Scramble to limit political damage

THE government yesterday scrambled to launch a damage limitation exercise following the violence against a Turkish basketball team by a faction of APOEL hooligans, which has handed Turkey the PR coup of the year.

Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said that on the instructions of President Demetris Christofias letters were being sent to the United Nations and the European Union in a bid to put things into perspective and to give the whole story.

The incident, which took place on Tuesday night after the end of a FIBA Eurochallenge game between APOEL and Pinar Karsiyaka, was also condemned by all political parties yesterday.

Police on Tuesday night were forced to use tear-gas after the game to disperse a crowd of around 500 APOEL supporters after they started throwing things at the Turkish team and followed them when police ushered the Turkish players to safety.

No one from the Turkish team was injured, police said but the Turkey has made a meal out of the incident, even calling Athens and Brussels on Tuesday night to make it known that the Cyprus talks could be affected.

But in a written statement yesterday, the foreign ministry said: “The persistent effort of the Turkish government to politically exploit such unfortunate events, by interpreting them with political motives, is both unacceptable and worthy of condemnation.”

Three 15-year-old boys arrested on Tuesday were yesterday charged with assault, rioting and use of dangerous objects and released to be summoned at a later date.

Police yesterday were also studying television footage of the trouble in a bid to identify more suspects.

Turkey’s EU negotiator Egmen Bagis called the attack “inhuman” and said Ankara would closely follow the proceedings against those arrested.

“This attack by insolent Greek Cypriots threatens the prospects for peace in Cyprus,” he said. “How can one expect the Turkish and Greek communities to live together?”

The foreign ministry yesterday said the government was committed to solving the Cyprus problem and reunify the country “whereby the whole of the Cypriot people, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots alike, will live together in conditions of peace and prosperity.”

“We, therefore, call upon Turkey, instead of causing problems, to demonstrate the same constructive stance,” the ministry said.

The ministry condemned the “unacceptable events” adding that regrettably, such dismal events do occasionally occur at sporting events in European countries.

“Cypriot teams were treated similarly in the past while in Turkey, although the Government of the Republic of Cyprus has never tried to attach any political connotation to such incidents.  The ministry said Turkish sports teams had also competed many times in Cyprus without any problems whatsoever.

Spokesman Stefanou said the unacceptable, condemnable and damaging actions, in essence negated a series of games between Turkish and Cypriot teams that had been played without incident.

Stefanou said Turkey was now exploiting “the gift given to her by fanatical hooligans” and urged political forces on the island to isolate those who find excuses to create political problems.

Beyond the political fallout, as expected the incident has had repercussions on the APOEL team.

The team was fined €40,000 by international governing body FIBA and will have to play the next three home games without spectators.

FIBA Secretary General and IOC member Patrick Baumann said: “I wish to congratulate FIBA Europe for reacting quickly and decisively on an incident that is shameful and has absolutely no place in sport.”

“In the past sport has done much to unite people and to overcome political differences. The violence that occurred in Nicosia on Tuesday is utterly unacceptable,” he added.

Karsiyaka said it was not happy with the penalty and accused FIBA of protecting the Cypriot team.

“That shows a clear sign of FIBA’s protecting Greeks and Greek Cypriots,” Naz?m Torbaoglu, manager of the basketball branch of the Kar??yaka club, told Do?an news agency. “I think a worthy sanction would have been an at least two-year-ban from playing in European competitions.” Torbaoglu said the team will appeal the ban.

The Cyprus Basketball Federation has issued an apology to FIBA and its Turkish counterpart.

“Such acts of hooliganism are an enemy to our sport and should find us all on the same side in the battle against it” Secretary General Emilios Theodosiou wrote.

The Cyprus Basketball Federation also expressed its intention to cooperate fully with police to identify the individuals responsible for the acts of violence.

via Scramble to limit political damage – Cyprus Mail.