Troika out of Cyprus!AKEL demands REFERENDUM! - NO TO MEMORANDUM

NO to privatizations - NO to “haircut”on deposits Natural gas for the people of Cyprus, not for the monopolies of EU

Theresults of the Eurogroup meeting on 15thMarch 2013 concerning Cyprus shook thepeople of Cyprus, but also the whole of Eu-

rope, whilst they also had chain-reaction effects on the global econ-omy. The demand of the European Union and the InternationalMonetary Fund for a "haircut" on all bank deposits in the banks ofCyprus represents an unprecedented action in modern world his-tory which violates even the EU´s own regulations. This constitutesa clear theft of the Cypriot people's labour and toil and at the sametime is a fatal blow to the Cypriot economy, something which, re-gardless of developments, will cause unemployment to rise to newlevels. AKEL has characterised these demands as neo-colonial poli-cies and in reality they represent a declaration of war againstCyprus. At the same time, this action is part of the inter-imperialistrivalry of the EU and more specifically of Germany with Russia,given that it aimed to damage foreign depositors and companiesoperating in Cyprus.

However, this is a demand that can be perceived as the culminationof all the Troika's other demands, with whom Cyprus has been in

negotiation with for several months in order to secure the loan de-manded for the recapitalisation of two big Cypriot banks. The pri-vatisation of the three profitable Semi-state organisations of Cyprus(ports, electricity and telecommunications) is another of theTroika's demands and finds the Peoples Movement of the Left incomplete opposition. In addition, as the overwhelming majority ofthe Cypriot people now comprehend, the main objective of theTroika and the EU monopolies is to put the enormous reserves ofnatural gas, which have been discovered recently within the Exclu-sive Economic Zone of the Republic of Cyprus, under their control.Furthermore, it is evident that Cyprus´ partners in the EU are ex-ploiting the state of the Cyprus economy to undermine the sover-eignty of the Republic of Cyprus, to impose themselves politicallyon our country, whilst they simultaneously also have plans relatedwith the solution of the Cyprus problem. Turkey's provocative in-terventions all this time demonstrate the wider plans that exist.

The fact that as from 24th February 2013 Nicos Anastasiades andthe DISY party, who express the dominant ruling class and neolib-eral Right of Cyprus, have assumed the Presidency of Cyprus har-

A K E LB u l l e t i nEdited by the International Relations Department C.C. AKEL No 36 | April 2013

bour even more dangers for the people's interests. The consent ofthe Cypriot government itself to the unprecedented decision of theEurogroup is already a painful example. No one should forget thatthe Troika had stopped its negotiation with the previous govern-ment of D. Christofias which was putting up resistance to its de-mands, in anticipation of the election of the "more willing andcooperative" Mr. Anastasiades.

In view of the new developments, AKEL together with the wholeof the People's Movement of the Left in Cyprus, has mobilised theCypriot people, demanding the rejection of the agreement betweenthe Anastasiades government and the Eurogroup by the House ofRepresentatives. This goal was achieved after an unprecedentedrally in numbers and militancy on 19th March 2013, against an at-mosphere of fear that had been cultivated by the government andthe ruling mass media. The position of the EU and the IMF afterthe rejection by the Cyprus House of Representatives went far be-yond all the pretexts and became a vicious and open blackmail forthe fatal destruction of the Cypriot banks and subsequent bank-ruptcy of the Republic of Cyprus. Subsequently, the Cyprus gov-ernment didn’t show any willingness to investigate the possibilityof securing financial assistance from the Russian Federation. It in-sisted on the line of trapping Cyprus within the Troika's plans, atthe time indeed when the Troika's real intentions had been madeknown in the most painful way.

On the evening of 24th March 2013 the President of the Republicproceeded to conclude a new agreement with the Eurogroupwhich, despite being advertised as a success "which saves Cyprusand its banks from a disorderly bankruptcy", will mean in practiceenormous sacrifices for our people: unemployment, recession, se-vere austerity, privatisations, damaging the Providence Funds andmass closures of small and middle businesses. In fact, it's clear that

the measures against the people's interests will not stop here, butwill continue.

At the same time, the terrorization of Cypriot society by the rulingmass media, also helped by the Archbishop of Cyprus who wasopenly intervening in the political and economic affairs of the coun-try, has intensified in order to create a climate that would preventany thoughts of finding any solutions outside the Troika and at thesame time to cover up the government's enormous responsibilities.

In the face of all these developments, AKEL together with thewhole of the People's Movement of the Left, is calling almost on adaily basis the working people, the youth and the whole of theCypriot people to organise militant mobilisations outside theHouse of Representatives., the offices of the European Union andthe Presidential Palace so that the people's reaction to what the fu-ture holds for the working class and popular strata of Cyprus is ex-pressed.

At the same time, AKEL is submitting before our people anumber of proposals so that Cyprus frees itself from the

Troika's demands and for Cyprus to stand up on its own feet,relying on its own forces, or/and with the support of coun-

tries who have reasons to do so for mutual benefit. AKELconsiders that Cyprus´ application for a bail out from the

Stability Mechanism must be withdrawn and that the solu-tion must be found outside the Troika and the framework ofthe Memorandum. Towards this end and given that the deci-

sions that will be taken affect the lives of all Cypriots in theyears to come, AKEL has demanded that the Cypriot peoplemust be given the right to express its view through the hold-

ing of a referendum that must be held as soon as possible.

Theagreement reached by the Eurogroup in themorning was the climax of the first phase ofthe Troika's plans against the Cypriot people.

The agreement not only does not help tackle the problems facingthe economy, but only deepens the crisis as it will lead to morepainful consequences for our country and people. The result willlead to higher unemployment, the implementation of additionalausterity measures, cuts and privatizations, causing huge problemsfor small and medium businesses forcing them to close down.

In recent days Cyprus’ European "partners" have revealed with cyn-icism that this was their plan from the very beginning. That is tosay, they set out goals and followed a specific course for their im-plementation.

As AKEL, we had pointed out from the outset that the course fol-lowed by the Troika to address the economic crisis was a dead-end.The attempt to rescue the Euro through the three pillars of austerity,cuts and privatizations simply deepen the recession even more andled the countries and peoples of southern Europe to disaster. Un-fortunately, the ruling circles of the European Union stubbornly in-sist on these dead-end policies which do not lead to development.Our confinement in these modes of thinking, as the Anastasiadesgovernment is acting, does not create any prospect of overcomingproblems, but instead burdens working people's shoulders withenormous negative consequences.

Our option as a people is to free ourselves from this framework ofreasoning, resist the Troika's threats and seek a solution outside thisframework.

Mr. Anastasiades during the election campaigned for the vote ofthe people of Cyprus and took the mandate, promising to improvethe agreement in principle of the Memorandum of November2012. He based his position on his close relations with the GermanChancellor A. Merkel and the other European leaders. In the endhe found out in the harshest way that the only thing his "friends"were interested in was to serve their own interests rather than sup-port the Republic of Cyprus. When we pointed out this harsh re-ality during the period of Christofias administration they mockedus. Now it has been proved that the only thing the European "part-ners" were focused on was to constantly put before him blackmail-ing dilemmas and he, in turn, is doing the same to the Cypriotpeople. Unfortunately Mr. Anastasiades in just three weeks has setaside all that he had promised to the Cypriot people.

In all this procedure, we regret to note that he didn't accept to havea real discussion on the proposal for seeking a solution outside theTroika's framework. He merely informed us about the government'shandling. Given that leading officials of the DISY party provoca-

tively declare that Mr.Anastasiades had se-cured the agreementof the political partiesbefore proceeding toaccept the agreementlast night, I empha-size that this is a com-plete lie. MrAnastasiades in-formed the politicalparties about theagreement he had con-cluded. Neither did heask, nor did he have our support. Besides, all this time we have re-peatedly underlined that our position is to seek a solution outsidethe Troika.

It is our belief that the Anastasiades - Eurogroup agreement is thebeginning of new woes for Cyprus and our people. It is the duty ofthe political parties to project an alternativeto the people and bringback the hope and perspective. We assure the people that this iswhat AKEL will do by taking initiatives towards both the Govern-ment and the political parties to start a dialogue that will lead tothe formulation of a proposal for an exit from this crisis.

At the same time we propose and insist on the following:

1. The holding of a referendum so that the Cypriot people willdecide on the Anastasiades-Troika agreement. These decisionswill determine our future for many years and the people haveevery right to say their view.

2. We demand that the procedures to punish those responsiblefor all the problems besetting the Cyprus economy should beset in motion. For this purpose the Alvarez & Marshall Reportshould be handed directly to the House of Representatives andthe Attorney General.

3. We call on the Governor of the Central Bank to submit to theHouse of Representatives the names of all those who duringthe recent period had taken money en masse out of the countryfrom the Cypriot banks and who hold political or state posts.The investigation must be extended to their family relatives aswell.

We address the Cypriot people, declaring that we are facing verydifficult times. We went through very difficult times in the past too.We did not yield or surrender. . Nor will we yield and surrendernow. We will not yield but resist, waging the battle and we will win.

Statement of the Secratariat of the C.C. of AKELon the Eurogroup Meeting of 25.03.2013

“WE WILL NOT BE SLAVES OF THE 21st CENTURY”

We express our regret because instead of the Government beingconscious of the plight and dire straits in which the country hasfallen after its agreement with the Eurogroup, it is celebratingthat supposedly it has achieved improvements in the Memoran-dum. It is deliberately hiding all the agreements that have beenmade and not just the text that was concluded yesterday.

We reiterate that unfortunately we do not have yesterday’sagreed text in our hands so that we can analyze it and make ourown assessments. Furthermore, we point out that not enoughtime was given to us so that we could spell out our own viewsabout the issues under discussion.

