Joint press conference of AKEL General Secretary and Palestinian Ambassador

 

STATEMENT OF THE GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE C.C. OF AKEL ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE

Forty-eight years of occupation, life as refugees, imprisonments, torture, persecutions, deprivation of the most basic human rights of the Palestinian people, even of the elderly, women and children, they could not force this heroic people to its knees and yield. Today, two days before the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people, which is honored through a decision approved by the United Nations General Assembly, we reaffirm our all-round solidarity with the Palestinian people. We know from our own experience what war, occupation, refugees and human suffering means, as we also know very well the importance of international solidarity for the continuation and successful outcome of the struggle for freedom. Our main responsibility is not be quite on crimes being committed, about the colonization and occupation, the flagrant violation of International Law and the International Declaration of Human Rights.

In the very difficult days of imperialist interventions, rivalries and wars which the peoples are experiencing, primarily in our region of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, we urge the international community to insist on the implementation of International Law and the relevant UN resolutions so as to put an immediate end to the colonialization and Israeli occupation of Palestine. The attempt to portray the problem as a supposedly religious conflict cannot be accepted. It has never been a religious conflict, given that for centuries representatives of different religions co-existed peacefully in Jerusalem and on the soil of Palestine. Such a development – in part it already has – paves a course that can only have tragic results for both the Palestinian and Israeli people. The attempt to exploit extremism and terrorism in order to justify the colonization and occupation leads to more adventures throughout the whole region.

Today we once again reaffirm our support for the full recognition of the Palestinian State, sovereign and viable, on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, that will live peacefully alongside the State of Israel, with the human rights of all citizens restored, also those of course of the Palestinian refugees, some of whom live in Cyprus as well.

We express our solidarity with the forces in Palestine and Israel that are fighting for this solution.

A just, peaceful solution will help bring peace to the whole region because the Palestinian issue is at the heart of the Middle East.

 

Ambassador Dr. Walid Hasan’s Statement 

I would like to express my deep appreciation to Mr. Andros Kyprianou and his delegation for visiting our Embassy today, two days before the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which is traditionally organized each year by the Party of AKEL, and will take place on Sunday 29^th November, in the city of Larnaca.

The International Day of Solidarity is commemorated this year, just two months after the historical raising of the Palestinian flag at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, a momentous event which was the culmination of a series of diplomatic successes of the State of Palestine, as more and more countries, almost 145 in total thus far, are recognizing the State of Palestine.

Unfortunately, despite the strong resolutions that have been adopted on the basis of international law and international legitimacy, and which aim at a two-state solution, Israel, in its habitual manner, continues its policy of aggression and law defiance, persisting in its colonial settlement activity, confiscation of Palestinian land, extrajudicial killings of our youth and our children. What is more, Israel is engaged in the endless battle to defy thousands of years of historical and religious tradition, by attempting to change the status-quo and thus judaize the Holy City of Jerusalem, specifically by targeting the Al Aqsa mosque, the third holiest place for Muslims, and imposing a division of time and place. In this manner, Israel is turning the political conflict into a religious one, a most dangerous tactic which must be halted.

Since the beginning of October, the Palestinian people started a new popular and peaceful wave of resistance, to undermine the oppressive and illegal Israeli policies, and to protect their land, their holy Christian and Muslim places and their legitimate rights. Given this critical situation, the State of Palestine urgently calls upon the international community to provide international protection for the defenseless, unarmed Palestinian people, and to adopt a strong resolution by the Security Council, which would include clear parameters to achieve peace on the basis of the two-state solution, with pre-1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions, and which would set a clear timeframe for ending the Israeli occupation.

Lastly, I would like to thank the friendly people and the government of the Republic of Cyprus for their constant support to the Palestinian people. Despite the hardships that we daily experience, our will and spirit remain unbroken. The support extended over the decades by all the peace-loving peoples, has helped sustain the Palestinian cause, keeping the hope of a lasting solution alive.