Democratic Party President Nikos Papadopoulos should remember what he stated about the Grivas Museum

Statements by AKEL C.C. Spokesperson Giorgos Koukoumas:

7 November 2022

In June, both DIKO and EDEK had understood that the issue wasn’t about building a monument at Chloraka, but instead about the construction of a Grivas museum and that this was an attempt by the government and the far-right ELAM party to mislead parliament.

The DIKO President described as fake news and lies the criticisms that his party voted in favour of the creation of a museum for Grivas.

Nikos Papadopoulos said that if AKEL has relevant information, it should submit it before the parliamentary finance committee, otherwise it should apologise. He wondered who is claiming that a Grivas museum will be built and added that with the specific fund that was approved by parliament an attempt is being made to buy the Azina house in Chloraka, from where the EOKA struggle began, in order to become a museum for EOKA.

If AKEL has a problem with EOKA’s struggle then I am really sorry, said DIKO President N.Papadopoulos.

For two years the ultra-right ELAM party and the Anastasiades government have been trying to deceive parliament into approving a fund [in the state budget] to establish a museum for Grivas. They did not succeed in their objective until last Monday when both DIKO and EDEK changed their position, AKEL C.C. Spokesperson Giorgos Koukoumas pointed out.

Giorgos Koukoumas called on the President of DIKO to refer to the minutes of parliament where he himself on June 30, 2022 said that “there is a paradox in the way the executive power has acted, they have changed the wording of the article which was rejected by the plenary of parliament during the previous budget, in a way that parliamentary scrutiny during the debate did not become possible and sufficient and for this reason we agree to freeze the budget.”

In June, the AKEL C.C. Spokesperson went on to say, both DIKO and EDEK had understood that THIS was not about the Chloraka monument, but instead about the creation of a Grivas museum and that this was an attempt by the government and ELAM to deceive parliament.

He added that parliament had frozen this specific fund through an amendment tabled by AKEL and supported by DIKO, EDEK, the Ecologists and DIPA in the 2022 budget, which explicitly said that the historic Azina house would be bought and turned into a museum of Grivas. The same fund, Giorgos Koukoumas added, was brought back again in 2022 and frozen this time too. It was brought back to the Finance Committee last Monday and despite strong opposition from AKEL, this time DIKO and EDEK without saying a single word, changed their vote and the specific fund was passed irretrievably.

The AKEL C.C. Spokesperson characterised this irony of history as disturbing and outrageous since in the days when the funerals of the four anti-fascist resistance fighters of Agios Tychonas who were brutally tortured and murdered are taking place, the fund in the state budget for the museum of the EOKA B leader has been released and approved by a parliamentary majority.

G.Koukoumas stressed that the stigma of this decision on both DIKO and EDEK will unfortunately go down in history and this stain will not be washed away even if Mr. Papadopoulos were to resort to all the lies of the world.