On the meeting of the General Secretary of AKEL with the Pancyprian Association of Prisoners of War 1974
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 23rd March 2021, Nicosia
Yesterday, the General Secretary of AKEL, heading a delegation of the Party, had a very useful and particularly productive meeting with the Pancyprian Association of Prisoners of War 1974 on the issues that concern them.
The General Secretary of AKEL referred to the unimaginable hardships and pain suffered by a large section of our people who had the misfortune to be captured by the Turkish invading army. He stressed that for 46 years, these tortured fighters for freedom have not been treated in the way they should have by the state.
The General Secretary of AKEL congratulated the Association for the film it has produced and screened about the drama of the 1974 prisoners of war, stating that everyone should see it and understand what our compatriots went through.
The General Secretary of AKEL said that although the Christofias government in 2008 had laid the foundations for the dignified treatment of prisoners by the state and had provided free medical care through the approval of a Bill, with the establishment of the National Health Scheme however, it was abolished. He stressed that AKEL will take up the issue with the government and proceed to all the related steps and indeed immediately, so that this foremost obligation of all of us is solved promptly, before the last surviving prisoners of war pass away with the bitterness of the unspeakable and completely unjustified injustice against them.
Every country that respects its people and struggles must stand by those whose sacrifices have supported and continue to support the struggle for freedom and the status of the state. The prisoners of war are a special case that cannot be compared to anything else. A dignified pension to compensate for this loss for the survival of these people should have already been safeguarded by state action. As AKEL, we will discuss this issue with a sense of urgency so that the injustice is immediately and definitively lifted.
AKEL will also demand the award of an honorary diploma to all prisoners of war.
The General Secretary of AKEL informed the Association that AKEL on 23rd April, day of remembrance and honor of prisoners of war, will organize various activities for the practical recognition of their struggles.
In conclusion, the General Secretary of AKEL thanked them for their valuable service to our homeland. He assured them that AKEL too is concerned about the country’s future and is struggling, so that our children will not experience such a tragedy again, struggling for justice to prevail, to prevent partition, to reunite our homeland and people and to ensure that Cyprus can hope for a solution of the Cyprus problem, for reunification and a peaceful future.
