Papadopoulos prefers to wage common struggles with DISY and against AKEL
Statement by AKEL C.C. Spokesperson Stefanos Stefanou
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 20th September 2017, Nicosia
We reflected quite a lot on whether we should comment on the unbelievable lies which Mr. Nicolas Papadopoulos had said in a recent interview he gave to the state channel. We thought about it because we don’t want to follow him on the downward spiral path he has taken under the stress of contesting for the presidential chair.
However, there are some things that really have gone beyond any limit and we must comment on.
First, the General Secretary of AKEL Andros Kyprianou never spoke of a “dishonest” DIKO. Let Mr. Papadopoulos find when and where Andros Kyprianou made any such reference.
Secondly, Andros Kyprianou and AKEL, respect the historical tradition of cooperation between the two parties since the days of Spyros Kyprianou, T. Papadopoulos and M. Karoyian. It is precisely this tradition that N. Papadopoulos has dismissively turned his back on, preferring to wage common struggles with DISY President Mr. Averof Neophytou and against AKEL. That is the reason why he fiercely fought the Christofias government; that is why he stubbornly refused to discuss any co-operation in the run-up to the presidential elections.
Thirdly, according to Mr. Papadopoulos half of the members of the President’s negotiating team are not just AKEL members, but also members of the Central Committee! The reality is that in Mr. Anastasiades’ negotiating team there is no one from AKEL. There is a broader advisory group with members from across the entire party spectrum, including one from AKEL and one from DIKO.
Fourthly, judging others as one would oneself, Mr. Papadopoulos is claiming that Andros Kyprianou decides AKEL’s policy. In AKEL the decisions are taken collectively and democratically. A characteristic example is the party procedures that were followed to support Stavros Malas’ candidacy.
