Important references are missing from the Parliament’s resolution

Statements by the General Secretary of AKEL on the resolution approved by the majority in Parliament:

13 October 2023, “Haravgi” newspaper

In an intervention during the debate on the issue in Parliament, AKEL’s General Secretary, Stefanos Stefanou, stressed the need to include in the Parliament’s resolution all UN resolutions and especially the UN Secretary General’s statement. He also recalled that Cyprus is also a victim of continued occupation, colonisation and violation of international law by Turkey and must defend international law and the resolutions of the UN. “Because just as we ask others to be consistent with resolutions and international agreements, we too must be consistent with what is agreed on other issues,” he added.

The General Secretary of AKEL stressed the need to include in the Parliament’s resolution all the resolutions of the UN and especially the UN Secretary General’s statement that “This most recent violence does not come in a vacuum. The reality is that it grows out of a long-standing conflict, with a 56-year long occupation and no political end in sight, the 56 year occupation and the lack of prospects for a political solution.”

“We all start from the same base. We unreservedly condemn the killings by Hamas. At the same time, we cannot but refer to what the Secretary General of the UN said”, the AKEL General Secretary noted.

Parliament yesterday unanimously condemned the murders and other terrorist and barbaric acts of Hamas. Despite this, the majority of parties refused to include the UN Secretary General’s statement on the events and situation in the Middle East.

Two resolutions were tabled at the plenary session of the House, which was also attended by Israel’s Ambassador to Cyprus Oren Anolik. One resolution was tabled by DISY, DIKO and DIPA parties and one by AKEL.

Both unequivocally condemn the murders and kidnappings of civilians by Hamas as terrorist and barbaric acts. Nevertheless, important references are absent from the resolution adopted (by DISY, DIKO and DYPA).

Indicatively, the AKEL resolution includes references to the UN resolutions on the Middle East, the reports of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Opinion of the International Court of Justice in The Hague and the EU Council Conclusions on the Middle East Peace Process. It also condemns the killing of civilians and the imposition of collective punishment on the Palestinian people by the Israeli government, through the total blockade of Gaza, which is prohibited by international humanitarian law.

But the most striking one, which is included in the AKEL resolution and absent from the resolution of the DISY, DIKO and DYPA parties, which was in the end adopted, is the UN Secretary General’s statement of 9 October 2023 on the situation in the Middle East. More specifically, Antonio Guterres pointed out that “This most recent violence does not come in a vacuum. The reality is that it grows out of a long-standing conflict, with a 56-year long occupation and no political end in sight, the 56 years of occupation and the lack of prospects for a political solution.” He also pointed to “the recent intensification of violence by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank and Jerusalem, the expansion of illegal settlements and the continued killing and imprisonment of Palestinians”.