“Your Beatitude,” I say gently, trying to coax him into conversation.
He turns his attention to me but seems distant.
“I would like to seek medical consultation in the Netherlands. Would you consider arranging an appointment for me to see someone there? I can’t risk a doctor’s visit here; it will be all over the newspapers the next day.”
“Of course. When do you want to come?”
“Let’s get this Munich case into the secure hands of another attorney and settle the dispute with Van Rijn first.”
“Bishop Vasilios should be present at all your meetings, don’t you think?” I ask.
The archbishop agrees.
Smiling, he says, “It’s useless to try and beat these people at their own game. It’s time to make new rules.”
“Okay,” I say.
“I’m calling a meeting between the Church and the government, but in essence it will be in the spirit of a truce. The attendees will be Bishop Vasilios, the attorney general, Tassos, Stella, Mr. Polak, Mr. Hole, and myself. I want the government to believe that I have crossed over to their way of thinking. Your absence, in their minds, will make them think that you are no longer in charge.”
“I don’t understand,” I say.
“If you are out of the picture it will give me a chance to place Polak in charge.”
I love the archbishop’s ability to see the situation from two diametrically opposed ways of thinking and design a plan that could very well derail the stalemate between us and the Cypriots.
A ringing phone wakes Michael and me out of a dead sleep. I quickly grab the receiver and head downstairs so as not to wake the children.
“For your own good, listen to this!”
I then hear Van Rijn playing me excerpts from the tape recordings he’s made of the police and Stella. He also plays me a conversation he has had with Dikmen’s attorney whom he tries to strike a deal with.
“Who else would give you the benefit of hearing this!”
Tassos and Stella trade insults about me.
The Church’s position is compromised. Van Rijn can now try to extort additional funds.
AUGUST 24, 1998, THE ARCHBISHOP’S PALACE, NICOSIA
The archbishop, Bishop Vasilios, Attorney General Markides, Stella Ioannides, Tassos Panayiotou, Mr. Hole, Mr. Polak, and two additional police representatives, who are not identified, arrive at the archbishop’s palace at high noon. The attorney general lays out the state’s position.
“Convicting Dikmen for the looting of the artifacts is barred by statute in Germany, which means we cannot get approval to extradite him to Cyprus. We can try him for selling the fraudulent Andreas, but we will need Van Rijn’s cooperation in order to get Lazlo’s testimony.”
“What about the perjury charges?” asks Polak.
“Yes, Dikmen made statements under oath in connection to a tax debt for which he can be prosecuted,” the attorney general continues.
“Van Rijn has agreed to testify, to get Lazlo to testify, and to cooperate in returning the fake Andreas for an additional sum,” says Stella. “Both Tassos and I recommend that the Church negotiate with him on this matter,” says Stella.
“It’s really not something the Church feels it should pay money for,” says Polak “Mr. Van Rijn seems to think the Church and the Republic are not operating from the same front.”
“Our office does not support Van Rijn,” says the attorney general.
“That is not the fault of the Republic. This is coming from the Church,” adds Stella.
“Apparently, your office does act as an intermediary for Van Rijn,” says Polak. “Van Rijn knew about this meeting today. He didn’t get that information from me. Your office is recommending that the Church negotiate with Van Rijn,” says Polak.
“There is a discrepancy between the information given by Mrs. Hadjitofi and that given by Van Rijn,” says Markides.
“I find it curious that you regard the statements of Mrs. Hadjitofi and Mr. Van Rijn to be on the same level,” Polak tells the attorney general. “Mrs. Hadjitofi’s statement is backed up with documentation to your office, to the archbishop, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Van Rijn has no proof and no witnesses.”
“You should pay him. He can provide additional information,” says Stella.
“Under whose authority was he told that he would be paid this $44,597? This is not part of the Church’s deal with Van Rijn,” asks Polak.
“The archbishop approved it,” says Stella.
