On this day in 1958, Rev. Clark Coupland, an American Presbyterian Minister and Scripture teacher at the American Academies in Nicosia and Larnaca, launched a scathing attack on the Cyprus Government’s lottery policy.
At his home in Nicosia, Coupland, favoring a shirt and tie over a clerical collar, criticized the government’s hypocrisy in cracking down on gambling while promoting lotteries.
“The lottery makes sheer hypocrisy of these gambling prosecutions. It’s not the old women playing cards who should be punished—it’s the government officials running the lottery,” Coupland declared.
The tall, grey-haired father of four, who first came to Cyprus as a missionary in 1938 and returned after World War II, emphasized his moral, not political, stance.
“I am a loyal citizen, concerned to uphold the good name of the Government,” he said, warning that the policy could tarnish the government’s reputation.
Coupland, who neither smokes nor drinks, also mentioned he had never attended the Nicosia racecourse due to its Sunday events.