A legal investigation on behalf of the borough of Waltham Forest in north-east London has ruled that the action of a Turkish Cypriot local councillor to organise and carry out the flying of the flag of the Pseudo-state in front of the town hall constituted a breach of the regulations.
The case concerns the planting of the flag of the pseudo-state on the pole outside Waltham Forest Town Hall by that councillor and other Turkish Cypriots on 15 November 2021.
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The occasion for the "ceremony" was the 38th anniversary of the illegal unilateral declaration of the pseudo-state.
The move had immediately provoked strong reactions from the Cypriot community, with the UK National Cypriot Federation issuing a condemnatory statement. The move had also been condemned by pro-Cypriot British MPs, local ward MPs and other councillors.
Recognising that the flying of the flag had caused offence and distress to the borough's large Cypriot community, the leadership of Waltham Forest had apologised and the relevant department commissioned an independent lawyer to conduct an investigation.
The legal conclusion, therefore, states that the councillor in question "did not act in accordance with the London Borough of Waltham Forest's Code of Conduct" in organising the ceremony. The assessment made in the finding is that his action was intended to "further his own political agenda."
This councillor was not re-elected in the recent May council elections, so no further administrative sanction will be imposed against him.
The barrister's finding was welcomed by the National Cypriot Federation. "On behalf of the British Cypriot community I am still deeply upset that the flag-raising incident occurred, however I welcome the swift action taken at the time by Waltham Forest City Council," said Federation President Christos Karaolis, from whom the independent legal investigator took evidence, among others involved.
Calling it a "significant" legal investigation, he added that the report vindicated the conviction of the incident, which was a violation of municipal regulations, as well as international law and United Nations Security Council resolutions.
"I sincerely hope that councillors in Waltham Forest and across the UK will respect the indisputable conclusions of the report and learn lessons so that this does not happen again in the future."
Source: KYPE
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