The President of the Republic will not calculate the political responsibility, when the safety of the citizens is at stake, Government Spokesman Constantinos Letympiotis said on Friday, in view of the decisions expected from the KOP and the further measures, which - if necessary - the Government will announce.
Arriving at the cutting of the ESK's king cake, at the Press Center, in Nicosia - while the session of the Executive Committee of the KOP was in progress - and asked if the PtD will take the political responsibility for tougher measures, Mr. Letympiotis referred and in statements by President Christodoulidis saying that "nothing is ruled out at this stage. The priority is to ensure that citizens are safe and that they and their children will be able to watch the games."
Responding to a related question, the Government Spokesperson said that there is no difficulty in taking measures, recalling that the issue was thoroughly discussed yesterday in the Council of Ministers and today they await the decisions taken by the KOP and if necessary, further measures will be taken by the Government. What the PtD underlined and which is a social imperative as well, he added, is that "such unacceptable incidents can neither be accepted nor tolerated in playing fields with the risk of even human lives".
The state will do, and is doing, everything possible to ensure the safety of citizens. Mr. Letympiotis noted that there was a strong police presence inside and outside the stadium the day before yesterday and it is not possible to need such a strong police presence in every match. He reiterated the position that playing fields are not battlefields. "As a state we will continue to do everything possible, but let's wait to see the measures of the KOP and as a Government we will position ourselves".
Commenting that the measures announced by the Police just on Monday do not seem to be very effective and asked if they will be revised, Konstantinos Letymiotis said that the Police constantly evaluates and revises the measures, as well as the taking of further measures, in the context of operational plans , also referring to the statements of the Chief of Police on Thursday.
We cannot expect that only with an increased police presence such incidents will be avoided, "everyone must take their responsibility" he concluded.