AKEL on World Refugee Day
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 19th June 2017, Nicosia
“War, violence and persecution around the world are forcing more and more people than ever to be displaced from their homes”, “…there were 65.6 million people forcibly displaced all over the world by the end of 2016 – approximately 300,000 more than last year.”
These numbers are included in the UNHCR’s new annual report on Global Trends. The report was released today and is the organization’s biggest annual survey on the phenomenon of displacement.
This is a tragic account, shameful and unacceptable, which reflects the wretched consequences of the imperialist policy of the world’s ruling forces: a policy that puts their expansionist designs and interests over and above human lives.
For some forces and circles the daily by now drownings in the Mediterranean Sea are mere statistics, for some indifference and for others frustration and indignation, given that the political decisions approved by both international organizations and the EU don’t appear to be addressing effectively the refugee issue. On the contrary, we see the number of victims growing as a result of their policies.
We are also seeing that even those who manage to survive when reaching a “safe” destination are confronted with terrible living conditions and are isolated in concentration camps struggling against bureaucracy and many racist attitudes for months and years to ensure that their case is examined.
AKEL, on the occasion of World Refugee Day, sends a militant greeting to the refugees of Cyprus who for years have been struggling to solve the Cyprus problem, reunify the country and return to their homes, but also to all the refugees around the world who are the victims of imperialist despotism.
AKEL will continue to struggle and demand first and foremost from the EU. The adoption of measures to eliminate the root causes that are generating wars, uprooting people and migration, as well as measures to support refugees in host countries through a human-centered approach based on solidarity.