However, we are already aware of certain provisions of the Mem-orandum of Understanding, such as the haircut on bank de-posits, the increase in corporate tax and privatizations. In short,given that the government has accepted provisions that will re-sult in the destruction of the Cyprus economy and society, it is

celebrating that the Memorandum it has drawn up with theTroika will be our salvation. Equally absurd is the fact that Mr.Anastasiades was stating on Sunday that there won’t be any re-ductions in salaries and pensions for us to discover, regardlessof the pretext that was used, that in fact there will be. His incon-sistency and unreliability have once again been demonstrated. We reiterate that our evaluation is that the comprehensive agree-ment of the Government with the Eurogroup will be disastrousfor our country and people. It loads the shoulders of the workingpeople with unbearable burdens, increases unemployment andpoverty, destroys Cyprus as a financial centre and stranglesgrowth, small and middle businesses, even large enterprises too.

This is why we insist that a collective reflection must begin foranother course outside the suffocating embrace of the Troikawhich endangers the perspective of Cyprus becoming a regionalenergy centre, but also the prospect for a solution of the Cyprusproblem.

3.4.2013

AKEL on the agreement reached between the Government and the Troika for a new Memorandum

Statement of GS of the C.C. of AKEL, Andros Kyprianou

Since early Saturday morning, Cyprus is living through criticaltimes. The future of our Homeland and people is at a critical turnin its history. The decisions we are called upon to take today willbe very decisive for everyone; for Cyprus, for each and everyCypriot; for the future, but also for the current and future genera-tions. We are called upon to take decisions that go far beyond theborders, but also the limits of our country. Without any trace of ar-

rogance, we believe that our decisions will mark the political devel-opments within the European Union itself.

It is Cyprus that is facing the most brutal face of the EuropeanUnion. After Greece became the "guinea pig" for sweeping Memo-randa, Cyprus is becoming the guinea pig for the haircut on de-posits.

To address the crisis, the European Union and In-ternational Monetary Fund implemented "shocktherapies" that were based on the three pillars ofAusterity-Cuts-Privatizations.

AKEL repeatedly stressed that wherever these poli-cies have been implemented they have not only nothelped to overcome the consequences of the crisis,but have indeed exacerbated them. We underlinedthat the ruling circles of the European Union op-

Speech of Andros Kyprianou, General Secretary of the C.C. of AKEL,

to the plenary of the House of Representatives

in the debate on the bill for the haircut on deposits

agreed between the Government and the Eurogroup

19.03.2013

erate based on the laws of the market, as they themselves perceivethem and on the maximization of profits.

To serve these two objectives they are willing to subordinate andsubjugate everything: the peoples of each member-state, their verysovereignty and prosperity. In our own case, their criteria were alsopolitical. We shouldn’t have any doubts that in the minds of someforces and circles plans have been elaborated with regards theCyprus problem and the control of Cyprus´ natural resources.

Following the agreement of the Eurogroup with the Governmentof N. Anastasiades for every well-meaning observer, the ideologicalobssession of the "social market economy", the Lisbon Treaty´s"promise" about allegedly safeguarding the prosperity of the peo-ples, the supposed hyped up pill of the "solidarity clause" insertedin the Treaty have all proven to be nothing more than methods tolegalise the onslaught and attack against the peoples, their gains andultimately their perspectives.

In the end, developments themselves have proved that dogmatismis elsewhere to be found: dogmatism is the fallacy and illusionabout the "big European family." This "obsession" has been exposedvery clearly now. At first, the Government justified the acceptanceof the agreement by stating that there is no room for negotiation.Following the reactions and resistance of AKEL, they discoveredroom for negotiation, but always within the framework of the samephilosophy.

All these developments and actions are not of course accidental;nor do they just concern the case of Cyprus itself. What prevailedin every decision of the European Union`s ruling circles , irrespec-tive of which country it concerned, was their ideological and polit-ical beliefs and serving, through them, their various interests. Evenin the cases where the Summit Meeting was taking decisions advo-

cating development rather than austerity, these were in practice re-versed, not only by a handful of technocrats in Brussels, but alsoby the political beliefs of the dominant circles of the EuropeanUnion.

All that was agreed by the Anastasiades Government and the Eu-rogroup last Friday, in addition to serving ideological and politicalperceptions but also the multinational interests that dominate theEuropean Union, were also aimed at serving petty-party electoralinterests and considerations. Germany is currently in a pre-electionperiod and it was judged that Cyprus could be a useful sacrifice forthe sake of the electoral victory.

But for AKEL these cannot be the criteria for the acceptance ofmeasures against the people's interests which destroy any hope forCyprus’ future and create a dangerous precedent for everybodyelse. Without exaggerating Cyprus´ economic size and political in-fluence, we consider that a possible rejection of the agreement Mr.Anastasiades concluded with the Eurogroup can deepen the alreadytense debate about how the consequences of the economic crisisbe can be overcome in a different way.

The reason that led Cyprus to submit an applications to the Stabil-ity Mechanism was the debt hole of the banks. This is confirmedby the latest developments, but also by several statements made bymany EU officials. Of course we had problems in the financial sec-tor, but we all know that these alone could never have led us to theTroika.

Last November we reached an agreement in principle for the Mem-orandum, which the then government was ready to sign. In fact weare the only country from those that have resorted to the StabilityMechanism to have approved in the House of Representatives allthe Memoranda bills before the agreement is signed. Unfortunately,

TROIKA-EUROPE ARE CRUSHINGTHE PEOPLE /

THE ANSWER IS CLASS STRUGGLE

PEOPLE-RESISTANCE AGAIN /TROIKA-EU ARE STEALING YOU

AGAIN

TROIKA-EUROPE-"RALLY" PARTY-THEY WANT THE HAIRCUT AND THE

PEOPLE TO PAY THE COST

the Eurogroup set new demands which for us represented "redlines". Subsequently, the signing of the Memorandum was notmade possible. Precisely because we were not prepared to acceptthese demands, a covert war to undermine and pressure Cyprusbegan. Unfounded and unsubstantiated allegations were beingspread about alleged money laundering, within Cyprus and fromabroad. All this was going on despite the fact that "MONEYVAL"(Note: The Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism) inthe conclusions of the investigation it conducted regarding thecombating of money laundering, had placed Cyprus in a betterposition than Germany itself.

During the Presidential pre-election campaign an attempt to de-ceive the people by cultivating false hopes was made. Just a fewdays before the election, Mr. Anastasiades was saying that he wasvery close to securing a "bridge-loan" to cover fiscal needs, whileat every opportunity he himself, his staff and followers were pre-senting themselves as the ones who had strong backing from theirEU friends and allies and saying that he will renegotiate the Mem-orandum to correct it. Especially after the European People's PartyEPP meeting in Cyprus just before the elections, not a single daywent by without Mr. Anastasiades´ staff and election team stress-ing that his "connections" with the powerful circles of Brusselswould help "Cyprus recover its reliability and pride."

In the end, Cyprus and our people did not only fall victim to thefalse promises and impressions; not only were they fooled by theEuropean partners who were verbally promising solidarity andhelp. They were also deceived by the pledges given, but never car-ried out by the Government of the Democratic Rally party DISYand the Democratic Party DIKO.

Mr. AnastasiadEs pledged to renegotiate the Memorandum. Hesaid he could definitely do this well, since "when you put downyour red lines, they can be accepted as long as you counter-pro-pose something credible, so that the lenders are persuaded thatthe loan they will grant us will be paid off."

Mr. Anastasiades pledged not to accept the haircut on deposits.The statement he made on 15th February is quite characteristic.He stated "in the most clear and unequivocal manner" that he"Nicos Anastasiades will never sign any Memorandum that willcontain any provision for a haircut on deposits." Before the elec-tion, everybody agreed that a haircut on deposits would be anightmarish scenario for Cyprus. After the elections, the FinanceMinister himself characterised it an "insane" idea that would leadto disaster. Mr. Pissarides (Note: the Cypriot Nobel Prize winnerin economics who Mr. Anastasiades has appointed to head thecountry’s newly formed economic policy council) as a "cata-strophic measure" that will "drag with it not only Cyprus, but theentire Eurozone as well." After the elections they were reassuringeveryone that the haircut will not be accepted. It is characteristic

AKEL is in the front line of the struggle for the rejectionTroika’s demands. The People´s Movement of the Left(class-based trade union of the Pancyprain Federationof Labour PEO, United Democratic Youth organisationof EDON, the progressive women´s organisation ofPOGO, the Union of Cypriot Farmers EKA, ProgressiveStudent Movement Proodeftiki) are the heart of thehuge militant demonstrations that are taking place thelast month at the Presidential Palace, the Parliament andthe EU Representation Office.

that on Thursday, 14th March, the Government Spokesman statedon television that the issue was closed and secured and there is noissue whatosover about any haircut on deposits.

Mr. Anastasiades pledged not to accept privatizations. Besides, thiscommitment was a key pillar of the cooperation forged betweenthe DISY and DIKO Party. Indeed Mr. Anastasiades in order toease the concerns that existed among a large section of the Cypriotpeople sent on 14th February a letter tothe employees of Semi-state organisa-tions. In that letter signed by Mr. Anas-tasiades himself, he wrote the followingand I quote: "Our position is quite clearand recorded with absolute clarity in theFramework Agreement of the DISY-DIKO parties, which forms the politicalbasis of the candidacy we both support.Namely that we are unequivocalyagainst the privatization of profitableSemi-state organisations (Cyprus Elec-tricity Authority CYTA, Cyprus PortsAuthority and Cyprus Telecomunica-tions Authority CYTA) ... we will makeevery effort to find other sources of fi-nancing the public debt and other ways to make it sustainable soas to prevent the activation of the provision for privatizations, in-cluded in the Memorandum of Understanding which theChristofias goverment contracted with the Troika." Instead of this,the DISY-DIKO Government in the end accepted privatizations aswell.

