Cyprus protest ends in VIP lounge

One said: "Why don’t you do something!" Another said: "Move out of the way and let us do it!"
The farmers had charged on to the runway at 2 p.m. local time (1200 GMT) in protest against the government’s failure to compensate them for a potato crop that was destroyed by hail in 2001.
Incoming flights were diverted to Paphos airport while flights were delayed in taking off from Larnaca.
The farmers want an $8.5 million dollar payout from the government for weather-damaged potato crops last year.
Agriculture Minister Costas Themistocleous said the level of compensation would be decided at a meeting on January 8.
But Justice Minister Alecos Shambos eventually persuaded the farmers to retire to the VIP lounge — where they received refreshments — after promising that the government would deal with their compensation before Christmas Day.
However, Haris Loizides, general manager of Cyprus Airways, told state radio: "If the government pays these law breakers a single pound, we will also demand compensation for the millions we have lost as a result of the stoppage.
"More than 2,000 passengers are waiting to leave from Larnaca and an equal number, who were taken to Paphos instead, are now being brought to Larnaca by road."