Political and social isolation is the answer to the fascist-racist for-right ELAM

Statement by AKEL Parliamentary Representative G.Loukaides after the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee of Selection

14 September 2023

The Committee of Selection convened today at AKEL’s request. The Committee discussed the issue of the so-called Committee on Demography. I refer to a so-called committee because, unfortunately, on the basis of the issues it has examined, it has in practice been transformed, first and foremost, into a Committee on Immigration and has intruded in the field of authority and responsibility of the Parliamentary Internal Affairs Committee.

As a Party, we have also raised procedural-regulation issues, which relate to the need to comply with Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, as well as the political issue that we have raised from the outset with regards this so-called Committee on Demography, which concerns the Chairmanship of the Committee by far-right ELAM.

Towards this end, we have suggested either its abolition as an ad hoc committee, or the creation of a permanent sub-committee that will derive from the Labour Affairs Committee as provided for in the Rules.

AKEL’s proposals have unfortunately been rejected and what the majority of the Committee of Selection concluded is that the Committee on Demography must at long last confine itself to its role and competence. In other words, it must cease from now on to deal with immigration, as AKEL has been warning and denouncing from the outset.

This is a positive development which we welcome. However, as I said last time too, we fear that this will not be enough to restrict the Chairmanship of the Committee under ELAM, so that it will not intrude into the area of responsibility of the Internal Affairs Committee, which deals with the issues related to immigration.

The well-known position that we as AKEL have put forward from the outset is relevant, as the majority of the Committee of Selection and almost all the other political parties agreed to hand the Chairmanship to ELAM and indeed the Chairmanship of the Committee on Demography.

AKEL recalled that Chairs are granted by grace to parties other than those with a parliamentary group, and that it is correct, for the sake of ensuring consensus, that we should give other parties a chair. However, we were not and are under no obligation whatsoever to give any Chairmanship to an extreme right-wing party, to a fascist-Nazi party and a branch of the “Golden Dawn” party in Greece,

We have no obligation at all to do any favours to ELAM. On the contrary, we must combat this far-right, fascist and racist formation through its political and social isolation. Our people are inspired by values of humanism and solidarity and it is unconceivable that such a formation is allowed to continue to imbue Cypriot society with its ideology of hatred.

In response to a journalist’s question whether the decision of the majority of the Committee of Selection has any practical application, Giorgos Loukaides replied that a letter will be sent to the Committee on Demography, so that it will be confined to its competence.