Polak replies, “Please, this was promised to Van Rijn in a letter from your office on May twenty-sixth. You committed money to Van Rijn on the Church’s behalf on your own authority.” Polak exhibits memos that Van Rijn forwarded to the Church backing up what he has just said.
“Mrs. Hadjitofi has disrupted an action by the Cypriot authorities in Greece!” says Stella, which gets a smile out of the archbishop.
“I’m not aware of any facts supporting your allegation,” says Mr. Polak.
“It’s not an allegation, it’s a fact,” says Stella. “Nothing will be put in writing.”
What Stella refers to is my trip to Greece to recover the Enthroned Virgin Mary icon.
Mr. Hole presents a summary of the meeting. All parties agree that a civil case should be avoided. It is decided that Polak will be acting on the Church’s behalf and will take the lead in negotiating. Van Rijn will receive $44,597, for which the Church wants conditions stipulated, but the attorney general’s office does not. The Church is now in charge again.19
My phone is ringing.
“I hear you are back in charge, woman!” reels the voice of Van Rijn when I pick up the phone. “Congratulations.”20 Van Rijn knew the outcome of the meeting even before I did.
Van Rijn and Polak have several phone meetings, but Van Rijn produces no evidence to justify his claims. He played tapes of Stella where she tried to minimize the roles of both the Church and me in the Munich sting operation. Van Rijn complains that he risked his life in pursuit of the Cypriot artifacts and that he will settle now for replace with $545,000. This is typical Van Rijn. The settlement number will continue to change by the hour.
I’ve had about all I can stand. On the twentieth of September, Polak and I meet with Van Rijn once again at the Hotel des Indes.
“Do you maintain the same legal position that Mrs. Hadjitofi and the Church promised you a casino, land, and additional money?” asks Polak.
Van Rijn is not as chipper and confident as he was the last time I saw him. “I had a heavy drinking problem at the time. I don’t recall what I was promised,” he says.
Van Rijn will always tell me one story when we are meeting alone and another when there are others involved. Now that Polak has the authority to strike a deal with Van Rijn, his natural inclination is to try to get maximum dollar out of the Church. Mr. Polak fleshes out his arguments, then I go in with a bottom line number to strike the deal.
“There has been a slight change,” he says. “I had to borrow money. It was necessary for me to pledge the fake Andreas against it.”
“Are you in a position to physically deliver it?” I ask.
“Yes,” he responds. “I can deliver the fake Andreas, Lazlo’s testimony, and I’ll drop all litigation for a payment of one hundred fifty thousand dollars.”
“We will have to get back to you,” says Polak.
“This is take it or leave it deal,” says Van Rijn. “I’m not interested in a lower offer.”
“We will have to get back to you,” I repeat, as Mr. Polak and I stand to leave.21
The next day, Van Rijn meets me at Polak’s office.
“Here’s our take it or leave it deal,” I say. “We will pay you a hundred thousand Dutch guilders ($22,207), plus I’ll reimburse you for your flight to Holland, in exchange for delivery of the fake Andreas, a guarantee that you will get Lazlo to testify, and you agree to drop all charges against the Church and the Republic of Cyprus.” He looks at us, realizing
we will not budge.
“Where do I sign?” asks Van Rijn.22
September 25, at the Hotel des Indes, at our usual table, Mr. Polak and I meet Van Rijn for the turnover of the fake Andreas.
“We did it, you and I,” Van Rijn says as he pushes a cardboard box across the table toward me.
“And Lazlo?” I ask.
Van Rijn responds, “I promise. He will testify. You tell me that I never give you something for nothing, so here it is.” Van Rijn pushes a box of thirty-five audiotapes across the table.
He has turned over all of his recorded conversations with Stella Ioannides, (Attorney General’s Office), Tassos Panayiotou (Police), Marios Andreou (Police), Marios Matsakis (member of the Cypriot Parliament), and Aydin Dikmen’s lawyer.23
“What I do for you I do for no one.”