Mr. Anastasiades when heading the opposition, had reactedstrongly also to the bill the Christofias government had tabled fora temporary and modest increase in the corporate tax from 10% to11%. Then, in this very chamber of the House of Represebntatives,Mr. Anastasiades when addressing AKEL had said the following inan angry tone: "We have competitors ... like Malta, Luxembourg,

as well as several other countries, Ireland etc ... The constructionindustry has been affected! Tourism has been damaged! Only theservices remain! You have also damaged the services sector in orderto have growing numbers of unemployed so that you can representthem. If you want to be the party of the unemployed, it is your prob-lem .. Subsequently, what you must bear in mind is that by propos-ing this 1% increase the message you are sending is the instability

of our country´s tax system. And inthe end, besides everything else, youwill also destroy the services sector."Now, the proposal is for the corpo-rate tax rate to be permanently in-creased from 10% to 12.5% and theDISY-DIKO government did notfeel the need to disagree.

The outcome of last Friday´s Eu-rogroup includes commitments foreach of these and other issues. Formany here in Cyprus the severecoming down to earth with a crushwas also the result of the arrogantcommitments undertaken by Mr.Anastasiades and his Government

when asserting and assuming power.

The result was the worst possible for Cyprus. It's not only the po-litical forces that were against the Anastasiadis-Eurogroup agree-ment that admit this. The comments made internationally are alsocharacteristic. Russia characterises it as unfair, unprofessional anddangerous. The "Financial Times" spoke about a heavy millstonearound Cyprus´ neck instead of a lifejacket. The "Economist" de-scribed the agreement as unfair, short-sighted and self-destructive.

The Director of "Open Europe" Mats Persson (Note: an influentialthink tank with offices in London, Berlin and Brussels) refered toa great risk in Europe with unforeseen consequences for Italy and

“We are convinced that our partners in the Eu-ropean Union are not trying to help Cyprusand the Cypriot economy to address the diffi-culties. On the contrary, they are using the cri-sis as an excuse to attack our sovereignty andto impose themselves on us politically. In thebackground of all this is the Cyprus problemand the issue of natural gas. It is now absolutelyclear that any attempt to solve the problemswithin the framework of the Troika will notbear fruit. Instead, it will lead us into a viciouscircle of devastating consequences”.

The measures of 15.3.2013 agreedbetween the Eurogroup leaders andthe Cypriot President Nicos Anas-tasiades (of the right-wing “Demo-cratic Rally” party) included amongothers the taxation of the depositsin all private accounts in CypriotBanks by 6,75% and 9,9% for ac-counts between 20,000-100,000Euros and more than 100,000Euros, respectively.

The pack of measures has been re-soundly rejected by the majority of the House on Tuesday, 19th of March. More specifically, there were 36 votes against: 19 of AKEL, 9of DIKO (participatig in the government), 5 of socialdemocrat EDEK, 2 of the “European Party” (EVROKO) and 1 of the Green Party.There were also 19 abstentions of DISI (“Democratic Rally”) party of President Anastasiades who made the agreement... There was not asingle vote in favor of the pack.

Spain. Mohamed A. El-Erian, CEO and co-CIO of PIMCO (Note:a global investment management firm and one of the world’s largestbond investors) writes in the "Financial Times" about a risky op-tion of the European leaders. Andreas Koutras from the investment"ITC Markets" says in a comment of his that once again the Euro-zone proves that it is not mature enough, continuing to surprisenegatively. The BBC economics editor/analyst Robert Peston com-mented that the decision on Cyprus "breaks all the rules." WolfgangMinchaou of the "Financial Times" reported that the panic of de-positors in other European banks is the logical evolution of the de-cision for depositors in Cyprus. Indeed he said he could not believeit when he heard that the Eurozone Finance Ministers are chasingthe small depositors in Cyprus, saying that "if however someonewanted to boost the political climate of insurgency in southern Eu-rope, this is the way to do it."

In fact, according to Decision 2009/14/EC, the Member Statescompensate the depositors who have deposited up to 100, 000Euros. The Eurogroup with the agreement it reached with Mr.Anastasiades in reality abolishes this decision. The Anastasiades-Eurogroup agreement is in a completely different and oppositespirit; it also violates decisions of the European Union itself.

Public debate has focused entirely on the haircut on the deposits.As I said previously, the agreement between the DISY-DIKO Gov-ernment-Eurogroup also includes the privatizations of Semi-stateorganizations, an increase in the corporate tax and in the intereston deposits from 15% to 20% or 25% tax and the imposition of a10% solidarity tax. Also included is the participation in the recap-italization of banks of bond holders and the restructuring of thebanking sector. In addition, a study on money laundering in Cyprusby "Moneyval" and a private auditing firm is provided for.

The statement of Mr. Schauble that the decision for the haircut onall depositors without exclusion was a decision of the Governmentof Cyprus, the European Central Bank and the International Mon-etary Fund raises even more questions. Many questions are alsoraised by the report of the "Wall Street Journal" that the haircut wasaccepted from 10 o´clock on Friday evening, while at the same timeinstructions were given to freeze all the deposits in Cyprus. Half anhour later the Government, without informing the political lead-ership of our country, contacted senior officials in Cyprus to issueorders for the preparation of the Bill. These actions refute the Gov-ernment´s claim that Schauble´s statement is not true.

No matter how things have evolved, enormous damage has beendone. The public disclosure of the Anastasiades-Eurogroup agree-ment has brought with it very serious consequences for Cyprus,but also for the rest of the world. There is no doubt that this deci-sion will lead to an exodus of foreign companies operating inCyprus and of foreign deposits, with huge chain-reaction effects.The biggest consequence will be the destruction of the financialsystem and the abolition of the Cyprus economic model which willexacerbate the recession in the economy and will see an explosion

in the number of the unemployed in our country.

In short, after the Anastasiades-Eurogroup agreement we shouldforget the Cyprus we knew.

Through this agreement an attempt will be made to exercise eco-nomic and political control over Cyprus with all that this entails.Already the three foundations that determine the solvency of ourfinancial system have been damaged: credibility, security and sta-bility.

Yesterday I met with the Association of International Banks. 26 in-ternational banks operating in Cyprus. They expressed their strongdiscomfort with developments that are victimizing their depositors,who come from every corner of the globe. Expressing the beliefthat their turnover will be drastically reduced, they left the possi-bility of leaving Cyprus open.

In his proclamation, which was very aggressive, Mr. Anastasiadesrefered to his agreement with the Eurogroup as a means to avoid asecond Memorandum. The example of other countries refutes thisclaim. Whenever governments retreated from their positions to ac-cept the Troika´s unacceptable demands, the Troika would returnwith new demands which caused even more devastating conse-

“TROIKA-EUROPE ARE CRUSHING THE PEOPLE - NO THE MEMORANDUM AND THE COMPROMISE”

quences for the peoples. If we accept this agreement, there is noguarantee that the consequences will not result in new, morepainful measures.

The haircut on the deposits will not be the necessary bitter pill thatCyprus must swallow to start the recovery, simply because after thehaircut there won´t be any preconditions to build on for this re-covery.

These, in combination with the acceptance of privatizations, willexacerbate the problems even more. The example of Bulgariaspeaks for itself. The privatization of the state electricity authorityled to the increase in the price of electircity tenfold. As far as thecase of Cyprus is concerned, privatizations will mean a defenselesscountry in view of a national emergency, since vital areas for thenational security of a semi-occupied country would fall into thehands of private individuals, with all that this would mean. It willalso mean the loss of thousands of jobs, whilst the social role of or-ganizations will be lost too.

Given that today we are discussing critical issues that transcend theboundaries of Cyprus, we feel the need to underline some neces-sary points.

Throughout last week we expressed our concerns about where de-velopments are leading to. Immediately after the meeting of theleaders of the political parties on 9th March, I sent a letter to Mr.Anastasiades expressing our concerns as a result of the briefing wehad. The proposal of AKEL for an exchange of views between thepolitical forces about how we move ahead was dismissed and themeeting was merely informative in character. This led us to the ob-servation that since the DISY-DIKO government insists on nego-tiating with the Troika without any consultation with the politicalparties, this therefore means that it also assumes the full responsi-bility for the end result.

In my letter towards the President of the Republic I had indeedsounded the alarm signal about the deep concerns we had aboutthe final content of the bail out due to our previous experiences inthe Eurogroup meetings and the deliberate vagueness which ap-peared would be preserved on the terms of the payment of thebailout, but also with regards the impossible demands for coveringa large part of the needs from domestic sources,

In our letter, but also in our public positions as AKEL we did notforget to state that as a Party we knew the difficulties PresidentAnastasiades would be confronted with and the pressures thatwould be exerted on him. This is the reason why we also stated ourreadiness to support the President and the Government - providedthey would remain faithful to their election and post-election com-mitments. Instead, sadly, the Government chose to go it alone. Inthe end, it retreated chaotically from its pledges. From the very out-

set of his administration, Mr. Anastasiades has proved to be ab-solutely inconsistent. He gave his first test of resistance to pressureand failed.

With his proclamation, the President appealed to the political par-ties to support the agreement reached, otherwise they would takeresponsibility for subsequent developments, he said. Whilst he wasmaking promises about ensuring consultation, he did not consultand now he is trying to put the political leadership and the Cypriotpeople before a dilemma. Our view is that he should have resistedthe pressure. He should have invoked the necessity for consultationwith the political parties, since the House of Representations wouldbe called upon to take a position on the agreement in order to wintime. This observation acquires double value after various reports,but also statements made by many others, showed how that every-thing was pre-planned. Everything was pre-planned, both concern-ing what would be decided in the Eurogroup and when the decisionwould be taken.

