The Yarra City Council’s decision not to fly the Republic of Cyprus flag is more controversial than the flag itself, according to the President of the Cypriot Community of Melbourne Victoria (CCMV).

The CCMV approached individual councils in Melbourne requesting they raise the Cypriot flag to honour the nation’s 50th year of independence, CCMV President Harry Tsindos said.

“We had nine councils that all raised the flag, from as far as Rosebud, Frankston, Whittlesea, and Nillumbik. We were in Whittlesea on Friday, it was fantastic. They raised the flag high, side by side with the Australian flag. They kept it up over the weekend and it was a very happy and proud moment,” he said.

Mr Tsindos told Neos Kosmos that Yarra City Council’s rejection of the CCMV’s request was “surprising”. “I think the decision itself is more controversial than the flag. The flag of independence belongs to a nation that is a fully fledged EU member, it’s also part of the British commonwealth. The decision to not raise it is more controversial and I am disappointed that they don’t understand the significance of trying to have a Cyprus flag and the significance of our independence,” he said.

Yarra councillor Geoff Barbour, told the Leader the council did not want to exacerbate what could be a controversial issue for the local Cypriot community and that there was very little information given to the council in terms of the full diplomatic background to the situation. Mr Tsindos said the CCMV encouraged the council to contact them for more information.

“If they need more details about what it represents, rather than making a decision without knowing, we’re always here to provide information,” Mr Tsindos said. “Councils should be supporting different cutures in Australia, not just on the Cyprus issue but any other culture that has an important day,” he said. “It looked like the council’s decision was a lack of knowledge and understanding of Cyprus, but Cyprus is a commonwealth country, the flag is recognised by the UN. The flag itself should not be controversial,” he said.

In a statement to Neos Kosmos, Yarra City Council CEO Andi Diamond said it is unusual for the council to fly the flags of nations other than Australia.
“We have secondary flag poles that have been used to fly the Australian Aboriginal flag and/or the Torres Strait Islander flag, Eureka flag and United Nations flag,” Cr Diamond said.

However, the Yarra council raised the flag of Western Sahara earlier this year following a request from the community. “Council receives similar requests from time to time but does not always accept those requests,” Cr Diamond said, adding “in this instance, Council declined the request to fly the flag.”