Teachers protest against Archbishop’s meddling

Some 200 teachers marched in Nicosia demonstrating against the Cyprus Church’s influence in education and the archbishop’s involvement in granting Cypriot citizenship to a fugitive Malaysian businessman.

Carrying banners ‘No to church despotism’ and ‘A secular state – a clean state’, protestors also waved imitation Cyprus passports and sticks in the air.

The sticks were another symbol of the protest as Archbishop Chrysostomos II, had said that teachers deserved to ‘have gotten the cane’ for going on strike earlier in the year.

The demonstration was planned to

Archbishop’s name day on November traditionally a school holiday.

Organisers of the event were a group calling themselves Teachers’ Initiative for a Secular and European School.

Representative Marina Armefti, said: “We are here to call for the abolition of the holiday celebrating the Archbishop’s name day. It is unacceptable to celebrate such occasions coincide with 13, which is which are a reminiscence of times past”.

She said that the protestors demand a secular school system pointing out that there are more protests to come.

“Today’s event is the starting point of a series of events of the initiative. The icing on the cake was the interplay of the Archbishop and dirty money.”

The initiative also issued a statement describing the Archbishop the “best example of what we do not want our children to become.

“The modern teacher has an obligation to portray you as a symbol of corruption and authoritarianism”.

In response, the Archbishop said the protest was organised by a small group of “5, 50, or 100 atheist leftists, who do not represent the majority of the left which does support the church”.

He also reminded that he has proposed to the authorities that his name day be dropped as a school holiday.

The event follows revelations that Archbishop Chrysostomos received EUR 310,000 from Malaysian financier Jho Low as a donation for an ecclesiastic school.

This has been construed as payment to help Low secure Cypriot passport through the Citizenship for Investment, by Chrysostomos putting in a good word for him with the government.

Chrysostomos said he is prepared to return the donation if proven it was dirty money, without clarifying to whom he is to return the money.

The government is moving to strip 26 individuals of citizenship following allegations that some investors had dubious backgrounds and should not have received passports such as members of Cambodia’s elite.

Low – who denies any wrongdoing – is said to be among the 26 whose passports will be revoked.

Cyprus has since toughened eligibility rules after pressure from the EU its investment scheme was not transparent.

Low is accused of involvement in a money laundering and bribery scheme that pilfered billions of dollars from a Malaysian investment fund.