The very day after the agreement was concluded, the followingquestion arose: did Cyprus have the possibility of conducting morenegotiations in the EU? The answer is to be found in the positionAKEL had expressed long ago: namely that the case of Cyprus issystemic and provides us with possibilities of waging tough nego-tiations with the Troika. The effect the Anastasiades - Eurogroupagreement had on the international markets has demonstrated thesystemic nature of the problem in the most indisputable way. An-

other fact confirming that there was more room to negotiate is thefact that on Sunday after our Party's strong reaction numerous state-ments were made by EU officials, saying that they were willing tolisten to other proposals as long as they cover an amount equal tothe haircut.

The day after, many other things were heard.

Mr. Anastasiades´ defenders said that the President resisted theblackmail. In other words, had he yielded what worse would wehave before us today? From the same circles AKEL is accused ofpopulism. If we are populists, then DISY must admit that hundredsof politicians and economic analysts, both within and outsideCyprus, are also populists, who stated their position as describedpreviously. As far as AKEL is concerned, we are not populists. How-ever, those who are desperately trying to convince the Cypriot peo-ple about the necessity of the Anastasiades-Eurogroup agreementare unquestionably populists.

Furthermore, it was also said that their President presented hisviews in no uncertain terms at the Eurogroup and that they didn’tlisten to his views. What counts though is the proposal to the peo-ple. In his proclamation, Mr. Anastasiades was clear: either we votein favour of the agreement or Cyprus is finished. It was a case oftake it or leave it. This is what the officials of DISY were tellingus all these days.

It was also said that with the haircut on the deposits jobs areguaranteed for 8,000 people. From the foreign companies op-erating in Cyprus, we had an annual income of 8.5 billionEuros. With the haircut we will get a single lump sum of 3.5billion Euros. But, we will lose a large part of the revenues wehad by simultaneously loosing tens of thousands of jobs.

It was said that either we accept the haircut or we will go to adisorderly bankruptcy. This dilemma is false. The essentialthing we must judge in whether to vote for a Bill is not adilemma between acceptance on the one hand or bankruptcyon the other, but rather an analysis as to whether this accept-ance will terminate the possibilities of bankruptcy. We shouldstudy the impact that this will have on the economy.

A comprehensive solution must involve two fundamental char-acteristics: Firstly, it should ensure the trust of depositors inthe banking sector so that the banks can accept deposits andlend them. If we do not recognize that this is not fundamentalthen we cannot find a solution to our problem.

Secondly, a comprehensive solution should ensure to a largedegree the stability of the banking system so that the banksthemselves can lend to the economy and fulfil their role in thedevelopment procedure.

The result of what we have today before us does not guarantee

neither of the two. Depositor's trust in banks is lost. It creates trendsfor the exodus of deposits and as a result it leads to the already prob-lematic banks requiring further capital needs.

So why should we accept our entry into a vicious circle of uncer-tainty which for sure in the future will bring us before the samedilemma as before with new, more stringent measures? Why shouldwe accept a measure that has never been imposed any where else?

Taking all of this into account, AKEL proposes the rejection of theagreement by the Government of Mr. Anastasiades with the Eu-rogroup. But AKEL does not stop here. It also submits a proposalon how the whole situation should be tackled.

We are convinced that our partners in the European Union are nottrying to help Cyprus and the Cypriot economy to address the diffi-culties. On the contrary, they are using the crisis as an excuse to at-tack our sovereignty and to impose themselves on us politically. Inthe background of all this is the Cyprus problem and the issue ofnatural gas. It is now absolutely clear that any attempt to solve theproblems within the framework of the Troika will not bear fruit.Instead, it will lead us into a vicious circle of devastating conse-quences.

As AKEL, we always had our doubts and reservations about the in-tentions of our European partners. But as it seemed that the meas-ures would be painful but not catastrophic, we attempted to exhaustall possibilities. However, we are convinced that there is now nosuch possibilities. Our own proposal is that we withdraw our re-quest for help from the Stability Mechanism and seek other solu-tions. To this end we have submitted a specific proposal to thePresident of the Republic and at the same time we have elaboratedproposals of economic character which can be implemented with-out the Troika and within the Eurozone.

As AKEL, we have prepared a package of measures which if theGovernment's Bill is rejected we will discuss with it and the politicalparties. The main pillar is the issuing of State Solidarity Bonds of10-year length. The participation in this Bond and the way it oper-ates will be examined. The revenues from its issue will go towardsserving the Cyprus economy's needs.

Regarding the refinancing of the public debt up to 2016 could bemet either from a foreign source of financing by borrowing from athird country or foreign banks operating in Cyprus.

We consider as self-evident our demand for the listing of the namesof all those who withdrew money from Cypriot banks over the re-cent period to be made public by the Central Bank. There shouldalso be an investigation whether these people knew about the de-velopments mentioned previously. We also demand that the Reportof the Agency "Alvarez & Marshall" should be immediately submit-ted to the House of Representatives and that those who have com-mitted economic crimes against our country and our people be

punished in an exemplary manner.

The decision we are called upon to take today goes far beyond theboundaries of Cyprus. It concerns the perspective not only of theCypriot people, but of the peoples of Europe as well. AKEL willreact to coercive blackmail pressures to sell-out Cyprus and its peo-ple, calling on the Cypriot people to a peaceful, organized, collec-tive and political reaction. We call on the political and social forcesof our country to rally their forces in order to build and forge a frontof resistance against anti-people's policies.

This is not the first time that as a people we have faced difficulties.We have lived through difficulties before and we managed to over-come them thanks to the correct policy we followed and diligenceand thanks to the hard work and collective spirit that distinguishesus. Now we have another major weapon: our natural wealth and alot of work was done so that we could have the possibility to utilizeit. We can tackle the consequences of the crisis and lead our peopleto a future of growth, progress and prosperity. Suffice that we riseto the occasion as political forces and correctly guide this effort.

Our people has worked hard for the prosperity of our Homeland.It struggled for its country, its freedom, dignity and life. We are surethat it can do so again and win the battle. Suffice that it knows thatit will make sacrifices for its own values and not for the profits ofcapital and monopolies of the European Union. It doesn’t deserveto be condemned to an impasse. There are solutions that can bringresults. The responsibility lies with us all.

School pupils burst out of their classrooms andare taking to the streets shouting slogans such as"Cyprus belongs to its people!", "The peopleunited will never be defeated!", "Troika go

home!", "Hands off Cyprus!"Many students are already outside the Presidential Palace, protesting against the bailout agreement the Government has agreed with the Troika. Tommorow AKEL and the Peoples Movement of theLeft are organising a mass protest rally. PEOM, the organised democratic school students movement, has called onschool pupils to join the struggle, despite threats isssued against pupils who leave their classes

NO to privatizations!

Theissue of the privatization of the Semi-govern-mental organizations in Cyprus (namely, theElectricity Authority of Cyprus (AHK), the

Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (ATHK) and the CyprusPort Authority) became one of the major issues during the electioncampaign since they were at the heartof the negotiations with the Troika.

As known, the Christofias governmentrejected the Troika's demands for theprivatization of the Semi-governmen-tal organizations that concern vitalservices and infrastructure. AKEL andthe trade union movement have thesame clear and long-standing positionwith regards privatisations and theconversion of public utility companiesinto shareholding ones with no statecontrol, as well as the presidential can-didate backed by the Left, StavrosMalas. AKEL points out that privatiza-tion will result in the state loosing sig-nificant resources, thousands ofworkers being fired, Cyprus wouldloose control of the infrastructures and services related to our coun-try´s security and subsequently these would fall into the hands ofprivate business corporations.

Towards this end, AKEL has launched an initiative calling onelected officials of fraternal and friendly parties for solidarity withthe people of Cyprus in its struggle to repel the international pres-sures for the selling off of our country´s public wealth.

All through the election campaign, the international media, ratingagencies, reports submitted by banking giants, statements by offi-cials of foreign states and of the European Central Bank statedclearly and unequivocally that they preferred the election of the

leader of the neo-liberal Right Nicos Anastasiades to the Presidencybecause, unlike the former President of Cyprus DemetrisChristofias and the candidate supported by AKEL Stavros Malas,Anastasiades would consent to extensive privatizations, as well asto other demands of the IMF and the EU.

The conversion of public utility compa-nies into shareholding ones with no statecontrol and subsequent privatization ofthe three profitable Semi-governmentalorganizations of Cyprus was the long-standing policy position of the DHSYparty. However, due to the political pres-sure exerted by AKEL, the great concernof the working people themselves in theseorganizations and the opposition of thevast majority of the people to the privati-zation scenarios, Mr. Anastasiades wasforced to declare that "we will not pursueprivatizations." Nevertheless, from thefirst days of the new government's elec-tion it became evident that the privatiza-tion of the three profitableSemi-governmental organizations is con-

sidered by the Troika as a given fact. The new finance minister hasalready urged the Councils of all Semi-governmental organizationsto provide figures on the total value of each of these organisations,whilst all the statements of the new government´s officials are inagreement that privatizations will begin shortly.

Faced with these machinations for the selling off of the

Cypriot people's public property, both AKEL

and the class-based trade union movement of PEO

(Pancyprian Federation of Labour) have declared they will

take the lead in forming a people´s movement of

resistance against privatizations.

