Opinion
By Michalis Sophocleous
What Mr. Makarios Drousiotis alleges is enough on its own to shake any state to its core, if it is true. But even if it is not, the same kind of reckoning should still take place. These are not isolated incidents. They are the latest link in a chain of events that, fairly or unfairly, has eroded every sense of institutional credibility in Cyprus. From the Al Jazeera affair and the book “Mafia State” to the ongoing deadlocks and shadows surrounding energy issues and Vasilikos, Videogate, undeclared campaign funding and the Asset Management Company, the increasingly “gray” media landscape, scandals in local government, a series of other troubling developments, and now “Sandy.”
The result is that every Cypriot citizen feels like a pawn, a victim of an organized network that drains both individuals and the country as a whole to serve private interests. That is why, in my view, this latest case is not just about those making accusations or those being accused. It is not simply a matter of one side, including Mr. Makarios Drousiotis, Mr. Nikos Clerides, Mr. Christos Clerides, possibly Mr. Costas Clerides, and others, versus another side made up of Mr. Michalis Christodoulou, Mr. Dimitris Papadakis, Mr. Morfakis Solomonidis, Mr. Nicos Anastasiades, the Attorney General and Assistant Attorney General, Mr. Polys Polyviou, former Supreme Court President Mr. Myron Nicolatos, the banking system, and others. The issue has moved beyond personal accusations that would normally be investigated and, if warranted, tried. It is no longer just about specific individuals who may have committed serious offenses or who may be the targets of harsh defamation.
What we are now facing is clearly one of two highly organized conspiracies. One possibility is a large-scale conspiracy involving a power structure that has taken hold of public life in Cyprus, influencing and directing decisions across every level and institution, effectively turning the country into a puppet while exploiting it and its citizens. The other possibility is that we are dealing with a deeply distorted system of fabrication that is actively plotting the country’s destabilization and decline with the goal of destroying it. One of these two realities must be true. Either way, we are looking at a conspiracy, an act of betrayal, or an effort to provoke systemic upheaval. That is why I believe this case cannot end without accountability. Either those who are corrupt or those who are fabricating accusations must ultimately face prison.
Today, the institutional, democratic, and social fabric of the country is under threat of complete breakdown. This danger goes beyond any single allegation of shocking crimes such as the abuse of minors, murder, threats, isolated corruption, or collusion. What is being suggested here casts suspicion on Presidents of the Republic, Supreme Court presidents, judges, prosecutors, ministers, politicians, bankers, lawyers, and networks of interests that, according to Mr. Drousiotis, have left nothing intact.
But is this scenario, which reads like something out of a Dan Brown novel, actually real? None of us who are not directly involved can be certain, no matter how strongly we may lean toward one side. The country’s recent history and the negative reputations surrounding many of those accused do provide a basis for some people to be inclined to believe the allegations. At the same time, the political motives are obvious. The evidence that has been made public is far from conclusive. Mr. Drousiotis himself has said the process will be lengthy, and the repeated delays he has caused raise concerns that this could turn into a drawn-out political spectacle ahead of elections. It is also clear that without the presence of “Sandy” or “Kyriaki,” the woman whose testimony underpins the accusations, no case can stand. Those who brought this major issue to public attention should have known this from the start and secured it.
At this point, society as a whole cannot tolerate these games any longer. Accountability must come quickly and in a way that is credible and transparent. Every citizen has the right to be informed and to take part in understanding what unfolds. If all sides truly have nothing to fear, as they claim, then this process cannot happen behind closed doors, hidden behind legal technicalities or attorney-client privilege as is so often the case. It must happen in the open, with full transparency for the public. That matters far more than who ultimately takes charge of the process.