His words stun me. Why? I think to myself. I can’t give what I don’t know how to give! I’m a person who focuses on what still needs to be done and does not appreciate the accomplishment in the moment. This is in part why I could not give the approval to Van Rijn that he so desperately seeked. On the other hand, withholding is also part of my strategy, because his help came with a price.
On October 27, Polak submits a written summary of the Lans argument to the court. Now we await the verdict.24 I also take great pleasure in sending a signed agreement where Van Rijn admitted he lied to the minister of foreign affairs and the director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which clears my name. I have waited for this moment since that awful day in in December of 1997 when Van Rijn discredited me in front of the police and the attorney general’s office. Van Rijn admitted that his only way to get more money from the state and the Church was to remove me as possible interference. Van Rijn told me he was shocked at how easily the attorney general’s office and the police were willing to take his word over mine. I’ve heard the taped conversations, and they do not reflect well on the people involved. There are no winners in this situation.
I reported to the attorney general that I was in receipt of Van Rijn’s taped conversations and offered to forward them to his office but received no response. Van Rijn continues to try to get back in my good graces. He faxes apology notes almost daily along with tips about stolen artifacts. I do not reply.
As Socrates said, “One thing I know, that I know nothing. This is the source of my wisdom.”
After five years of trying to get pregnant I finally succeed. The news couldn’t come at a worse time, but I have always been told that God does not give us more than we can handle. Michael is euphoric, and he deserves to feel this way. Please, God, I pray, don’t let anything happen to this child.
The public prosecutor in Munich, Mr. R. Alt, a man with a friendly disposition, greets Bishop Karayiannis Vasilios and me in the reception area of his office with a warm smile. The assistant prosecutor and Officer Siemandel, who worked with Peter Kitschler on the Munich sting, are also present.25
“This will help in the prosecution of Dikmen,” says Alt.
“I would like to request a receipt for the fake Andreas, please, with a note that it will be turned back over to the Church after the termination of this prosecution,” I say.
“Of course,” Alt responds.
“Dikmen has not consented to the return of the artifacts to Cyprus. We can now confront him with the fact that we have the fake Andreas and see if this helps to sway him,” says Alt. “If he declines, we will try to reach a settlement by mitigation of the charges in return for his consent to return the artifacts,” says Alt, confident that our chances are good.
“Will our bargaining position improve if the Church litigates against Dikmen for the nine hundred seventy five thousand Dutch guilders ($500,000) that Van Rijn paid to him through the intermediaries during the initial phase of the sting?” I ask.
“Unfortunately, the bills were never marked so they can’t be traced back to the Church,” he says.
The expression on his face shows his thinking.
“You can’t prove it. Besides, Dikmen’s money is held in a private limited company in Turkey. It will be difficult for the Church to attach any claim on Dikmen’s possessions, as the German tax authorities have a higher priority on any claims.”
“If Dikmen does not consent to the return of the artifacts, I would suggest the Church start civil proceedings,” says Alt, providing information I would prefer not to have heard. “Right now we are waiting for Lazlo’s hearing in the Dutch court. A trial for Dikmen in Germany will probably begin in November 1998.
Jan Fred van Wijnen could be a witness for the prosecution of Dikmen as he saw the fake Andreas in Van Rijn’s car. I also have a tape recording of Van Rijn negotiating with Dikmen’s lawyer.
We move on to a meeting with Mr. Kitschler, Mr. Siemandel, and other law enforcement officers including the Bavarian chief of police.
“Part of the deal that will be offered to Dikmen is that if he reveals the whereabouts of the real Andreas, we will agree to six months’ less imprisonment,” says Mr. Siemandel. I feel that the Germans are pulling for us. They have seen firsthand what the state has put me through, and their support is most welcome. To be able to find the real Andreas would help to erase the bad memories of the past year.
Before we head to the airport, we stop off in the basement of police headquarters where approximately a hundred artifacts belonging to the Church are stored. The eyes of the Kanakaria mosaic of Thomas follow me, calling me to take it home, but I must reluctantly leave it behind.