More than 620 MPs, MEPs, Mayors,Councilors and leading members of 51Communist, Workers and progressiveparties from 38 countries (Belgium,Britain, Brazil, Bahrain, Bangladesh,Chile, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark,Egypt, Finland, France, FYROM, Geor-gia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iraq,Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Luxem-bourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway,Palestine, Portugal, Russia, Serbia,South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan,Sweden, Syria, Ukraine and USA) signedthe declaration of solidarity against pri-vatizations.

The elections for the 7th President of the Republic ofCyprus, which took place on the 17th and 24th February2013, ended with the victory of the President of the right-wing DISY party Mr. Anastasiades. The election of Mr. Anas-tasiades, who was supported by the main party of the rulingclass and the centre-right of Cyprus (DISY, DIKO andEVROKO), signals substantial changes in the approach tothe Cyprus problem, socio-economic issues and the interna-tional relations of the Republic of Cyprus.

The independent candidate , and former Minister of Health Dr.Stavros Malas, supported by AKEL and some small political move-ments, received 27% in the first round and 42.5% of the vote in thesecond round. It should be pointed out that although the leadershipof the socialdemocratic EDEK party, whose candidate did not passinto the second round, called on its voters not to support anyoneof the two candidates, nonetheless a significant section of themjoined forces with us.

In relation to the Cyprus problem, both AKEL and Stavros Malas,highlighted the need to persist in the efforts, so that Greek Cypriots

andT u r k i s hCypriots agree to a solution based on the resolutions of the UNand the principles of International Law; a solution that will evolvethe Republic of Cyprus into a strong federation, as the two com-munities have committed themselves towards the internationalcommunity for 35 years. We strongly rejected both Mr. Anastasi-ades' dangerous idea for a "loose federation" which will be the cloakof confederation and partition, as well as the maximalist positionscalling for the abandonment of a federal solution and the resump-tion of talks from "scratch". At the same time we insisted on the po-sition that the solution of the Cyprus problem must provide for thetermination of the foreign guarantees and for the demilitarisationof Cyprus. Unlike all the other parties and candidates, only AKELand Stavros Malas opposed both the submitting of an applicationto join the so-called "Partnership for Peace", as well as the possibil-ity of Cyprus joining NATO.

Regarding socio-economic policy, Stavros Malas put forth progres-sive positions for innovative changes in the Cyprus economy thatwould utilise research and innovativeness, with the scientific ex-

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS 2013

AKEL has remained a powerful force

ploitation of the natural gas reserves to the benefit of the people,and proposals to curb unemployment. Particular emphasis wasgiven to the problems affecting young people and women with rel-evant separate programmatic positions submitted. AKEL andStavros Malas also opposed the positions of the other candidatesfor the conversion of public utility companies into shareholdingones with no state control and the privatisation of the three semi-state organisations (ports, electricity and telecommunications), aswell as opposing the neoliberal positions of the Right (e.g. the im-position of fees in the public universities).

Despite the unprecedented and relentless attack by the entire massmedia, but also through the foreign interventions in support of thecandidate of the DISY party, who was considered and is in factmore open to the Troika's demands, the candidate supported byAKEL registered positive results under the circumstances. The at-tempts of the ruling and conservativeforces to blame AKEL and the outgo-ing Christofias government for theconsequences of the capitalist crisis asthey were manifested in Cyprus (theneed for the recapitalisation of banksand the recourse to the StabilityMechanism) and subsequently to shiftthese "responsibilities" on Stavros

Malas were evident. The operation to weaken and discredit AKELdid not achieve its objective. AKEL has remained a powerful force.

Firstly, AKEL is already conducting an assessment of the pre-election work and election result in a critical and self-criticalspirit. A discussion will take place on AKEL's stand towards thegovernment and its relations with the parties. Secondly, anevaluation will be made of the rich work carried out by theChristofias government, but also of the mistakes, omissionsand shortcomings so that we can draw lessons. Thirdly, AKELwith the setting up of a specialisedcommittee on the economy willelaborate specific proposals totackle the consequences of thecrisis.

1st round (17th February 2013)

2nd round (24th February 2013)

Nicos Anastasiades was supported by his party DISI (right wing, mem-ber of the European People’s Party, 34% at the parliamentary elections of2011) and DIKO (centrist, 15%).

Stavros Malas was supported by AKEL (32%).

Giorgos Lillikas was supported by the socialdemocrat party EDEK (9%).

Nicos Anastasiades was supported by his party DISI, DIKO andEVROKO (right wing, 4%).

Stavros Malas was supported by AKEL (32%).

Giorgos Lillikas and the socialdemocrat party EDEK called ontheir supporters to vote none of the two candidates.

Theaccession of Cyprus to the "Partnership forPeace"(Pf P) has been for the last few yearsone of the main issues of contention between

the political forces of the island.

AKEL had and still has a clear position against the possibility ofCyprus´ accession to the "Partnership for Peace" or NATO. Thesame position was followed by all previous governments of Cyprusand of course the previous government of Demetris Christofias. Incontrast, the pro-imperialist Right wing party of Cyprus, the Dem-ocratic Rally (DISY) has always supported the development of re-lations with and accession to NATO. However, the decade DISYwas in government (1993-2003) there was no attempt for rap-prochement with NATO since it understood that the majority ofthe people had a negative opinion of NATO, mainly due to the rolethat NATO had played in the tragedy of 1974.

Intense political pressure has been exerted in particular over thepast 5 years on the Christofias government to consent to Cyprus´accession to the "Partnership for Peace" programme, which is in re-ality the ‘entryway’ of NATO, on the grounds that it is a "pillar ofEuropean security" and that the Republic of Cyprus is the only EUcountry that is not a member of either NATO or the Pf P. Conse-quently it is argued, Cyprus is not participating equally in the CFSPand causing obstacles to NATO-EU dialogue. All political parties,

except AKEL, have supported this position. Indeed, in February2011, all parties except AKEL endorsed a Resolution of the Houseof Representatives calling on the government to proceed immedi-ately to submit an application for accession to the Partnership. This,of course was rejected by the Christofias government since the ex-ecutive and not the legislative branch is responsible for foreign pol-icy. AKEL, the Cyprus Peace Council, PEO and youth, women'sand farmers organisations of the Peoples Movement of the Left inresponse, held a mass mobilization outside Parliament.

In the recent presidential elections, the leader of the DemocraticRally (supported by the Democratic Party) Nikos Anastasiades andthe candidate supported by the Social Democrats EDEK GeorgeLillikas, strongly supported Cyprus' accession to Pf P. Mr. Anastasi-ades elaborated his position by arguing that we should also discussin a "non-dogmatic" way Cyprus' accession to NATO. In contrast,the candidate backed by AKEL was the only candidate who spokeclearly against NATO and the Pf P saying that "Cypriot mothersknow very well what NATO is and do not want to send their chil-dren to kill and be killed in Iraq and Afghanistan’’.

In a special press conference called on the issue of NATO(01/16/2013) Andros Kyprianou, the General Secretary of AKELinvited the other political forces to admit that the Pf P is a NATOprogramme and secondly, stated that «the establishment of the Pf P

NO to the accesion of Cyprus to the NATO

programme “Partnership for Peace”

NO to NATO

was an initiative undertaken by the U.S. government and it was andremains an "entryway" for accession to NATO».

At the same time, AKEL raised a series of questions to the support-ers of NATO and its programmes:

- How do they think that Cyprus' possible application for member-ship to the Partnership or/and NATO and the definite veto Turkeywill exercise for Cyprus´ accession will expose Turkey internation-ally? Turkey has been vetoing Cyprus´ membership to other inter-national organizations as well for years without this causing it anyproblems whatsoever.

- Do they endorse the obligations and commitments undertakenby each state with its participation in the "Partnership for Peace",as set out in the "Pf P Framework Document"? Do they subse-quently accept the joint participation in NATO operations? Manymember-states of the "Partnership" have already been involved inmilitary operations of dubious legality. Why do they want to dragCyprus into such operations?

- Why do they claim that in any way the accession of Cyprus to the"Partnership" will provide it with security? A document of the Bu-reau of Public Affairs of the United States Department of State alsonotes that the Pf P "enables PFP members to consult with NATOwhen faced with a direct threat to its security but does not extendNATO security guarantees."

- Doesn’t it concern Mr. Anastasiades and Mr. Lillikas that they willprovide NATO - consequently to Turkey - with information aboutthe defence budgets and plans of the Republic of Cyprus?

- Are they so willing to endorse the Agree-ment signed by the Member States of the"Partnership" relating to the Status of theArmed Forces which is subordinated ex-clusively under the control of the US gov-ernment? This provides for thedeployment of foreign troops on the terri-tory of a sovereign state, if this is deemedto be in NATO´s interest. It also foreseesthat the troops would not be subject topassport control, nor will they need a visa.

- Doesn’t it concern them that officers andsoldiers of the National Guard of the Re-public of Cyprus would be sent to the Pf PTraining Centre in Ankara, which is runand commanded by a Colonel of the Turk-ish Army? This particular Colonel servedin the 28th Mobile Infantry Division in the"Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as

the Head of Information and Political Affairs ".

- Have they ever studied what Cyprus´ participation in NATO andthe "Partnership for Peace" programme would mean for Cyprusalso from an economic point of view?

- Why is Mr. Anastasiades shedding hypocritical tears about cutsin social benefits at the same time when if elected he is willing "non-dogmatically" to give millions of Euros taken from the Cypriot peo-ple as Cyprus´ contribution to NATO´s expenditures? Wasn’t heinformed about the fact that although its people have been driveninto poverty, Greece continues to contribute 22 to 28 million Eurostowards NATO´s Budget?

- Does Mr. Anastasiades agree with the new strategy of NATO,which obliges its members to confront and manage crises also "be-yond the borders of NATO"? In other words, does he agree fullywith overt blood-stained NATO operations in every corner of theworld?

