The Minister of Interior of the Republic of Cyprus, Konstantinos Ioannou, clarified today that the government will not back down on its decision to activate legislation requiring municipalities to remove hate-inciting graffiti from public view.
This issue arose after the Minister sent a letter to Andreas Vyras, the President of the Union of Municipalities of Cyprus, also attaching a letter from the Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli. In his letter, the Israeli Minister drew the attention of the Cypriot government to hateful slogans and slurs against Israel and Israelis in various parts of Cyprus.
These included references such as “F*** Israel” and “F*** Israeli investors.”
The Cypriot government has made clear that it will not tolerate antisemitic rhetoric and actions, which, according to Cypriot law, are criminal offenses.Vyras, who belongs to the opposition communist party AKEL, responded by stating that the Union of Municipalities “does not endorse interventions from foreign states.
