Statements by the General Secretary of AKEL S.Stefanou

 

17 April 2022, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

QUESTION: You have meetings with people in local communities. Are AKEL’s contacts with the people beginning to be intensified in view of your decisions regarding the upcoming Presidential elections?

SS: We are continuing our contacts with people and local communities, primarily on issues that affect them. And if there is one thing that has long been at the forefront of people’s anxiety and concern, it is the issues relating to price hikes and the high cost of living. Price hikes are not a current phenomenon, nor are they also a consequence of the war in Ukraine. They have intensified with the war in Ukraine, just as people’s concerns have also grown about the consequences of the war on Cyprus and the sanctions that have been imposed on Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine.

We have submitted specific proposals on every sector to address this issue.

Let me remind you that we have already elaborated specific proposals on tourism, which we have forwarded to the responsible Deputy Minister. These proposals were elaborated through specific meetings we held with tourism stakeholders in all the districts of Cyprus.

We have promoted in Parliament concrete proposals for a draft bill to strengthen the powers and framework of the given Minister for issuing a cap on fuel, because the law on the fuel cap is different from the law on the cap on other goods.

In our view, there is room on to combat, firstly, profiteering on fuel, secondly, the oligopoly that exists and, thirdly, to control the profit margin.

We have also submitted a proposal to regulate the issue of double taxation on fuel. At the moment we have a tax among the various taxes that exist on fuel. We have an excise duty and VAT on excise duty. This is double taxation and in our view it must be tackled.

Today we are in Paliometocho and we are subsequently going to visit Kokkinotrimithia as a continuation of the contacts that we have been organising for a very long time with local communities and towns since last September.

QUESTION: Have your next steps been decided concerning the process surrounding the presidential elections? Have meetings with other opposition parties been set after the breakdown with the Democratic Party DIKO?

SS: We are continuing our procedures in two directions: contacts with other parties and personalities, as well as our ongoing inter-Party procedures.

Some meetings have been arranged with both personalities and parties so that we can make use of the days left before Easter. Normally there will be a break over the Easter period and we will resume afterwards. We are now, I would say, at the final stage which we will conclude as quickly as possible and hopefully our decisions soon will be taken soon.

QUESTION: When you say personalities, do you mean people who have already expressed their intention to run or are interested in running, Mr. Stephanou?

SS: With personalities who have indeed expressed an interest or with personalities who play a role, have a say and we would like to have contacts with as we have always been seeking such contacts.

QUESTION: With regard to press reports referring to the resignation of the Chief Negotiator Mr. Mavroyiannis. The reports state that his resignation has already been accepted by the President of the Republic.

SS: The resignation of Mr. Mavroyiannis, which is in the headlines today, is, according to press reports, due to the fact that there are no developments whatsoever on the Cyprus problem. Unfortunately, there have been no developments surrounding the Cyprus problem for a very long time and that is precisely what is worrying.

AKEL had pointed this out and, unfortunately, our position is being vindicated, but I stress unfortunately because this is to the detriment of our country, the prospects of reaching a solution of the Cyprus problem and the reunification of our country and people.

I note that this deadlock on the Cyprus problem is being instrumentalized by Turkey who is creating new deadlocks on the ground. What AKEL would like to point out is that we must reflect on taking concrete initiatives so as to help create momentum for the resumption of the negotiations. The ground certainly needs to be prepared and can be prepared through the assumption of such specific initiatives on what needs to be done.

We have submitted a specific comprehensive proposal to the President of the Republic on the Cyprus problem, and since the debate on energy is coming to the fore in the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, we believe that we must in a collective manner have this discussion. In addition, we must also be informed by the President of the Republic – because we have not been briefed – about what was discussed during Mrs. Nuland’s visit to the region, what is happening, what the prevailing thoughts are so that we can also submit our own proposals and thoughts. What is certain is that we cannot be comfortable – because AKEL has never been comfortable – with this prolonged deadlock on the Cyprus problem.