AKEL commemorates the anniversary of 16th June 1943
15 June 2026, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia
AKEL commemorates the anniversary of 16 June 1943, one of the defining moments in the history of the Left and of Cyprus, when the Central Committee of the Party called on the militants, members, and friends of AKEL to voluntarily enlist in the Allied forces of World War II, to fight against Hitlerite fascism, and to contribute to the liberation of Greece and all the peoples of Europe from Nazi occupation.
Hundreds of AKEL members responded to this historic appeal, including eleven of the seventeen members of the Central Committee, forming the largest organized contingent of Cypriots in the Allied forces and contributing to humanity’s historic struggle against fascism.
The decision of 16 June stands as a badge of AKEL’s internationalism and patriotism, which, since its foundation in 1941, had defined the Party’s character as “Democratic, Anti-Fascist, Anti-Hitler.” This was preceded by the development of a broad political campaign to educate our compatriots and strengthen Cyprus’s defences, while the Party had taken initiatives to ensure the people’s more active contribution to the anti-fascist struggle.
AKEL pays tribute to the Cypriot volunteers—both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots—as well as to all those who resisted fascism and Nazism.
Today, as various parties in our country promote the normalization of the far right by engaging and dealing with it, the preservation of historical truth and the anti-fascist democratic memory becomes even more imperative. The ideals of peace and anti-fascism remind us that memory prevails over forgetfulness and that the light of democracy always triumphs over fascist darkness.
In honor of the anniversary of June 16th, 1943, the Central Committee of AKEL is organizing an event tomorrow, Tuesday, June 16, at 7:30 p.m. at “Heroes” Square in Limassol, with Aristos Damianou, a member of the Party’s Political Bureau and Member of Parliament, as its keynote speaker.
