Indirect admission by the government that it didn’t seek to prevent the use of the British bases

Statement by AKEL Political Bureau member Yiorgos Loucaides

AKEL C.C. Press Office, 16 April 2018, Nicosia

The Anastasiades government still hasn’t found the political courage to defend itself and justify its stand with regards the use of the British bases in Akrotiri as a launching pad for the waging of attacks against neighbouring Syria. Instead of doing so, it has preferred to resort to its favourite tactic of shifting responsibilities elsewhere and engaging in distractions instead of taking responsibility. By refusing to clarify its position, it is obvious that the Anastasiades government did not seek at all to prevent the UK government from using the British bases for its internationally illegal military actions.

The DISY Government’s stand is not surprising, as that is precisely how it perceives our country – not as a bridge of peace in the region, as it from time to time declares verbally, but as the “outpost of the West”, as they themselves have called Cyprus, that is to say as a launching pad for carrying out unjust, imperialist wars against the peoples of the region, and as an exercise ground for foreign armies.

However, the easiness and irresponsibility with which the government spokesperson looked down on and denigrated the African continent’s states in his statements this morning is surprising. Is this perhaps the government’s official policy? Or must we await refutations on the part of the government about countries which other than that are our neighbors, but also countries on which we have in the past relied on and to this day we are seeking their solidarity in our struggle for liberation from the occupation?