- On what precise basis does Mr. Anastasiades uphold his positionthat there is scope in NATO for the forging of alliances that willgive an impetus to the solution of the Cyprus problem? We recallthe statement made by the NATO Secretary-General in his replyto a question put to him regarding the Cyprus problem, where hedidn't express any position whatsoever on the issue. On the con-trary in that very same reference the NATO chief defendedTurkey's request for a special relationship with the European De-fence Agency.

- We recall the statement made by the NATO Secretary-Generalon 4th December 2012 in which he expressed NATO´s support of

and strong solidarity with Turkey. Furthermore, we recall that healso expressed his determination to defend in his own wordsTurkey and the Turkish people, even sending a message to thosewho want to attack Turkey "not to even think about it." Let's seewhat is happening in Greece, which is a member of NATO. In viewof the continuous violations of its airspace and borders by Turkey,the questioning of Greek sovereignty in the Aegean, the question-ing of the Greek character of islands in the Aegean Sea, NATO doesnot defend either the law, or the interests or the security of Greecetoo.

- Finally, the advocates of Cyprus' accession to the Pf P and NATOmust answer another question that is raised: Is there perhaps any-one who wants Cypriot soldiers as well to participate in the nextwar to be waged by America and NATO, asCyprus´ contribution to the "Partnership forPeace" and NATO?

NATO and its branches are not some charityorganization, nor a peace loving association.They are seeking to impose their political andmilitary "guardianship", especially with re-gards their relations with small states. NATOdoes not take into account International Lawwhen promoting its imperialist designs. Thiswas demonstrated in the case of Yugoslavia,Afghanistan, Iraq and most recently Libya.NATO´s interventions completely lackingany legitimacy are baptized as "peacekeep-ing" or "humanitarian interven-tions" and flagrantly violate theCharter of the United Nations.These interventions resulted inattacks against civilian targets,the destruction of the sover-eignty of independent states,the occupation and division ofStates in violation of Interna-tional Law.

Wasn’t the crime committedagainst Cyprus in 1974 alsothe work of NATO itself? »

As AKEL had foreseen, thenew President of Republic ofCyprus, leader of the CypriotRight Nicos Anastasiades an-nounced on the first day of hiselection that his primary goal will be Cyprus´ application to jointhe NATO programme "Partnership for Peace" while in his firstspeech to the Cypriot parliament he stated that he aims to "build

relationships with NATO’’.

AKEL quickly responded that «The first political action by Mr.Anastasiades unfortunately reveals that he remains consistent tohis dogmatic obsessions to surrender Cyprus to the American -NATO suffocating embrace. At the same time, Mr. Anastasiades´hastiness signals the abandonment of the multifaceted foreign pol-icy, which far from any ideological obsessions has led to the forgingof a powerful web of alliances to the benefit of Cyprus. Τhe firstpolitical act of Mr. Anastasiades leads to the conclusion that we areturning back to a one-sided narrow foreign policy that was imposedin the harsh years of the ten year old administration of the Demo-cratic Rally DISY party, when all hopes were pinned on the Britishand American factor. Such a development will be extremely nega-

tive for our national interests, given that there will be a dangerof alienating steadfast and consistentallies of Cyprus on the internationalarena, who are at the same time alsoour major economic partners."

AKEL also noted that «The Cypriotpeople are living through even today thetragic consequences of the US-NATOconspiracy against Cyprus. Our peoplealso know very well that NATO and itsbranches such as the "Partnership forPeace" anything but peace do they pro-mote. On the contrary, as developmentsthemselves prove, NATO is responsible for

unjust wars, juntas, dictatorships,death and bloodshed all over theworld».

At the same time, Mr. Anastasi-ades committed himself to a col-lective management of theCyprus problem in the NationalCouncil (Note: a advisory bodyto the President of the Republiccomposed of all parliamentaryparties, former Presidents on theRepublic of Cyprus, establishedafter the 1974 coup d'état, Turkishinvasion and occupation by thelate President Makarios) notingthat decisions will not be taken ifthe parties representing 75% ofthe people do not agree withthem.

The issue of accession to the "Partnership for Peace" directly affectsthe handling of our national issue on two levels. Firstly, a possible

“Cyprus delivered into the NATO tentacles”

As AKEL had foreseen, the new President of Re-public of Cyprus, leader of the Cypriot Right

Nicos Anastasiades announced on the first day ofhis election that his primary goal will be Cyprus´application to join the NATO programme "Part-nership for Peace" while in his first speech to the

Cypriot parliament he stated that he aims to"build relationships with NATO’’.

application for accession automaticallyabolishes the long-standing timeless posi-tion of the Greek Cypriot side for demilita-rization after the solution of the Cyprusproblem.

Secondly, this takes the pressure off Turkeyfor a solution of the Cyprus problem so thatthe problems Ankara is causing to EU-NATO relations will be overcome. By put-ting forth the argument that it is thenon-participation of Cyprus in the NATOprogramme that is causing problems in therelations between the EU and NATO, weare literally damaging our very own causeby transferring the pressure exerted onTurkey on to Cyprus.

Consequently, the minimum that should bedone is that this important issue with seri-ous political implications affecting both theCyprus problem, but also the orientationof our foreign policy, should have been dis-cussed in the National Council before Mr.Anastasiades proceeded to make any publicdeclarations in order to please the Ameri-cans and NATO.

The demonstration outside the Britishintelligence base at the highest peak ofthe Troodos mountain range, organisedevery year by EDON (AKEL's youthbranch) and progressive Turkish-cypriot youth organisations, was at-tended by hundreds of young peoplefrom all over Cyprus. This year's sloganwas “Forward, for reunification -Against NATO/Death”

Sunday, 10th of March 2013

AKEL condemns theinstallation of the "PATRIOT"missiles in Turkey

AKEL condemns NATO's decisionto install the "PATRIOT" missileshield system in Turkey, which wasused in all the wars waged by theNATO alliance, pointing in the di-rection of Syria.

The recent decision by NATO, whichaccording to statements made by theSecretary-General of the Organisa-tion Mr. Rasmussen that it "supportsTurkey in a strong spirit of solidar-ity", will bring further suffering andpain to the region, with the thunderof the sounds of war once againgrowing.

AKEL calls on the people to be awarethat the forces who if elected in theupcoming presidential elections in

Cyprus, as they themselves have de-clared, would apply for Cyprus to be-come a member of the "Partnershipfor Peace" and NATO itself, willmake our country an accomplice infuture wars waged in our region. Thisdevelopment would lead Cyprus intothe embrace of militaristic govern-ments who would give us instruc-tions on how to sacrifice our ownchildren. Subsequently, they wouldseek to "solve" the Cyprus problem -this time from within - to serve theirown interests.

AKEL calls on the people to be vigi-lant against the plans of those forcesand circles seeking to turn Cyprusonce more into a bridgehead forNATO. The response of the Cypriotpeople and the peace-loving and pro-gressive forces must again be power-ful and decisive.

11th December 2012

Press Office of the C.C. of AKEL

InJanuary, Cypriot society was shaken to its roots bythe militant and mass strike of the construction work-ers which lasted for twenty days. The leading guiding

force of this great strike was the Construction Workers Union ofthe class-based trade union movement in Cyprus, afffiliated tothe Pancyprian Fedeartion of Labour PEO.

For some time, the employers in the construction industry inCyprus, citing the economic crisis and the industry´s difficultiesas a pretext, began their attacks on the working class, by systemat-ically dismissing large numbers of workers and replacing them withcheap labor. This led to growing unemployment and impoverish-ment of thousands of worker´s families.

The construction workers indefinite strike begun because theBuilding Contractors Federation for almost two years kept on de-laying the renewal of collective agreements and rejected importantissues posed by working people. The strike´s aim was to stop theviolations of labour laws and collective agreements, and to curb un-employment and safeguard the workers of the sector by finally is-suing them the right to acquire the professional card for theiroccupation, hence safeguarding that they would maintain their spe-cific work. On the other hand, the Federation of Building Contrac-tors enjoying the full support of the Federation of Employers and

In-dustrialists and theDemocratic Rallyparty, the party ofthe neoliberalRight and big busi-ness, adopted ahighly provocativeposition, believingthat the condi-tions werefavourable for an

all-out attack in order to settle scores with the work-ing people. They considered that because of the despair createdamong building workers due to the large number of unemployedworkers, they would be able to exploit the whole situation to im-pose their own demands.

The Construction Workers Union of PEO, which was the leadingforce in this struggle, had first and foremost the task of unitingworking people around common goals, encouraging and givingthem the necessary support to withstand the attacks and overcome

Construction workers strike

Our strength lies in our class unity and mass struggle

this very tough test. Moreover, it had to ensure that this strugglewould not deviate from its goals because of the peculiarities char-acterizing it; that it should be turned into a struggle that would di-vide workers themselves on the basis of ethnic and racial origin -as some forces sought to do so by seeking to exploit the presenceof thousands of fellow immigrant workers in the sector. The movingimages of Greek Cypriot, Turkish Cypriot and immigrant construc-tion workers demonstrating together as class brothers in the streetswith placards in their own language was living proof that PEOachieved the maximum possible unity in the construction indus-try.

The construction worker's General Assemblies in all districts,which guided the strikers and marshalled the effective guarding ofthe worksites when confronting sporadic cases of employers at-tempting to break the strike, ensured the mass participation of theconstruction workers in the strike.

The Ministry of Labour of the Christofias government had submit-ted four mediation proposals which were rejected by the employers.Eventually they were forced to accept the proposal of the Ministryas put before the two sides on 13/2/2013, with which ended thestrike.

