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US VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN MEETING RELIGIOUS LEADERS
May 22, 2014-
Biden meets religious leaders
By Jean Christou
US VICE PRESIDENT Joe Biden's first stop on Thursday was the
Archbishopric in Nicosia where he met for over an hour with the leaders
of the island's main faiths, Greek Orthodox, Turkish Cypriot Islam,
Maronite, Armenian and Latin.
For Cyprus, the security was unprecedented as each media representative
had their bags searched first at the main gate and again inside, where
they were subjected to more searches and a sniffer dog before being
allowed in the main lobby of the building. Outside the streets were
cleared of traffic although pedestrians, tourists, school children
and other onlookers were evident on either end of the road outside
the gate. Old men sat outside nearby coffeeshops to have a look.
Before Biden arrived the religious leaders lined up to greet him with
Archbishop Chrysostomos joking around with some of the local media.
When Biden's convoy - around 10 police motorcycles, half a dozen
squad cars, two vans from the bomb disposal unit, around 25 other
vehicles and a strange looking black van - arrived surrounded by his
security team, he entered the lobby and shook hands with each of the
religious leaders who all in turn said:" Welcome to Cyprus". Biden
then turned to head off but was persuaded by the media to pose for
a line up photo with the clerics.
The media was then ejected from the premises as no statements were
to be made after the round table discussion with the clergy. A White
House official said earlier this week that the Vice President saw the
cooperation and dialogue by religious leaders as a positive example
of the kind of trust, reconciliation and respect that can be built
across divides.
After the round table discussion, Archbishop Chrysostomos held a
one-on-one with Biden where, according to the Cyprus News Agency,
the Church leader expressed his views on the Cyprus issue.
Outside people began to gather opposite the gates. Schoolchildren
gawked at the police motorcycles and the mysterious black van. Local
police chatted about Wednesday night's football match as they were
quizzed by onlookers who could not get a signal on their phones. One of
the officers said the signal had been jammed as a security precaution
in case of remote bomb detonation by phone. The jamming area covered
around 200 metres around the building.
"What's in there?" one woman asked of the black van. "I heard there's
men in hazard suits". The officer just smiled but didn't reply.
http://cyprus-mail.com/2014/05/22/biden-meets-religious-leaders/
May 22, 2014-
Biden meets religious leaders
By Jean Christou
US VICE PRESIDENT Joe Biden's first stop on Thursday was the
Archbishopric in Nicosia where he met for over an hour with the leaders
of the island's main faiths, Greek Orthodox, Turkish Cypriot Islam,
Maronite, Armenian and Latin.
For Cyprus, the security was unprecedented as each media representative
had their bags searched first at the main gate and again inside, where
they were subjected to more searches and a sniffer dog before being
allowed in the main lobby of the building. Outside the streets were
cleared of traffic although pedestrians, tourists, school children
and other onlookers were evident on either end of the road outside
the gate. Old men sat outside nearby coffeeshops to have a look.
Before Biden arrived the religious leaders lined up to greet him with
Archbishop Chrysostomos joking around with some of the local media.
When Biden's convoy - around 10 police motorcycles, half a dozen
squad cars, two vans from the bomb disposal unit, around 25 other
vehicles and a strange looking black van - arrived surrounded by his
security team, he entered the lobby and shook hands with each of the
religious leaders who all in turn said:" Welcome to Cyprus". Biden
then turned to head off but was persuaded by the media to pose for
a line up photo with the clerics.
The media was then ejected from the premises as no statements were
to be made after the round table discussion with the clergy. A White
House official said earlier this week that the Vice President saw the
cooperation and dialogue by religious leaders as a positive example
of the kind of trust, reconciliation and respect that can be built
across divides.
After the round table discussion, Archbishop Chrysostomos held a
one-on-one with Biden where, according to the Cyprus News Agency,
the Church leader expressed his views on the Cyprus issue.
Outside people began to gather opposite the gates. Schoolchildren
gawked at the police motorcycles and the mysterious black van. Local
police chatted about Wednesday night's football match as they were
quizzed by onlookers who could not get a signal on their phones. One of
the officers said the signal had been jammed as a security precaution
in case of remote bomb detonation by phone. The jamming area covered
around 200 metres around the building.
"What's in there?" one woman asked of the black van. "I heard there's
men in hazard suits". The officer just smiled but didn't reply.
http://cyprus-mail.com/2014/05/22/biden-meets-religious-leaders/