Those who keep silent or pat Israel on the back on all that is happening in Gaza, are complicit in the crime being committed right next to us

 

AKEL meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Statement by Giorgos Loukaides, AKEL Parliamentary Representative, after the meeting of the Parliamentary Foreign and European Affairs Committee

7 November 2023

With regard to the issue that arose from the Foreign Minister’s briefing and which concerns Pyla, I would like to recall that AKEL assessed that the government was right to proceed with the agreement between the sides and the UN. I would like to point out that now, as regards addressing any issues that have arisen, we also agree with the position expressed by the Foreign Minister that their solution should move within the agreed framework, that is to say, within the framework of a mutual understanding.

Here I must state that our agreement on the issues we discussed with the government ends here and the sharp disagreements and different approaches begin.

During the meeting, we discussed at length the tragedy that is currently unfolding in Gaza for hundreds of thousands of people, the huge humanitarian crisis, the ongoing ethnic cleansing and genocide being committed by the State of Israel against the Palestinian people in Gaza.

Unfortunately, the government, even now, has not said a single word of criticism about the ongoing war crimes being committed as documented by the UN itself, as well as what Josep Borrel notes as violations of international law.

Our own government is positioning itself alongside the most extreme forces within the EU, the West in general, and fully identifies with the unacceptable practices of the far-right Netanyahu government.

It is truly regrettable that the Foreign Minister has not asserted, nor has he spoken publicly, nor has he called – even today – for an immediate ceasefire so that humanitarian aid can be delivered to the people in Gaza. Apparently it is their disagreement with the position for an immediate ceasefire that has led them to this shameful stand of not voting for the relevant resolution approved by the UN General Assembly, which was supported by 120 states, 8 of them EU member states.

This is a sad state of affairs and it certainly does not reflect and does not represent the feelings of the overwhelming majority of our people.

We wonder, what will a country under occupation such as Cyprus, a country in which mass and systematic violations of human rights by Turkey continue, a country that should be defending principles, say internationally and with what credibility if all this concerns our country? I hope and pray that neither we, nor any other people will experience what the Palestinian people are experiencing in Gaza.

But we ask ourselves, if Turkey were to act in a similar way in the free areas of Cyprus, if Turkey or any other state were to murder women and children who represent 70% of those killed, as is happening right now in Gaza according the UN’s official figures, would we be saying, as the Christodoulides government is saying, that there are no violations of international law?

If any state is doing what the State of Israel is doing and depriving a population of 2.3 million, half of whom are children, of water, food, medicine, are we going to continue saying that there is no violation of international humanitarian law and stand by this state that is acting in this criminal way?

We consider that those who remain silent or pat the State of Israel under Netanyahu on the back on all that is taking place on in Gaza, are complicit in the crime that is being committed right next to us and it is a thousand times tragic that Cyprus, itself a victim of invasion and occupation, is not included among those states that position themselves on the right side of History.