We speak to David Hole about getting a copy of the evidence that was submitted to the Munich prosecutor on behalf of the church, and he continues to send notes back to us that he needs the attorney general’s approval. Hole represents the Church and the government yet we continue to be denied access to the evidence, and may have to take legal action to get it.
There is no rest for the weary. Van Rijn is furious that I have not publicized the tapes he gave me, so he threatens to go to a reporter who will take the tapes public.26 It’s not a matter of trying to cover them up as he claims. My goal is to get the artifacts back, and that is where I am concentrating my energies at the moment, not in exacting revenge. He notifies the German police, who now wish to have the tapes as well. I share only the tapes relative to Dikmen’s attorney.27
The same day I receive a very upsetting phone call from the archbishop.
“Tasoula, I see the people and I recognize them but I can’t remember their names.”
“Your Beatitude, do you want me to come? I will get on a plane tonight and be with you in the morning.”
There is silence.
“How can I help, Your Beatitude? Does the Holy Synod know?”
“No, not yet. I want to see a doctor first. Can you arrange it?” he asks.
“Yes, right away,” I say, full of worry. I start planning how to get the archbishop out of Cyprus and into the Netherlands to receive medical attention. Socially, my network is extensive in the Netherlands and I know one of the royal house doctors personally, who would act with the utmost discretion. It is imperative that the press believes he is coming to Holland to finish business on the Munich and Lans case.
Like the American Santa Claus, Sinterklaas has a long white beard, but the style of his long red cape makes him look more saintly than festive. For three weeks now Andreas has placed his and Sophia’s shoes by the fireplace. Each night he sings the Sinterklass song before going to bed in the hope that when he rises there will be a small present or treat in each of their shoes. The final day of Sinterklass is now upon us. Tonight he departs Holland and I’ve arranged for an actor dressed like Sinterklaas to come to our home as a surprise for our children.
Not all is rosy. I feel terribly off today. I’m having terrible cramping and have Michael rush me to the doctor.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Hadjitofi, I regret to tell you that you’ve had a miscarriage.”
I take one look at Michael and start crying. I feel as if I’m a high-speed train that never stop
s until it crashes. I am so preoccupied with the return of these artifacts I am losing sight of the things that are most important to me. Yet still, I cannot stop, I cannot give up, regardless of what it is costing me, and I don’t understand why.
“This is good news, Tasoula. You can get pregnant! You just need to finish with this Munich ordeal and get back to our life together so we can try again,” says Michael.
Without his calm, sturdy, dependable support, life would have been much tougher for me.
Arriving home, just in time to see the joy on the children’s faces as they sit on Sinterklass’s lap to listen to a story, there is no time for regrets, only space for renewal.
Thirty
MAKING PEACE
THE HAGUE, 1999
Socrates said, “It is not living that matters, but living rightly.”
The last several months have been backbreaking, culminating with my recent miscarriage. Losing this baby created an emotional earthquake, forcing me into a reflective state, questioning where I am at this stage of my life and if it is where I wish to be. Tragedy will do that to you. So will turning forty, which will happen in a few weeks. This birthday has found its way into my psyche, demanding that I take immediate inventory. Forty is the age where I should feel that I have “arrived.” On paper, that is proven. In spirit, there is something still missing.
My innate drive to feed my soul with what inspires me has also left a trail of destruction in its path. I can justify all of my actions, both personally and professionally. My intentions are pure with no question or doubt. So what is it that I contribute to these situations that helps to keep me in this bubble of turmoil? Why is my insatiable appetite for justice met with such resistance? Why, when I am on the side of right, can everything feel so wrong and go so wrong at times?
These questions are no longer the relevant ones for me to ponder. Part of me acknowledges that challenges must be overcome, and I battle to rise above them with the force of an ancient warrior. Another part of me understands that there is something in the struggle that I am meant to see and learn from in order to improve myself and become a better human being. It is the dynamic of these two parts that make me whole.
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