purposes. Trust has been violated, starting with the
President himself, who, let’s face it started off this bad atmosphere
in the first place.