The wave of solidarity expressed with the striking constructionworkers was stirring and crucial for the financial backing of thestrike fund, which contributed to the strike´s endurance and dura-tion. The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) also ex-pressed its full support and solidarity with the struggle of theconstruction workers. Messages of solidarity from other tradeunions of Cyprus and organizations affiliated to the InternationalUnion of Construction Workers (UITBB) were also received. Con-tributions were made to the strike fund. Hundreds of young peoplemarched in solidarity with the striking construction workers.

At the same time, the strike was another opportunity to stress theclass nature and character of the political forces and media inCyprus. Only AKEL stood firmly from the very outset on the sideof the strikers and wholeheartedly supported the demands andstruggle of the worker´s strike. On the contrary, whilst the rulingmass media were waging a campaign to slander the strike, only thenewspaper "HARAVGI", "Astra" radio station and other progressivemedia exposed the truth about the employers stand in the construc-tion industry.

The strike of the construction workers of Cyprus

is an important legacy for our labour movement.

After the election of the leader of the DISY party to the

Presidency of the Republic, who will now conduct the ne-

gotiations with the Troika, it is obvious that the working

people must be vigilent and ready

to struggle to defend their rights and gains.

Turkish Cypriot construction workers with pickets in turkishtake part in the demonstration along with their GreekCypriot colleagues

Immigrant construction workers -mainly from East Europe-take part with their trade union -PEO- in the demonstration.

GS of C.C. of AKEL at the worksites with the strikingworkers

Assemblies of the strikers taking place all over Cypruswere deciding on the course of the strike.

AKELwelcomes the decision by the Councilof Ministers restoring the memory ofthe militants of the Left who were mur-

dered during the period 1956-58 falsely accused of treason. Another elec-tion pledge of Demetris Christofias is being fulfilled.

At last, after half a century, the state restores the moral order and the his-torical truth. The decades-long struggles of the People's Movement of theLeft and of the relatives of the murdered Left militants are vindicated. Themurdered militants of the Left did not lose their lives because they weresupposedly traitors, but fell victims of the intolerance of Grivas who withtheir murders aimed to completely weaken AKEL and provoke a civil war.

AKEL wants to believe that the days of intolerance and fanaticism leadingto acts of terror and the murder of innocent people are gone forever. Theduty of all is to uphold democracy, democratic institutions and politicalculture and not allow the revival of similar phenomena. AKEL will alwaysstand as a bulwark to any attempts to revive bigotry and fanaticism andwill continue to work for unity and consensus.

AKEL addresses a greeting of honour to the relatives of the unjustly lostmilitants of the Left, who for decades have suffered indignities and hu-miliations but always defended their honour and memory. We congratu-late the relatives of the murdered and their Association for the finalvindication of their struggles. We regret that many family members andother relatives died without witnessing this vindication.

Finally, AKEL expresses its unreserved honour and respect to those hon-est patriots, regardless of ideological outlook, who fought and many ofthem sacrificing their lives in the anti-colonial struggle of the Cypriot peo-ple.

12th December 2012Press Office of the C.C. of AKEL

Decision of Christofias Government to restore the memory of the militants of the Left in the period 1956-1958

“Grivas, a sworn and fanatical anti-communist, hadfrom the outset excluded the participation of the Leftin the anti-colonial struggle. On 17th April 19555 hewrote in his diary that he had issued a warning to AKELnot to intervene in the struggle of EOKA "otherwiseblood will be shed." Of course it was not just Grivas´anti-communism that dictated the exclusion of AKEL.Both Grivas and the leadership of the Right at the timeknew very well that the day after the anti-colonial strug-gle the question of power would arise. The liberation ofCyprus from colonialism would leave a "vacuum ofpower" which for sure certain forces were not willingto allow the Left to contest.

They were determined to abolish the influence ofAKEL, the biggest mass and organized political partyof the country so it wouldn't have a say and a role in thepolitical affairs of Cyprus. In striving to pursue this ob-jective, Grivas and his followers were in total alignmentwith the British colonialists”

...”The stain of the label "Leftist traitor" was simply theargument necessary so that the masked and hoodedmen could carry out the Grivas´ orders which aimed atweakening AKEL. In 1958, the year when the orgy ofpolitical assassinations reached its peak, Grivas in a let-ter to Makarios wrote the following, "I will mercilesslyattack the communist traitors as well and will begin anopen war against them ..." Subsequently, this is whathappened”...

extracts from the speech of the G.S. of the C.C. of AKEL Andros Kyprianou, at the mass meeting in memory

of the murdered comrades of the Left, held on 25th of June 2012 in Larnaca

Onthe occasion of 8th March InternationalWomen's Day, AKEL addresses warm greet-ings to all the women of Cyprus, Greek

Cypriot, Turkish Cypriot, Maronite, Latin and Armenian. AKELconveys a warm greeting to every woman worker, unemployed,mother, young woman, farmer, intellectual and woman pensioner.We also address a greeting to the thousands of immigrant womenin Cyprus.

The People's Movement of the Left in Cyprus is filled with partic-ular pride on 8th March. This is because the first women who brokethe chains of prejudice and male-domination within the closedCypriot society at the beginning of the last century were thewomen of the Left of Cyprus. Within the ranks of the Left arosegreat female figures such as Cleo Ioannidou, Katina ToumazouNicholas and many others who were true revolutionaries of theirtime. Through the struggles of the organized women's movementof the Left, women's issues gained real meaning and a class contentand subsequently many important rights were gained for Cypriotwomen.

For these and many other reasons on such a day the People's Move-ment of the Left of Cyprus feels it has a special obligation: to neverstop fighting for women, together with them, until the eradicationof all discrimination and for parity so as to ensure that women attainthe position really worthy of them in society. This is why we havenoted with disappointment the absence of any women in thefirst Ministerial Council of the Anastasiades Government. Forsure, this absence cannot be covered by the promise that was spreadthat that there would be some female presence in Vice-ministrieswhich might be set up. If we really want society to progress, womenmust not be confined to playing a "secondary" role, but a leadingrole. (Note: After just one month in office and the resigation of the Fi-nance Minister as a result of a minor reshuffle, the President appointedthe first woman Minister in his Cabinet.)

Especially in conditions where socio-economic problems such asthe present are exacerbating, it is obvious that women are the mostvulnerable and easy victims. As AKEL, we affirm that we will standon their side. We support the women's movement and its demandsfor the upgrading of targeted programmes which provide for curb-ing unemployment among women; the elaboration of a NationalAction Plan to Combat Violence against Women and the full im-plementation of the National Action Plan for Gender Equality2007-2013; the implementation of the Charter for Gender Equalityin local self-government; the speeding up of the implementationof the National Strategy to tackle cancer; the elaboration of a newstudy and setting up of a new Ministerial working committee to liftthe injustice against refugees from the maternal side. Furthermore,we support the women movement's demands for the immediateintroduction of a code of conduct for the mass media in connectionwith the images being reproduced on women through televisionprogrammes and commercials, as well as the operation of a call cen-tre and website for information and guidance on women's rights inall areas.

Today women have the right to study, work and vote. However,women are still suffering from a double exploitation and op-pression; exploitation and oppression as a woman and workingwoman, as a tool to gain profit in every corner of the world. We ad-dress this woman today, the female victim of labour relations rem-iniscent of the Middle Ages; the victim of sexual harassment anddomestic violence. AKEL assures that we will not stop strugglingto break their chains.

On the occasion of International Women's Day AKEL has decidedthat instead of distributing red carnations will shall give 1,000 Eurosto support financially the centre of hospitality for battered women.

International

Women’s Day

Press Conference of Andros Kyprianou, G.S. of the C.C. of AKEL on the occasion of International Women's Day

8th of March

AKEL on the desecration on a mosque in Denia village AKEL condemns the cowardly enemies of Cyprus who actingunder the cover of darkness desecrated a Turkish Cypriot religioussite in the village of Denia. The nationalists are once again tryingto separate rather than unite. The local community of Denia andthe whole of Cyprus have condemned them for the hatred of theirrhetoric, but also their actions. These actions and rhetoric givean excuse to nationalist circles in Turkey and within the Turk-ish Cypriot community to project their actions as supposedlyproof that our people, Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots,cannot live together in a free, independent and united home-land.

AKEL again sounds the alarm about the chauvinist and fascist dan-

ger, since the well-known circles are trying through empty slogansto attract a section of the youth, unemployed and the poor. Wemust never allow intolerance and fascism to raise its head again inour country.

AKEL calls on the political parties to denounce the moral instiga-tors of these actions. They should remove from their political prac-tice any actions and proposals which foster and nurture blindfanaticism. We call upon the mass media to play a constructive rolein this necessity.

We assure that AKEL will intensify its efforts to ensure that thechauvinistic fascist elements are isolated.

Rapprochement meeting organised by AKEL Famagusta District and Republican Turkish Party (CTP)

“Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriotsmust turn the page, building the Cyprusof the future!”

“We have never for a single moment stopped show-ing the way to achieve peace and reunification.We have never stopped reiterating that the Turk-

ish Cypriots are not our enemies, that the Turkish Cypriots are ourbrothers. AKEL and the PTK know this well: the enemy of the peo-ple of Cyprus is called nationalism. When imperialism sought todetermine the future of our people, it put on the mask of na-tionalism, trying to impose its control over our country fromwithin. The uncompromising opponent of nationalism is the gen-uine and true patriotism of the progressive forces of the two com-munities, who fought for the independence of Cyprus and peace.For us, the soil of Cyprus belonged and belongs to all its children,to the whole of its people

AKEL has always marched to-gether with the Turkish Cypriot community, not one com-munity next to the other but together. This is why today wereiterate once again that we must not stop fighting for the com-mon homeland, for federation and for the safeguarding of thehuman rights of our people. Together, we can raise our voicesfor justice and the right of our cause, to assert the obvious andself-evident. That is to say, a peaceful and secure future for ourchildren and our grandchildren. Our goal is common. It is clearand is worth all the sacrifices: a just solution to end the occu-

pation and reunite our Homeland and our people.

