NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      NICOSIA (CWNews.com) - Cyprus was warned by a Council of Europe official that it has no choice but to legalize homosexuality, because the ban conflicts with a 1993 European Court of Justice ruling that says it violates human rights.

      "Cyprus has no choice, no real choice in fact," Hans Christian Kruger, Deputy Secretary General of the 40-nation Council of Europe, said during a sports ministers' meeting in Nicosia. Government officials agreed with Kruger, but parliament has refused to repeal the 99-year-old law. "This is an international obligation which the country has and must comply with ... You can prolong it here and there, but not in the long run," Kruger told Reuters. "I believe that this country, with a solid human rights record, would not wish to be in breach of the European Convention of Human rights."

      Under the law enacted in 1889, homosexuals can be imprisoned for up to seven years, but Cypriot officials said the law is rarely, if ever, enforced today. Homosexual activists complained its mere existence is enough to be concerned. Kruger said that if the law is not changed this year, Cyprus could face negative repercussions, including expulsion from the Council of Europe.