SPEECH OF ANDROS KYPRIANOU, GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE C.C. OF AKEL, AT THE MASS MEETING IN MEMORY OF THE MARTYRS AND HEROES KAVAZOGLOU-MISHAOULIS

 

14th April 2013, Dali village, Nicosia

 

58 years have passed since the sacrifice of Dervis Ali Kavazoglou and Costas Mishaoulis; 58 years since that morning on 11th April 1965 when the murderers of TMT turned their guns on two people who were struggling with the same vision and one heart for one homeland and one people. 58 years have elapsed since our two precious comrades and their final embrace drowned in blood became a symbol – a symbol of the struggle for a free and independent Cyprus, for a common homeland for Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.

 

The murder of Kavazoglou and Mishaoulis was not some isolated incident. It was the continuation of the criminal activity of chauvinism and nationalism which were eating at the very heart and soul of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot community. Fazil Ondur, Savas Menikou, Ahmet Giaha, Michalis Petrou, Ahmet Imbrahim, Ilias Toffaris, Aihan Hikmet, Andreas Sakkas, Ahmet Giourkhan, Costas Mishaoulis, Dervis Ali Kavazoglou…The only thing that differs is the names of the victims – the name of the murderer was always the same.

 

The cowardly murder of the martyrs and heroes Kavazoglou and Mishaoulis deprived AKEL and our country of two genuine patriots and honest people’s fighters. Their sacrifice however became the banner which inspires the struggle of our people, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, for the liberation of Cyprus from the Turkish occupation and for its reunification. It marked with their blood the lines of the Poet assuring the traders of death that they have figured wrong; declaring to the enemies of our country, both domestic and foreign, that this thirst will not quench, this battle will never cease.

 

The sacrifice of Kavazoglou and Mishaoulis in the current conditions Cyprus and our people are experiencing acquires a double value and meaning. It reminds us not only of the duty to relentlessly struggle against fascism and nationalism. It reminds us not just of our duty to shake off the occupational yoke from our country. It also reminds us of our obligation to pass on to the future generations a truly independent Cyprus, free from any neo-colonial dependencies. It reminds us that as long as our people remain a victim of imperialism, either of its military or economic wars, it will never be able to be free and build the future it deserves.

 

Regretfully, this was the omen from all that followed the Eurogroup meeting on 15th March. After the election of Mr. Anastasiades to the Presidency of the Republic, the developments which unfolded have been far-reaching. Before the election took place the international press was flooded with the hopes of many and various circles about the possible election of Mr. Anastasiades. They were expressing the certainty that he would consider in an appreciative way the demands foreign circles and forces had on our island. His own pledges were different. Indeed, they were very characteristic. He gave assurances that he would never sign a Memorandum if it provided for a haircut on deposits.

 

He assured the employees of the Semi-state organisations that under no circumstances would he accept their privatisation. He pledged that we wouldn’t have new consequences to the detriment of the working people.

 

After the election of Mr. Anastasiades, the Government Spokesman, the then Finance Minister, as well as the Deputy Chairman of the DISY party were characterising the haircut as a “silly” and “destructive” idea. Eventually Mr. Anastasiades accepted this “stupid” and “destructive” idea, even tabling a relevant Bill that provided for an overall haircut.

 

After this unacceptable and disastrous decision, an attempt is underway to apportion the blame on Demetris Christofias and AKEL. The responsibility lies solely with the ruling circles of the European Union who insist on pursuing deadlock and anti-peoples policies. This is due to the fact that Mr. Anastasiades even from his first initial meeting yielded to pressure of blackmail exercised on him by the Eurogroup. In our opinion he could have asked for time to consult with the political parties so that responsibilities would be taken collectively. Unfortunately, he didn’t do so. Instead, he admitted that the Government went to the Eurogroup meeting unprepared. The Foreign Minster Mr. Casoulides also made a similar statement, whilst the former Finance Minister, but also the Deputy Chairman of DISY party Averof Neofytou stated that the Government knew about the haircut on deposits before the 15th March.

 

The Anastasiades-Troika Memorandum does not just include a haircut. It also provides for privatisations, cuts in salaries and pensions, which Mr. Anastasiades also rejected verbally many times and unbearable cuts in education and health. It provides for vague clauses that will however bind us in a very clear way in the future. Furthermore, it was truly beyond belief how Mr. Anastasiades hid from the political parties and the people the commitments he undertook towards the Troika; commitments such as the selling off of gold and of the branches of the Cypriot banks in Greece.

