The government must take on its responsibilities
Statement by AKEL Spokesperson Stefanou Stefanou on the “golden” passport scandal
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 24th October 2020, Nicosia
What the European Commissioner for Justice said in the European Parliament confirms that:
- The government knew about the problems caused by the mass issuance of “golden” passports that it itself had set up.
- The government was aware of the strong and continuous reactions on the part of European and international institutions to the program and did nothing to protect our country from being shamed.
- The European Commission repeatedly urged the government to take timely and effective corrective action. The government not only did not take such measures, but denied the very existence of the problem.
- Although the government knew that the procedures were full of loopholes and flawed, the Council of Ministers continued to unrestrainedly approve “golden” passports.
If the government had not hidden the problems and taken timely measures, the Europeans wouldn’t have put Cyprus in the dock of the accused. Moreover, the “golden” passports scheme would not have developed into an unprecedented scandal that has taken interwoven interests and corruption to unprecedented levels.
For that reason, the government cannot shake off its responsibilities and President Anastasiades to declare that “he has no crisis of conscience”.
The government has the main and decisive responsibility for the scandal and must take on the responsibility.
