AKEL doesn’t ask for permission neither to speak, nor to express its views freely

AKEL C.C. Press Office, 18 May 2019, Nicosia

Mr. Anastasiades’ outburst last night showed his real face. He was delivering lessons to AKEL about the need for unity on the domestic front. What he subsequently disgustingly said about AKEL can’t be recorded.

The government ruling forces have a peculiar perception of Democracy. They are more or less telling us that we are not entitled to talk, nor are entitled to smile. That’s what we were told in the House of Representatives when they were talking nonsense from the podium of parliament.

I want to make it clear that we are not asking for their permission neither to speak, nor to smile, nor to express our views freely in a democratic country. We want unity and demonstrate in practice that we put our country above anything else when their handlings (of the Cyprus problem) are moving in the correct direction.

Mr. Anastasiades can’t address the Left and say that “the zeros” cannot pass judgement on the “excellent of the excellent”. Who are the “zeros” the President was referring to? He is referring to AKEL, who backed him during the difficult moments, that is to say backing Cyprus and the Cypriot people, and not the person himself, of course. And who are the “excellent of the excellent” appointed by the government? Rikkos Erotokritou, Ionas Nicolaou, Haris Georgiades…

Mr. Anastasiades protested because we said that although for six whole years they did nothing, all of a sudden during the election campaign all the government’s Ministers are dishing out promises in all directions. The President criticized us because we ourselves didn’t act the same way. He says that we weren’t able to do the same.

Do you remember what he was saying back then? He was protesting because some Ministers, members of AKEL, were speakers at AKEL meetings.

He was trying to convince the people that Demetris Christofias, who did not participate in AKEL’s election campaign, acted as a party leader. What can one say about President Anastasiades then who is behaving like the worst party leader?

He told us that they bequeathed a Cyprus that resembled a rubbish dump. This is his respect for Cyprus and the Cypriot people.

They are delivering towers/skyscrapers, says Mr. Anastasiades. Of course, Mr. Anastasiades doesn’t hear how much the Republic of Cyprus is coming under criticism for the scandals and corruption that are hidden behind these very actions. As for him to claim that we are the only ones saying these things, it was his friend Manfred Weber who told him the same things. The EPP has demanded that a stop to be put on what the Anastasiades-DISY Government is doing.

The President also stated the following. Namely that we are deliberately undermining the Republic of Cyprus because we are defending our positions; because we are struggling for our country’s future and prospect; because we want to finish with Turkey’s provocative actions and create the prerequisites for solving the Cyprus problem so that the Cypriot people as a whole can look ahead to the future with optimism. We will therefore tell him that the only one who denounced the Republic of Cyprus internationally was Anastasiades himself.

He tells us that the Ambassadors are listening to what AKEL has to say and are conveying the wrong messages to their countries. But the Ambassadors are also hearing what President Anastasiades and Foreign Minister Christodoulides are saying too. If they convey what AKEL says and not what Mr. Anastasiades and Mr. Christodoulides say, then they must reflect on why the Ambassadors do not believe what Mr. Anastasiades and Mr. Christodoulides are telling them.

I will conclude with what Mr. Anastasiades said yesterday by saying this. Mr. Anastasiades tried to give us lessons in political ethics. I will therefore tell him: look who is talking! Nikos Anastasiades himself, who forced the Attorney General of the Republic of Cyprus to tell him “Shame on you, Mr. President”.