 

As AKEL we have never had illusions about what the application for support from the Stability Mechanism would mean for Cyprus and our people. This is the reason why the former President Demetris Christofias conducted tough negotiations until the very end with the lenders, arriving at an agreement in principle that wouldn’t provide neither for a haircut on deposits, nor for privatisations.

 

That agreement was not ratified because Germany and other EU countries didn’t accept it because they insisted on additional unacceptable terms. This is the reason why eventually the lenders chose to wait for the result of the Presidential elections in order to negotiate with Mr. Anastasiades. The Deutsche Bank’s conviction in a report it published that was made public during the pre-election campaign noted that if Mr. Anastasiades were to be elected he wouldn’t object to the Troika’s demands.

 

As AKEL we had pointed out to the people before the election that the lenders were pinning their hopes on Mr. Anastasiades in order to finalise the agreement they wanted. This is unfortunately what happened in the end. At the same time, we can see that our assessments about the economic crisis and its impact on Cyprus are being vindicated. We are talking about the biggest systematic crisis in world history, an unprecedented crisis, both in scope and intensity. This is a crisis that is the result of the structural characteristics of the system. Germany, which has kept salaries and pensions down in the country over the last 15 years is seeking through the implementation of harsh anti-peoples measures to lower working people’s standard of living in the European south and elsewhere. It is aiming to do so by ignoring the painful consequences against the peoples.

 

In Cyprus, the fiscal problems would have been dealt with easily and without having to apply to the Stability Mechanism had the issue of the banks not emerged. This is what AKEL was arguing during the election campaign. Today, everyone accepts this. Mr. Anastasiades and the DISY party when in opposition were blessing the good banking system and accusing the government. For them, the structural problems of the economy were the real issue and they stated that the banks were the big victims of the ideological obsessions of Demetris Christofias and AKEL. We are ready to assume the responsibility for any possible mistakes and shortcomings that may have occurred during the fiver year term of the Christofias government. However, we will never accept any responsibilities for the mistakes and amateur handling of others.

 

Everyone knows very well that during the Christofias five year term a number of measures were taken to address the fiscal problems, whilst for the first time structural changes to the economy were made. Even if we accept for the sake of argument that there was a delay in the implementation of some measures, someone must give an answer about what measures should have been implemented and where would we have found the 10 billion Euros required for the recapitalisation of the banks.

 

One by one the myths the DISY party promoted are being shattered and exposed: regarding the former “undisputed” Governor of the Central Bank, the bankers who were supposedly among the “best” in the world, “our big family” in the EU. The question is whether we will permit them to carry away with them our people, our country’s future and prospects.

 

AKEL and the People’s Movement of the Left as a whole are determined not to allow such a development. A possible acceptance of the Troika’s new unacceptable and horrendous terms will condemn the current and future generation to a vicious cycle of recession. We insist that we all have a duty to discuss alternative ways to tackle the problems. We need to have a dialogue without any blinkers and dogmatic allegiances to deadlock policies. This is why we have and are calling upon all the political and social forces to cooperate in order to see what Cyprus has to gain and lose politically, economically and socially from each different scenario. As AKEL we shall conclude our elaborations and will soon announce our proposals to the people, with sincerity and honesty, guided solely by the interests of Cyprus and our people. We clarify that there are no easy solutions or options. What counts is that whatever painful path are chosen, we must be the only masters and rulers of our homeland. We must know that our sacrifices will bring results and that subsequently we shall again take the path of recovery and development.

 

Whilst we are all concerned about the economy, the barbed wire of division is making even deeper roots in the land of our country. It appears that the truly the economy’s critical conditions will not permit the start of negotiations before the spring of 2013. We are particularly concerned about the positions Mr. Anastasiades expressed on the Cyprus problem during the election campaign. We shall however not rush to exercise criticism. We shall wait to see how he handles the Cyprus problem in practice. If however the Turkish side continues to adhere to the logic of confederation and its unacceptable positions we cannot be optimistic. As AKEL, we assure our people once again that no matter the obstacle s we may face on our path, we will never stop struggling for the solution of the Cyprus problem and the reunification of our country.

 

The freedom, independence and sovereignty of Cyprus, the rights of its people, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, to live together in peace and with dignity on the land of their predecessors are the ideals for which Kavazoglou and Mishaoulis and so many other of our comrades have sacrificed their very lives. This is precisely what obliges us today not to yield, surrender and accept fatalistically our fate. Our duty today is to remind them that we will never be slaves!