Cyprus: Police stops mosque clashes, warns of irresponsible reporting
CLASHES between rival groups of Muslims at Nicosia's Omeriye Mosque were averted on Tuesday night and last night by a strong police presence. The move follows Monday night's pitched battle, which some said may have involved as many as 500 people using stones, sticks and pipes.
Nicosia police chief Kypros Michaelides told state radio yesterday that police had contacted the mosque's imam and other clerics to advise them of the police's determination to prevent the development of undesirable situations. He said that "if any migrant is found to be acting outside of the law, he will be pursued and deported to his home country", adding that four people have already been charged in relation to Monday night's clash, and further arrests are expected.
Michaelides also condemned some of yesterday's media reports which referred to "ghettos" and "anarchy" in Nicosia's old town. He said that "things aren't the way they are being presented in the media", adding that "the situation is causing us concern".
"I can't say that any kind of anarchy is prevailing, or that there are ghettos where people are afraid to pass through."
It has not been easy to establish exactly what happened on Monday and why, as claims and counterclaims have fed into the media. Another factor is the lack of familiarity in the media with the main characteristics and issues which resulted in the dramatic events.
What has now emerged is that the underlying cause of the violence was the insistence by one group of Muslims who regularly used the mosque to preach an interpretation of Islam that was not acceptable to the Sunni majority.
Another factor, which has heightened tensions considerably, is that the majority of worshippers are mainly Arabic-speaking with strong roots in Cyprus, and the "dissident" group are mainly non-Arabic-speaking Pakistanis who mostly arrived recently as economic migrants.
(more)
POLICE WARNED yesterday that irresponsible reporting of the events surrounding the Omeriye Mosque in Nicosia could help fuel racial hatred.
Police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos, commenting on press reports which made unsubstantiated references to Islamic "extremists" and talked of the "madness of an enraged mob", said: "We are living in a European country which needs to deal with multiculturalism, in both its positive and negative aspects. We must accept differences relating to skin-colour and religion, for example."
"If what is published does not stand up to scrutiny, then we will start to cultivate racial hatred and racism," he added.
Katsounotos said that getting to grips with multiculturalism is a two-way street, pointing out that "immigrants also need to respect the laws and rules of the host society."
Yesterday's Phileleftheros carried an article under the headline "Extremists ready to act", which described those taking part in the recent disturbances as "fanatical Muslims". The article said: "The police are afraid that the incidents might spread to other towns, while there is information about activity by extremists, although this has not been confirmed."
"Of course the police have concerns, but we don't want to overinflate the matter, nor understate the possibilities. Reporting must be serious and objective, as exaggeration does not help in any way," said Katsounotos.
(more)
Source: Cyprus Mail 1, 2 (English)
CLASHES between rival groups of Muslims at Nicosia's Omeriye Mosque were averted on Tuesday night and last night by a strong police presence. The move follows Monday night's pitched battle, which some said may have involved as many as 500 people using stones, sticks and pipes.
Nicosia police chief Kypros Michaelides told state radio yesterday that police had contacted the mosque's imam and other clerics to advise them of the police's determination to prevent the development of undesirable situations. He said that "if any migrant is found to be acting outside of the law, he will be pursued and deported to his home country", adding that four people have already been charged in relation to Monday night's clash, and further arrests are expected.
Michaelides also condemned some of yesterday's media reports which referred to "ghettos" and "anarchy" in Nicosia's old town. He said that "things aren't the way they are being presented in the media", adding that "the situation is causing us concern".
"I can't say that any kind of anarchy is prevailing, or that there are ghettos where people are afraid to pass through."
It has not been easy to establish exactly what happened on Monday and why, as claims and counterclaims have fed into the media. Another factor is the lack of familiarity in the media with the main characteristics and issues which resulted in the dramatic events.
What has now emerged is that the underlying cause of the violence was the insistence by one group of Muslims who regularly used the mosque to preach an interpretation of Islam that was not acceptable to the Sunni majority.
Another factor, which has heightened tensions considerably, is that the majority of worshippers are mainly Arabic-speaking with strong roots in Cyprus, and the "dissident" group are mainly non-Arabic-speaking Pakistanis who mostly arrived recently as economic migrants.
(more)
POLICE WARNED yesterday that irresponsible reporting of the events surrounding the Omeriye Mosque in Nicosia could help fuel racial hatred.
Police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos, commenting on press reports which made unsubstantiated references to Islamic "extremists" and talked of the "madness of an enraged mob", said: "We are living in a European country which needs to deal with multiculturalism, in both its positive and negative aspects. We must accept differences relating to skin-colour and religion, for example."
"If what is published does not stand up to scrutiny, then we will start to cultivate racial hatred and racism," he added.
Katsounotos said that getting to grips with multiculturalism is a two-way street, pointing out that "immigrants also need to respect the laws and rules of the host society."
Yesterday's Phileleftheros carried an article under the headline "Extremists ready to act", which described those taking part in the recent disturbances as "fanatical Muslims". The article said: "The police are afraid that the incidents might spread to other towns, while there is information about activity by extremists, although this has not been confirmed."
"Of course the police have concerns, but we don't want to overinflate the matter, nor understate the possibilities. Reporting must be serious and objective, as exaggeration does not help in any way," said Katsounotos.
(more)
Source: Cyprus Mail 1, 2 (English)
No comments:
Post a Comment