Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 08-04-21

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From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] JUSTICE MINISTER - INTERVIEW

[01] JUSTICE MINISTER - INTERVIEW

In an interview with CNA, he analyses his vision and refers to the priorities of his new post to help establish a just society, a goal set by the recently-elected government of President Demetris Christofias.

The Minister considers the problems of drugs, road accidents, juvenile delinquency and violence in the stadiums among the biggest challenges the Ministry has to address and notes that the best way to meet them is to examine and study the situation in depth and take the necessary decisions on the basis of the Ministrys preventive policy.

He described car accidents as a huge social problem and explained that it is due mainly to the lack of road consciousness, as a result of erroneous social culture, but also due to the absence of road ``education.``

Furthemore, Chrysostomides stressed that he is in favour of reinstalling the traffic camera system, which, as the Minister pointed out, it has been proven that it reduces car accidents. He made it clear that its purpose is not to punish citizens but to warn them.

He described the scourge of drugs as an open wound for society, which is way too large in comparison with the size of the country, adding that the objective of its Ministry is to crack dawn hard on drug trafficking that has killed 69 people in the past four years.

Referring to the Police Strategic Plan, he said its objective is to render the police into a flexible, modern and productive organisation, focused on people, and expressed the need to strengthen the police internal control division with a view to establish a body that is not corrupt.

Chrysostomides stressed that the issue of illegal immigration will be solved after a solution to the Cyprus problem, adding that, till then, the European Union must exert pressure on Turkey to comply with regulations and provisions of the acquis communautaire on illegal immigration issues.

According to the police, most illegal immigrants are filtered through the islands northern Turkish occupied areas to the southern government controlled part of the country.

In addition, he noted that a special and more humane detention centre for illegal immigrants is going to be built by 2012, providing them with all the necessary facilities for as long as they are held at the detention centre.

Commenting on overpopulation of the prisons, the Minister said infrastructure work to upgrade existing installations, which is currently underway, will help deal with the problem. He noted that 23 new cells and hygiene facilities and offices for the staff will be built.

Chrysostomides pledged to take stronger law-enforcement measures to stop sexual exploitation of women, arriving on the island to work as so-called artistes and added that Police officers from all districts are being especially trained to deal with such cases.

As far as violence in stadiums is concerned, he said that the expected approval of the relevant Proposal Law by the Parliament will help combat the phenomenon, which also needs the cooperation of all the stakeholders to be eradicated.

He noted that his Ministry is going to look into the possibility of imposing stricter penalties on those who behave in a dangerous way, causing catastrophic fires, as part of efforts to prevent fires.

Finally, commenting on the opening of a crossing point at Ledra street, to facilitate movement to and from the islands northern Turkish occupied areas, Chrysostomides indicated that the Police have taken all the necessary action to ensure safe passage and to monitor the area, pointing out that things are on the right path.

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