http://www.londongreeknews.co.uk/story.php?id=412
Barnet expresses its sup****t for Cyprus, despite opposition from Labour
BY JOHN KAPONI
(Pictured Mike Freer Leader of Barnet Council)
The leader of Barnet Council Mike Freer and Conservative candidate for
Parliament in Finchley and Golders Green made an impassioned plea to
guests
at a reception held inside Hendon town hall, for the resumption of
substantive talks in Cyprus and his opposition for any "attempts to
normalize relations with the illegal regime in northern Cyprus". Freer
also
paid tribute to the deputy leader of the London Assembly Brian Coleman for
his erstwhile sup****t for Cyprus in his recent article "The desecration of
Cyprus" in the New Statesman. The event was attended by the cabinet in
Barnet Council including Lynn Hillan and Matthew Offord with Mayor Braun.
Labour councilors objected to the attendance of the three elected
councilors
of Greek origin in Barnet which include former Mayor and chief whip
Andreas
Tambourides (Conservative), Kate Rutter (Conservative) and Maria
Yian****oudakis (Conservative). The Labour group it is rumoured had the
sup****t of Andrew Dismore the current MP for Hendon for objecting to the
attendance of the Conservatives councilors citing reasons obtaining advice
from the boroughs solicitors that the event may have broken the ultra
vires
law on using public money to canvass for a political group or issue.
None of the councillors attended the event on the advice of the
Conservative
group in Barnet.
The reception had representative's from the main groups within the Greek
Cypriot community including the High Commission of Cyprus George Iacovou.
The shock of the recent joint partner****p agreement was still evident from
the Cypriot governments representative who when questioned by London Greek
News whether his sources or contacts had any prior knowledge to the
agreement Iacovou responded "we knew nothing". Iacovou said "despite our
efforts to assist in the relation****p (with British government) nothing
can
de done for the government to see the Cyprus problem in a fair way."
Also addressing the event was the President of the National Federation of
Cypriots in Great Britain who was a former Labour councilor but showed a
new
invective for the Brown government's position on Cyprus saying that the
Federation "condemns the British Governments stance on Cyprus and is
against
the desecration of Cyprus I sup****t the efforts of Brian Coleman". In a
surprising twist to the Droussiotis speech a special thanks was given to
Barnet's principled stance on Cyprus.
http://www.greece.org/cyprus/GordonBrown.htm
