Appearance-wise, President Nikos Christodoulides acted decisively in sacking the chief of police, the deputy chief and acting head of the Nicosia Central Prison, as soon as he returned to Cyprus from his trip to New York. The three were held responsible for the escape of the convicted murderer while on day leave last week. There were no meetings at the presidential palace nor any public reprimanding of the police command in front of the cameras, as had occurred after the riot in Limassol a year ago, when no action was taken.
This time, the president acted, showing a degree of ruthlessness that few people thought he had – given the way he had handled other police blunders of the past. Speaking on the radio on Monday morning, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis, said that “responsibilities were apportioned,” in what was a clear attempt to close the matter and leave Justice Minister Marios Hartsiotis untouched. There have been calls for his resignation after the escape of the convict who was finally caught on Sunday and there had been a precedent. The late Kypros Chrysostomides, who held the same post in the Christofias government resigned in 2008 after a convict escaped while receiving treatment in a hospital.
Letymbiotis had a rather unorthodox take on the matter, saying that in such cases the authorities of a minister should be clarified, pointing out that Hartsiotis was not involved in the way the operations of the police were carried out. By this logic no top official should ever take responsibility for the bad decisions or ill-advised actions of their subordinates and resign when things go wrong. Although the police force was under the authority of the minister, he was neither responsible not accountable for its actions according to the government’s logic.
“The minister of justice, as the politician in charge (of the police), played a part so there could be a successful conclusion to the case, although with some delay,” said Letymbiotis. He added that Hartisotis was considered by the government the most suitable person to assist the modernisation of the police force. Why had he not assisted this effort so far? As Letymbiotis said on Monday, one of the main reasons that led the president to fire the chief and his deputy chief was that the restructuring, modernisation and reform of the police force were moving very slowly. We are to assume that the minister, ultimately in charge of achieving the objectives of the government for the police force, had no responsibility for the fact his subordinates were not getting the job done.
The president will expect a road map, with specific steps for the restructuring and modernisation of the police, said Letymbiotis. And if the road map does not lead anywhere, they will be held responsible because the minister in charge of the police force and its modernisation will have no involvement, despite his suitability for the task.
