Speech by the General Secretary of AKEL A.Kyprianou on the day of the Antifascist Victory of the Peoples
9th May 2021, Monument to the Fallen Warriors of the Second World War, Nicosia
We have gathered here today to honor those who fought in the Second World War to crush the monster of Hitler fascism. We pay tribute to the veteran anti-fascist fighters in Cyprus and all over the world who made history on the battlefields.
The decision of its Central Committee of 16th June 1943 is a badge of honor for AKEL. With this decision hundreds of AKEL’s militants and members, headed by its leadership, voluntarily enlisted in the army and fought fascism.
The Antifascist Victory of the Peoples belongs to all the forces that fought German Nazism, but the main burden fell on the Soviet Union. The Battle of Stalingrad determined the course of the war. The raising of the Red flag over the German Reichstag signaled the defeat of Hitler fascism. The Soviet Union lost tens of millions of dead and wounded in this battle.
Today the struggle for peace and friendship between the peoples is more relevant than ever. The escalation of energy and geopolitical confrontations in the world, the imperialist aggression of US-NATO, the proliferation of nuclear weapons and continued militarization of the European Union are signs of the times that show that humanity, despite all the enormous sacrifices it made back then, cannot hope for peace and prosperity.
The revival of neo-fascism and Nazism in Europe, and here in Cyprus too, does not permit any complacency. The monster is still here. The system keeps them alive. Fascism seeks to spread its message among the people with populism and empty words. The court ruling on the “Golden Dawn” party in Greece describing it as a criminal organization revealed to everyone its true face. What was revealed in court is characteristic about the violence, the anti-communism and the way in which the “Golden Dawn” were connected with powerful interests that used them as thugs to achieve their goals. The “Golden Dawn” of Cyprus may have been taken the name ELAM, but we all know their true faces. And as AKEL we shall continue to reveal it.
We call on every democrat, every Cypriot who loves his homeland and peace to resist fascism and those forces and circles nostalgic for Nazism and fascism today. The peoples and their struggles can prevent the scenario of a war, the danger of fascism and above all eradicate the root causes that generate wars and give rise to fascism. The Antifascist Victory of the Peoples will forever be a reminder that in the face of the power of the peoples no one is invincible.
What matters is not what anyone says during the election campaign. The crucial thing is what one was saying and above all what one was doing before and does after elections.
AKEL is a serious and responsible force, a force for the working people, a force for the many. It can look people in the eye and ask for its support. AKEL can do so because the positions it had before the elections on all issues affecting working people, on public health, education, social policy, for the stamping out of corruption, on labour issues, it will continue to defend and fight for after the elections too.
We call on the people to give us the strength to put them into practice. Clean, honest and sincere.
On May 30, AKEL must emerge strong, to give a voice to the weak, to give strength to the working people, strength to the many, strength for the Cyprus we want.
