Letters to the Cyprus Mail

Letters should be sent to mail@cyprus-mail.com or by post to 24 Vass. Voulgaroctonou, P.O. Box 21144, 1502 Nicosia. Please include name, address, and work and home telephone numbers.

Cyprus needs to become the Las Vegas of the Middle East

07/04/13
 Turn the entire Phinikoudes seafront in Larnaca into a Las Vegas style strip with tacky novelty buildings, Elvis impersonators and neon signs that can be seen by incoming flights...hell...make that from space. Leave the cultural heritage to Paphos, and the natural gas to Limassol. Niche tourism will never bring in enough tourists or money, ever. There is no other way to boost tourism at this point despite all the talk to the contrary.  We have no Pyramids or Partheons, and golf, marinas etc etc are now clichιs. If these have not worked by now, they will not work in the future to any significant degree, and never enough to get us out of this mess.  ... 8 comments

Cyprus still has a solid future

05/04/13
My extensive experience in business, but particularly in the forex market, has taught me to expect to find challenges in the business environment. Without a doubt, Cyprus’ reputation as a financial centre has been damaged. However, this has been more as a result of rumours and uncertainty surrounding the deal, rather than direct financial losses.I feel that, although painful now, the bailout does address one of the biggest problems in the Cyprus economy – the size of its banking sector. As a result it leaves behind an admittedly wounded, although fundamentally stronger (and smaller) banking system upon which to build the economy. ... 1 comment

A bailout is not a handout

30/03/13
As an ex enthusiastic Europhile I would like to address this letter to the troika and fellow members of the ‘European family’.Thank you for the life saving bailout but I should like to remind you that it is not a handout but a loan that will be repaid with interest, even though you have decimated our banking sector and economy.  I heard one of you say, and I quote; "The euro is saved, you [Cyprus] have not died in vain".  You could have added: "And we sure screwed the Russians... 2 comments

From hubris to nemesis

30/03/13
Amongst other things, the long-time love affair and worship of all things Hellenic has certainly brought Cyprus to her knees as the economy of the island crashes.  This tragicomedy being played out here reminds me of the cautions of the Ancient Greeks about hubris and the inevitable Nemesis.  Let’s hope that retribution for the crimes of fraud and corruption result in the reconstruction a more just, sustainable island society, one that responds to the needs of the people, not to the Kleptocracy that Cyprus has become.  This self-inflicted wound, from which we all suffer, is the result of unrestrained greed... 3 comments

The future is in your own hands

30/03/13
I lived in Cyprus for 10 years before recognising that Cyprus was following Greece into a financial abyss, at which point, in 2010, I decided to sell up and get out before the muck hit the fan.Now as I read the Cyprus Mail online I see that once again Cypriots are blaming the EU or Germany or anyone else but themselves for creating the current financial meltdown... 5 comments

Cyprus is a jewel in the crown of Europe

30/03/13
In my 66 years of life the most important thing I have learnt is that Whatever we do and no matter how hard we try, we will not be able to have any control or effect on the past. Any energy and aspirations we have has to be channelled towards the future. If mistakes have been made, we must learn from them. I am a Brit who has lived in Cyprus for seven years, an island that I love and if there's anything I have learnt, it is that the Cypriot people are good honest people who will rally round together and fight back in any adversity. Cyprus is a jewel in the crown of Europe, not a sore on its backside as some might have us believe. The hearts and minds of the Cypriot people are king amongst the European people... 4 comments

How would Cypriots feel about bailing others out?

30/03/13
After visiting Cyprus a couple of years ago it is not without great empathy that my wife and I are observing what is happening on your beautiful island. We were particularly impressed by efforts in the south of the island that illustrate the unfair division of an island that was deemed a strategic tool of powerful leaders over hundreds of years. Your museum of unity reminded us a lot of the division of Germany that is happily over, and the stolen property from churches in Cyprus that were robbed of beautiful icons shows that there are too many ruthless individuals in this world... 2 comments

Take Europe to the ECHR

30/03/13
I would like to propose the following: That the government of Cyprus take the European Central Bank / troika  to the European Court of Human Rights on grounds of purposefully (or negligently) destroying the economy  of an EU member by threatening to withdraw ELA within an unreasonably short time frame, resulting into an unprecedented act of human rights violation against the people of Cyprus and risk plunging the nation into a humanitarian crisis of immeasurable proportion.  Lilian Tsappa, PhD, California, USA... 1 comment

Using loans to take over a nation

30/03/13
Cyprus has just lost its inherited right to decide its own destiny...Under the present situation brought about by the inability to govern the nation wisely by all previous governments, banking greed, corruption, kommatokratia (politicocracy) union intransigence and the absence of the Rule of Law, they have all played a part to bring about the present situation... 3 comments

Every taxpayer would rather his money was spent on his own country

30/03/13
I have read the whole comment of Timothy Spyrou "In defence of the German view", and just want to leave a few words to him and maybe some readers of Cyprus Mail.I am working for the European Section of the German foreign ministry and have to admit, that I am very touched.First I have been really sad about all the negative reaction from Cyprus after I checked lots of different news from Germany and Cyprus.Seeing the European Union falling apart due to people losing the view for the big idea and trying to blame this great idea for all their national mistakes, have become very popular in Europe.But then I saw this article and once I started, I had to read it to the end with raising impressions... 2 comments