According to an official statement, "the decision of the Council of Ministers was taken keeping in mind that Glafkos Clerides, apart from the fact that he served as President of the Republic of Cyprus from 1993 to 2003, was an international political figure, with a great contribution to the global struggle against of Nazism ".
"His multifaceted contribution to the struggles of the Cypriot Hellenism was also taken into account, as well as his long-standing accent in the Republic of Cyprus, culminating in his huge and decisive contribution to the greatest national success of our EU membership," the statement concludes.
AKEL: Exaggerations have their limits
AKEL reacted strongly to the Minister's decision to name the terminal "Glafkos Clerides", with the party's spokesman, George Loukaidis, talking about "exaggerations".
"It is true that exaggerations in the effort to pay tribute to presidents of the Republic are unfortunately a common phenomenon in Cyprus. "But even exaggerations must have their limits," he said.
Noting that "if it is decided to name a person at the central airport of a country, usually what is done is to choose a political or historical figure who is identified with that country and who is generally or completely accepted as such by its people." , Mr. Loukaidis stressed: "We are sorry to note that Glafkos Clerides, whom we respect despite the many and great differences that separated us, is the historical leader of the right in Cyprus, but not the historical leader of Cyprus with general acceptance by the people ".
Hezekiah Papaioannou considers "wrong the decision taken today by the Council of Ministers, which unilaterally without any consultation or even information to the political forces, apparently acted as a party body and not as a state one."
Source: Liberal