A motion for a resolution is tabled in the plenary session of the Parliament on March 11, submitted by the President of EDEK, Marinos Sizopoulos, regarding the involvement of members of the Cypriot Parliament in the leak of documents to the Al Jazeera news network.
As decided by the Parliamentary Committee on Institutions on Wednesday, the draft will be referred to the parliamentary groups of the parties, which will be placed in the Plenary Session.
With the draft resolution of EDEK, the Parliament will call on the deputies “who are holders of naturalization documents to hand them over to the Police Authorities in the context of assisting the investigative work to locate the source of the leak, as well as the expediency or reasons for the leak” .
The resolution also refers to the situation that “has been shaped by what the Al Jazeera network has revealed regarding the Investment Program of naturalization of the Republic of Cyprus and the apparent involvement of members of the House of Representatives”.
At the same time, the Plenary Session will be led by an amending resolution by the MP of the Ecologists Movement Citizens' Cooperation George Perdiki, according to which the Parliament will “call on the Police to intensify its efforts to identify the source of the leak of secret documents.” It also “calls on the Police to utilize the legal framework and to receive all the required documents and information from the House of Representatives and from all members of the House, who are holders of such documents in the context of assisting the investigation to identify the source of the leak.” ».
Speaking to the Commission, EDEK President Marinos Sizopoulos said that the issue of naturalizations has three aspects that should be explored in depth. The first, as he said, has to do with the disciplinary, criminal and political responsibilities of those involved in the implementation of this program. On this issue, as he said, a special team of investigators could be called from abroad. The second aspect, he added, has to do with the loss of revenue for the Republic of Cyprus and the way the program was implemented, which is the responsibility of the Audit Office. The third aspect, as he explained, concerns the leak of confidential documents to Al Jazeera that have been reported to the Cypriot Parliament.
Mr. Sizopoulos stated that the services of the Parliament did not act with due care, since confidential or confidential documents should be received with a specific number and stamp. He said that these documents were received by 18 members of Parliament. Mr. Sizopoulos did not rule out bribery, trapping or other possible reasons for which they were granted. He also said that the leak could have been done either by officials of the Parliament or by MPs, despite the investigation carried out by the Parliament which showed that no officials were involved. This, as Mr. Sizopoulos said, should be confirmed by the Police.
AKEL MP Irini Charalambidou, speaking to the Committee, said that the essence of this leak is that maximum corruption was revealed and characterized the shift of the issue from the substance, which is the corruption of those involved in passports, the search for the source of the leak. He also said that every MP has a responsibility if something comes into his hands that shows corruption to reveal it.
SEE ALSO: Naturalizations: Data from other countries
MP George Perdikis speaking to the Committee said that under other circumstances he would agree with Ms. Charalambidou, however, said that there are two reasons why he supports the resolution. The first, as he said, because the previous Speaker of Parliament ordered a fiasco investigation and made sure that information was leaked, accusing him, after investigating the issue for years. The second reason, as he said, is to continue the investigation in a legal way by the Police and according to the suggestions of the legal advisors of the Parliament on the issue.
DIKO MP Pavlos Mylonas said that he is in favor of transparency for everyone and everything, even if there is a dark spot for the leaks to be seen.
Responding to Ms. Charalambidou Mr. Sizopoulos said that there is no intention to shift the issue from its essence. He added that leaking classified documents is a crime. At the same time, he stated that some of the proposals of the drafted resolution by the Ecologists, hinder the process, since the Police must lift the immunity of deputies in order to be able to proceed with the receipt of all these data. We, he added, what we want is to help and contribute to the full clarification of all three aspects of the case. He also said that some MPs are only concerned with the issue of handing over the documents to the Auditor General to see if there has been a leak of revenue for the state.
He added that the main issue is whether there were criminal, disciplinary and political responsibilities and the second is whether there was a leak from the Parliament to a specific pro-Turkish network known for its role in cases concerning Cyprus and Greece. He added that he had made a statement since November 2014 for illegal issuance of passports and since 2016 EDEK requested information from the state authorities about this program.
Ms. Charalambidou added that the Police could request the documents from the Ministry of Interior and said that the essence is that Mr. Syllouris and Mr. Tzovannis, especially Mr. Syllouris, as he said, enjoy all the rights by car, secretary ” and we are dealing with leakage. ” She said she refuses to disorient.
Mr. Sizopoulos stated that the leak of documents had the seal of the Parliament, so the Police can not get the documents from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Finally, the Chairman of the Committee, DISY MP Zacharias Zachariou stated that the specific resolutions will go to the parliamentary groups of the parties and the issue will be raised in the Plenary on Thursday, March 11, in which the parties will be placed.
