Address by the General Secretary of the C.C. of AKEL S.Stefanou at the political event in memory of D. Christofias

 

26 June 2024, AKEL C.C. Pres Office, Nicosia

With the humble event this evening we honour the memory of Demetris Christofias. The historic leader of AKEL who, through the ranks of the Left, served our Cyprus, our people and the working people for decades, putting his indelible stamp on both the modern history of our country and the history of the Left, whose reins he took over at extremely difficult times internationally, critical for its future.

We could talk for hours about both the man and the political militant Demetris Christofias. Qualities which he himself never set apart. He believed – and quite rightly in my view – that those who handle public power and take decisions that affect society must necessarily be characterised by empathy and humanism. They must necessarily put people and their needs in the equation when decisions are taken.

That is what Demetris has always done. Even when he was accused of this by some forces who tried to attribute the bankruptcy of the Cyprus economy to the social policy pursued by his administration, and thus by doing so concealing the real culprits, which were – according to the conclusions of the European Commission itself – the result of erroneous banking practices and the lack of any control of the banks by the Central Bank.

Demetris had a starting point and a destination: from the people, for the people. He had a compass: the vision, values and ideals of the Left. His first and great concern was the achievement of a solution to the Cyprus problem, a solution that would bring an end to the occupation and the reunification of our homeland and people, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.

Speaking of Turkish Cypriots, Demetris always had a special relationship with the Turkish Cypriot community and had many good Turkish Cypriot friends. The solution of the Cyprus problem was the ultimate starting point of his candidacy for the Presidency of the Republic in 2008. That is precisely why he contested and won the Presidency, during which time he tried very hard to solve the Cyprus problem, leaving an invaluable legacy of the convergences that he achieved with his interlocutor and friend, Mehmet Ali Talat.

As an honest and sincere politician who belonged to an opposing Party camp, Alekos Markides, said of the convergences that were recorded: “Demetris Christofias left great, advantageous and valuable convergences for all of Cyprus. I hope they won’t be lost…” Markides went on to add the following: “In his career Demetris did not deliberately harm anyone. History will restore much of what was unjustly attributed to him.”

Speaking of the legacy left by Demetris Christofias, I cannot but mention another valuable legacy he left to all of us concerning our Party, AKEL. Under his leadership, Demetris Christofias deepened and enriched the open character of our Party towards society. Without abandoning the ideology and character of our Party, Demetris gave a new content and further promoted AKEL’s political intervention in the political life of the country, strengthening its creative and progressive role for our Cyprus and its people at all levels.

Demetris did this with determination, often operating “outside the box” and beyond the norm, achieving both the upgrading of AKEL’s role in the country, as well as the strengthening of the Party’s relations with society and working people. This is also something that we need to continue to do in the difficult conditions in which we are waging our struggles in a society where a large section of it scorns politics, surrendering to the major socio-economic problems it faces.

Christofias has passed into History, but everything he fought for is still here.

The open wounds in the body and soul of our country, the small and big struggles for the needs and aspirations of our people, today and tomorrow.

A strong Left, a powerful AKEL that fights for Cyprus, that strengthens its ties with the workers, with society, with the people of creation, innovation and progress, was and remains the force, the only force, that can open up paths and bring the small and big changes that the country needs.

I will not say more, I am sure that Andreas Christou will also refer to the personality and political legacy of D. Christofias.

I will only say that in today’s era characterised by the army of communication specialists, image politics and glorification of impressions, Christofias stands out as an example on the opposing side. Honest, humane, genuine, dialectical, with integrity, clean and from the beginning to the very end a leader and a fighter together, for the cause of Cyprus and the cause of the people.

May his memory live on.

26.06.2024