Where NOT to Park in Cyprus

I came back from a series of meetings today to find my license plate had been slashed off of my car. Well, not completely...there's still an "H" tacked on to the back. Thank God my diplomatic plates were actually in the car. Evidently, I parked in the wrong public parking space. I left my car in the public space in front of a convenience store, and the owner was so angry about it that he went and screamed and made a scene in front of the embassy. In fact, I was called out from a meeting at the Archbishopric and a security guy had to walk with me in order to go claim my car. Now, considering that this was a public space, on the road, I was quite confused, but evidently it's ok to park on sidewalks in Cyprus, just not on the public spaces in front of certain stores.