Filenews 29 March 2023
Once again, a photo was circulated on the internet, where a policeman, of the Metropolitan Police of London, has the flag of the pseudo-state affixed to his uniform.
It is worth mentioning the fact that this particular photo has appeared twice on the internet, in 2018 and 2021, and that after a reaction by the National Cyprus Federation of the United Kingdom, the Metropolitan Police had apologized.
The letter of the National Federation of Cyprus of Britain
The Federation has written a letter addressed to the commander of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Mark Rowley, stating that the Cypriot community wants to see actions taken that will not allow such mistakes to be repeated again in the future. Online, the Federation invited the members of the community to sign the open letter.
As highlighted in the letter, the Metropolitan Police adopts the clear position of the British Government that it does not recognise the illegal regime in occupied Cyprus. Since the body has a "fundamental responsibility" to abide by the law, the Federation calls the incident "disappointing", which as pointed out is not the first.
The letter also states that the photo has appeared in a post on the Metropolitan Police's Twitter account in 2018, with those responsible apologising and giving an assurance that it would not be repeated.
Similarly in 2021 the flag in question was removed from a special unit badge of the Metropolitan Police, again with apologies. The letter concludes by commenting that it is therefore not surprising that Baroness Casey's recent report said the Metropolitan Police should build trust with London's communities as respect for the body has fallen to a nadir.
_"Unfortunately, the repeated projections of this separatist flag show that the Metropolitan Police is failing to show our Cypriot community that it cares about it and respects it," the letter concludes.
The Apology of the Metropolitan Police in 2018
London's Metropolitan Police admitted its mistake and apologised for placing a pseudo-state flag on a Turkish Police Association stand during last year's event in north London. The flag was placed along with Turkish flags on the stand of the Turkish police liaison officer at the Turkish Cypriot Festival in the Donkey Lane area of Enfield on 17 June 2018.
The image with the flag of the so-called "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" had been promoted on the pages of the Enfield Metropolitan Police Service on social media. The case was led to an internal investigation following an official protest by the National Cyprus Federation of the United Kingdom.
At the conclusion of the investigation, local police chief Nusrit Mehtab served her apology on behalf of her department. He further noted that the incident shows a clear need to train and guide local police officers on the use of this flag while on duty.
philenews / in.gr
