The supreme law of Cyprus is her written constitution and Article 24 (4)states: ‘No tax, duty or rate of any kind whatsoever other than customs duties shall be of a destructive or prohibitive nature.’A legal way out under the constitution is a combination of a 'bail in' for amounts above €100,000 held as deposits, together with a restructuring of Cyprus' sovereign debt where prudent. If there are banks that remain solvent when the banks open next week it would be unconstitutional to expropriate deposits held in them. M A Bruce-Smith, London Trust ... Read on

MEAT Team Ltd was established in Cyprus in 2002 and has been dealing in international trading of frozen meat, poultry, fish and to a lesser extent other food products since then... 6 comments

THE eurozone’s bailout of Cyprus has left many Cypriots shocked. And so it should. The deal is unjust in its current form. Certainly, negotiating a German bailout of wealthy Russian funds was always going to be a tricky affair. But the terms that have come out are socially unacceptable. Firstly, to bail in depositors under the insurance threshold of €100,000 is a breach of an explicit guarantee that deposits will be safe, even if a bank folds. Despite leaders claiming that Cyprus is a unique situation, capital flight in the peripheral countries such as Portugal and Spain will increase also. Taxing depositors under €100,000 is self-defeating and will likely worsen the eurozone crisis over time. ... Read on

Cyprus’ current crisis, which has literally robbed citizens of their money is the next phase of a bankrupt self-defeating political orientation that has sacrificed Cypriot interests in pursuit of following Greece no matter the consequences. This enosis-mindset led indirectly to 1974 and now an economic enosis that has caused the EU bailout conditions that will severely undermine Cyprus’ service economy. This is the economic equivalent of 1974 but with an invasion of EU diktats. ... 2 comments

Vis-a-viz the government’s threatened raid on individual citizens bank deposits, I note that this subject has been floating around for months. Also that the finance minister took the time as recently as March 04 to deny caregorically that this would happen  (understanderbly, in his defence, only that doing otherwise would have initiated a run on bank account withdrawals). Can the authorities assure that leading up to the agreement to apply the “one-off” tax, there has been no unusual withdrawals from accounts belonging to “fat cats” in the know (or their friends). ... 1 comment

I write to express with what little freedom I have left. I am a retired Brit who moved to this lovely island almost seven years ago. Since then, I have seen my property price plummet to almost half the value I paid in 2006. I have seen electricity, food and fuel prices climb way above inflation. I now struggle to make my pension support myself and my wife.Only our life savings allow us to maintain a reasonable lifestyle. This is Green Monday and I know the final decisions are yet to be made... 4 comments

Confusing title?  Yes, I bet it is.  That’s how I felt growing up in Cyprus. Whenever I had questions about life, the war, the law etc in Cyprus I was getting contradictive answers from my family, friends, acquaintances, leading to more questions and more confusion... 13 comments

I never saw Clive Turner’s letter as it appeared (Sunday Mail 17 February.), as I was in Virginia to attend a meeting of the Professional Division of The Monroe Institute, famous for the Out-of-Body experience.  The Professional Division largely consists of people with advanced degrees.  Our 60-odd attendees from 9 countries included 11 Ph.Ds (many in Physics), 7 MDs and numerous MAs and MScs.  These are serious researchers, not gullible fools... 2 comments

 Hermes Solomon’s recent article “A Bitterly Sad Affair” is most erudite in its criticism of the current Attorney General’s imperious, capricious style and his partisan decisions and edicts. The article cites penetrating examples. Others include the direct conflict of interest arising from his close association with the Bar Association and his leading participation in the Disciplinary Board of Advocates, as cited in my letter in the Sunday Mail of December 2012. Regrettably, a long list of other examples is also possible.Cyprus government officials, lawyers and others frequently assert that the judiciary follows English law and precedent. ... 1 comment

 In Cyprus, unlike England, France and Germany, we have no large manufacturing industry. But we do have a tourist industry and are fortunate that we could, with a little more thought, sustain this industry 12 months of the year.The once-vibrant town of Famagusta has lain abandoned for 39 years. Perhaps now is the time to hold talks with all parties concerned, with a view to restoring it to its former status by making it the Las Vegas of Europe.This would of course involve discussion with the north, but this might benefit the Nicosia government by showing the world we have moved on from the last century... 2 comments