Ministry of Education attempt to whitewash and exonerate fascism

Statement by Christos Christofides, member of Political Bureau and Head of Education Bureau of the C.C. of AKEL

AKEL C.C. Press Office, 7th June 2016, Nicosia

After the decision taken by the Ministry of Education for our children to pay visits to the underground hideout of Grivas and to ban the presence of the Bicommunal choir at a school, the Ministry of Education and Culture has now chosen to engage in anti-communist propaganda in the History exam essay included in the pan-Cyprus exams and to try to whitewash and exonerate fascism.

This anti-historic and provocative approach to equate fascism – Nazism with communism and socialism has provoked disgust and indignation. Characteristically as demonstrated by the proposed solutions of the essay “the candidate receives an excellent mark if he/she identifies fascism and Nazism with communism and demonstrates that the communist party (!) and socialist ideas (!) led to the emergence of authoritarian regimes.” (The exclamations are ours). We don’t know which anti-historic “historians” are proceeding to such wordings, but it is obvious that this represents unashamed propaganda which contradicts the very references included in the book of the Third Lukeio (Lyceum).

We are very concerned about the new attempt by the Ministry of Education to conduct ideological propaganda because it comes at a time when fascism both in Cyprus and in Europe is on the rise. Not only are certain circles and forces apparently not concerned, but perhaps, consciously or unconsciously, it pleases them.