Speech by General Secretary of AKEL A. Kyprianou at the event on the 120 years since the birth of Cypriot poet Pavlos Liasides
Tuesday, 23rd March 2021, Ayiou Georgiou, Larnaca
“My body is quite old, but my thinking is of a new world, even if you’re born in the year 3000, you’re my peer”…
120 years since the birth of Pavlos Liasides. Orchard cultivator, worker and shepherd. A pillar of Cypriot poetry. A dialectic pen. With the traditional “vraka” costume, a genuine Cypriot, who sang about love and cited poems. He glorified Cyprus, worshiped our people’s passions with his lyrics in a way that has its roots in the depths of our History and yet every time he speaks to us like a voice that resonates today.
An entire theoretical outlook was expressed in his lyrics. The struggle for the new world, the resurrection of the living-dead and the downtrodden, their life in a society qualatively superior, are all topical messages to this day that are transmitted in his poetry.
If anything characterizes his work it is how astounding his lyrics remain in their simplicity. How rich their meaning is hidden in the austerity of words. Neither pompous, nor loud-mouthed – but always relevant. With the same tenderness that he sang about love, with the same intensity he cursed those internal forces and circles who opened the back door to Turkey’s invading army, cursing war, injustice and the uprooting of our people as refugees in their own homeland.
With the same affection he spoke of the miracle of life and love, with the same solidity he kept people’s feet on the ground. “We don’t expect to be saved by lies…we do not believe in the goddess of fate”, says his verse.
He knew the wheel of change would not spin without the waging of struggles. Social and political struggles.
He knew that the wheel of change would turn with the victory of the working class and his lyrics sang this rule in his own way: “we are the offspring of the Resurrection”.
We are proud that the Poet took and marched on the same path with our People’s Movement of the Left throughout his life. We are constantly seeking to honor his work and the person himself, first and foremost by talking about it to future generations. The publication in the two years 1997-1998, by the Centre for Scientific Research, of his poetry ‘Collections’ was the result of numerous interventions undertaken by AKEL. Today, Collections is out of print and our Party’s goal is to lead the efforts to print a new edition in an updated form that will also include the theatrical works of Pavlos Liasides. With great emotion, AKEL also contributed to the creation of the “Pavlos Liasides” Cultural Centre of the Municipality of Lysi, the village of Lysi (now occupied) that he loved so much and longed to see again after the invasion.
To honor Pavlos Liasides, AKEL also decided to erect his bust in the Municipality of Deryneia which is situated next to the buffer zone, while from time to time it organized in cities and local communities, but also in Cypriot communities abroad, numerous other events in his honor. For the purposes of all these events and for the better acquaintance of people with the poet’s work, the Cultural Bureau of our Party published in 1997, before the publication of the Poet’s Collections, a book that included a study carried out by Thomas Symeou, as well as an anthology of poems by Pavlos Liasides.
A few years later and when that book had already sold all its copies, the Cultural Bureau of the C.C. of AKEL, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the author, released a CD with his poems, recited by himself and their unforgettable performer Giorgos Makaritis.
On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the death of Pavlos Liasides, we accepted with great pleasure the proposal submitted by Thomas Symeou, a scholar of the life and work of Pavlos Liasides, to publish another book on the worldview of Liasides’ personality and work. A study that highlights the timelessness of Liasides.
Finally, the relevant Bureau of the Central Committee of AKEL has already decided to dedicate 2021 to Pavlos Liasides by organizing numerous events and initiatives that will be announced.
I humbly believe that one of the greatest honors ever attributed to AKEL are the lyrics dedicated to the Party by the Pavlos Liasides himself.
Lyrics that move, inspire and guide.
Lyrics that praise the bloody and long struggles and sacrifices of our Party’s history, but which also point to the future we are working and struggling towards.
Liasides wrote the poem “AKEL the party of honor”.
The Party that speaks to the people clearly, humbly and honestly.
The Party that fought and is steadfastly fighting fascism.
The Party that is struggling relentlessly for peace and reunification.
“You made the decision over your life.”
We are struggling for those ideals that saw many pioneering comrades sacrifice their very lives.
We are speaking about and struggling for those very same ideals today, for which our children and grandchildren will be speaking and fighting for tomorrow. For jobs with rights, for housing, for education, for health and for dignity.
For social justice, for socialism, for a society that will focus on people’s needs and not on profits.
The almost hundred years of the existence of the Communist Party of Cyprus-AKEL in this land were marked by persecutions, prohibitions and underground work, assassinations/murders, struggles, gains, rights, strikes, demonstrations, defeats, victories, setbacks and advances. There were also those moments when the people of AKEL have been hurt at different times, for various and different reasons because others with excessive ambitions sought public posts, others wealth, fame and personal interest. What kept AKEL upright and strong is that in every case it found the strength to engage in its own self-criticism, to correct its mistakes, to take decisions and move forward. To become more decisive, more combative and stronger.
Before us we have the huge battle of the parliamentary elections to wage. Even those who have not decided what to vote for know that if there is any force that can change things, that force is AKEL.
If there is one force that struggles for the many, that force is AKEL.
If there is any force that can protect the weak, that force is AKEL.
If there is any force that can stand firmly, without retreating before the government ruling forces and DISY who are about to dismantle everything in this place, that force is AKEL.
So let’s move forward, strong. Let’s talk to the people, listen and convey the message everywhere:
AKEL is the people’s force.
AKEL is the people’s voice.
AKEL is the guarantee that things will change.
AKEL that Liasides sang about fifty years ago, is here and it is time for everyone to realise it!
Let’s go strong!
