General Secretary of AKEL: ‘Nicos Anastasiades is facing history – Partition is near and time is running out’

 

29 July 2021

The General Secretary of AKEL Stefanos Stefanou has reiterated his appeal to the President of the Republic to take initiatives for the resumption of the negotiations for a solution to the Cyprus problem.

Speaking last night at the first major political rally in Larnaca since his election as General Secretary of AKEL, Stefanos Stefanou referred to the critical times we are going through on the Cyprus problem, describing them as the most difficult since 1974, subsequently stating that it is not enough for the Greek Cypriot side just to denounce Turkey’s provocative actions.

“The current situation is the result of the ongoing deadlock and absence of negotiations. When we seek the help of the international community to address Turkey’s provocative actions, we must not lose sight of the big picture, which is that only a solution will address the problems and prevent partition which is on the verge of happening,” he said, reiterating to the President that if we confine ourselves to addressing Turkey’s provocations, partition will come with mathematical certainty.

“Time is running out,” he stressed, calling on the President to focus his attention on the resumption of negotiations. In this regard, he noted that AKEL had submitted a proposal to the President of the Republic, but he did not accept it, making it clear that Nicos Anastasiades has to address his responsibilities and history itself, which will judge him very harshly, he noted.

The General Secretary of AKEL added, in support of the correctness of AKEL’s proposal, that the UN Secretary General also shares it by adopting the position that hydrocarbons must be transformed from a problem into a catalyst for a solution, in contrast to the President’s position for confidence-building measures, which the UN Secretary General does not accept.

Stop government authoritarianism in dealing with the pandemic!

The General Secretary of AKEL also chose to take a stand on the pandemic issue, making it clear that AKEL, acting responsibly, does not exercise opposition for the sake of it.

At the same time, however, Stefanos Stefanou made it clear that AKEL does not give a blank cheque to the government, which he accused of authoritarianism, arrogance, lack of proportionality in the application of measures and a lack of contact with society.  “This is what it is doing now with the issue of vaccinations. Instead of consulting society and talking to convince people, it opts for direct or indirect coercion measures, which not only do not work, but create polarisation too,” Stefanos Stefanou pointed out. He made it clear that AKEL is in favour of vaccinations, given that this is what science itself recommends, but he stressed that it is the government’s responsibility to get this message across to society.

“The government must abandon authoritarianism and get in touch with society,” he remarked, calling on the government to reverse its decision to abolish free rapid tests.

“We urge the government to simply listen to the World Health Organisation,” he said, expressing the hope that the correct decisions would be taken at tomorrow’s Ministerial Cabinet meeting.