This is the duty that we must fulfil in order to vindicate the com-mon struggle of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots which wasforged in the mines of the 1948 strike battles, in the brotherhoodand friendship born in the strikes of construction workers andbuilders, in the neighbourhoods, cities and villages in the yearswhen peace prevailed. We shall honour the blood of our first com-rades, who sacrificed their own lives for their ideology and in thebelief and conviction for a free Cyprus, the mother Cyprus for allher children.”

extracts from the speech of the G.S. of the C.C. of AKEL Andros KyprianouNovember 2012

“Today Cyprus is honouring Democracy Day, theday when Archbishop Makarios returned toCyprus in 1974, five months after the coup d'étatof the Greek junta and EOKA B that paved theway for the subsequent Turkish invasion. In hon-ouring Democracy Day we honour all those whofought fascism and the Turkish invader; all whoshowed real heroism when they rushed to defendDemocracy and Cyprus, even though they had fewmeans at their disposal, though they knew they weremarching into a battle that was from the beginningbetrayed.

No matter how many years go by, AKEL will continue to talk aboutthe betrayal which sold out Cyprus to Turkey. Since tomorrow wemay see various comments written about AKEL "inciting passions","clinging to the past" and so on, we reiterate the following: todayno one seeks revenge. What we must do is not to forget how we ar-rived at the occupation. We are not clinging on to the past becauseit's not necessary. We all are living the consequences of the occu-pation daily. We must remember history so that the memories of1974 are engrained in our consciousness. We must not forget thatat that time, a minority decided to impose its will through the forceof arms. Its supposed patriotism ultimately served only American

- NATO imperialism and Turkey. Grivas, the Junta of Greece, EOKA B and P. Giorkatziis, who are all named in the Finding ofthe House of Representatives on the File of Cyprus, managed inthe end to fully serve NATO and Turkey's goals. They led Cyprusto the brink of destruction and opened the door to the Turkish in-vader.

39 years after July 1974, we are experiencing at first hand the tragicresults of treason. The wounds remain open. The barbed wire di-vides our country and our people cannot live in freedom and unitedon the land that gave birth to the Cypriot people”.

Press Statement, 7th December 2013

AKEL on the annual service in memory of GrivasThe Democratic Rally party (DISY) through its leading officialDemetris Taliadorou and the presence of a large number ofother leading members of Mr. Anastasiade´s party are onceagain provoking in an offensive way the feelings of our country'sdemocratic citizens, by paying homage and honouring thedevastator/ruiner of Cyprus, Georgios Grivas.

Mr. Anastasiade´s DHSY party and the extreme-right wing or-ganized groups persist in glorifying the founder and leader ofEOKA B George Grivas, in so doing endorsing his fascist, intol-erant and putschist subversive activity.

Their provocative stand continues to perpetuate division amongour people at a time when unity is necessary more than ever be-fore.

Moreover, the DHSY party and Mr. Anastasiades are continuingtheir attempts to revise and distort our country's recent history,voting against the parliamentary finding on the File of Cyprus,by paying tribute to the eight-day "president" of the governmentof the coup d'état Nikos Sampson and to the commando troopswho attacked the Presidential Palace and by the "reinstatement"the 62 (Note: this refers to the first political decision taken bythe Clerides DHSY administration to reinstate 62 public ser-vants back to their former posts after their dismissal because oftheir participation in the coup d'état against the constitutionalorder).

At the same time when in a number of other countries par-ticipants in coup d'états are wanted, tried and convicted,even people in their old age too, for their fascist activity andthe crimes they caused or committed, in Cyprus there hasn’teven been any admission of a mistake for the criminal activ-ities of EOKA B and its leader Grivas.

On the contrary, instead of a remorse and repentance, theDHSY party provided political shelter to the putschists of thecoup d'état and even to this day is attempting by all means tooffer cover and achieve the vindication of the crime committedand of its protagonists.

Mr. Anastasiades, himself a counsellor defendant of EOKA Bmembers, is staunchly leading the efforts to conceal and vindi-cate the most hideous crime committed in our country's mod-ern history.

We do not expect another "mea culpa" to be issued by Mr. Anas-tasiades on this question, since all his other "mea culpa" were in-sincere and hypocritical and were made for election-votepurposes. In this specific case it doesn't serve the purpose offishing for votes, simply because Mr. Anastasiades and his partycontinue to embrace a large section of the extreme right politi-cally and for votes.

28 January 2013

DemocracyDay

Photograph from the mass demontrations which took place in Cyprus after the return of Archbishop Makarios, who left on the 15th of July 1974

following the junta/fascist coup against him.

Christofias government upgrades the status of the PalestinianDiplomatic Delegation in Cyprus to that of embassy

Photos from the visit to Ramallah (October 2012) by theGS of the CC of AKEL Andros Kyprianou and his meet-ing with the President of the Palestinian National Author-ity, Mahmoud Abbas, and the General Secretary of thePalestinian People’s Party(PPP) Bassam as-Salhi.

Christofia’s government decided to upgrade the status of thediplomatic delegation of Palestine in Cyprus from that of diplo-matic mission of Palestine to that of the embassy of the state ofPalestine. It decided also to include the Palestinian ambassadorin the Diplomatic Corps list in Cyprus.

This decision is in line with the resolution of the Cypriot Councilof Ministers in 1988 for the recognition of the state of Palestine.The same practice has been followed by seven other EU mem-bers (Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Czech Re-public and Malta) who recognised the state of Palestine in 1988.

The announcement of the upgrading was made by the Min-ister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus Ms. Erato Kozakou Mark-oulli on the 9th February 2013. Palestine Foreign AffairsMinister, Mr Rial al Malki was present in the announcement ofthe resolution as part of his official visit in Cpyrus.

Ms. Markoulli expressed the support of her government in thesolution of the Palestinian conflict on the basis of a two state so-lution, where Israel will coexist peacefully with a viable Palestin-

ian state with East Jerusalem as its capital city. Ms. Markoulli con-demned the settlment in the West Bank by the Israeli govern-ment. She said that the construction of settlements violates theinternational law and also burdens the peace process. Miss Mark-oulli called for reconciliation between the various Palestinian fac-tions under President Abbas.

Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister thanked Cyprus for this “his-toric decision” and also said that he expects other EU memberstates to follow. He also thanked Cyprus for its positive vote inthe UN general assembly, for the upgrading of the status of Pales-tine to that of observer state.

Mr Al Maliki stated again Palestine’s support for the reunificationof Cyprus on the basis of the UN Security Council resolutions,in the context of a UN peace process. He thanked Cyprus for thesupport it gives to Palestine in the form of scholarships and ed-ucational programs and also for the help it provides, as EU mem-ber state, concerning the financial support of the Palestinianpeople.

AKEL salutes the approval ofthe resolution of the UN General Assembly on PalestineThe Central Committee of AKEL salutes the approval of theresolution at the UN General Assembly which upgrades thestatus of the Palestinian Authority to an observer-state. Thisdevelopment constitutes a significant decision which hasbeen supported by a majority of 138 states.

We denounce the hypocritical stance of some powers that votedagainst the proposal, highlighting the untenable position that thisissue is a matter that should be agreed by the Israelis and Pales-tinians.

This policy of double standards, which aims to the undermine thecharacter of the International Law and at the same time perpetu-ates the occupation as if nothing is going on, is what permits theperpetuation of unjust problems.

We express our solidarity and support to the struggle of the Pales-tinian people for liberation, peace and justice.

30.11.2012

160th anniversary of the birth of the poet and national hero of Cuba José Martí

Nicosia, 2nd of January, 2013c. Raúl Modesto Castro RuzFirst Secretary of the Central Committee of the CP of Cuba

On behalf of the Central Committee of AKEL, and myself personally,I convey to you and through you to the Government, the CommunistParty of Cuba and the Cuban people, our warmest congratulations onthe occasion of the 54th Anniversary of the victory of the Cuban Rev-olution.

Your 54th Anniversary is celebrated in conditions of an unprecedentedcrisis of the capitalist system where the working class around the worldis striving to safeguard its historical conquests and gains when at thesame time the imperialist aggression is further escalating. These severeconditions set the socialist perspective, which the Cuban people havechosen, timely more than ever.

As AKEL, we reiterate our full solidarity towards your struggle for aworld of peace and social progress. We confirm our position that every-one should respect the right of all the peoples around the world to

choose the path of their future. The struggle of the Cuban people forsocialism must be respected and any effort to the contrary is for us con-demnable.

At the same time we reaffirm our condemnation of the American em-bargo against Cuba and the continuing imprisonment of the 5 CubanHeroes by the US authorities. We support the progressive integration,which is followed by the majority of the Latin American andCaribbean countries, and where Cuba is in the core of these develop-ments.

We would also like to express our appreciation for the solidarity andsupport that Cuba is constantly providing to our Party and the Cypriotpeople in our long-term struggle for the reunification of Cyprus andliberation from the Turkish occupation. We have to note as well thefraternal relations existing between our two Parties that have been es-tablished throughout the years and express our will for the further en-hancement of these relations.

Accept once again my warmest congratulations on the Anniversary ofthe Cuban Revolution and my best wishes for the year 2013.

“I would also like to express the boundless appreciation of themembers and cadres of AKEL and of the People's Movement ofthe Left to Cuba and it's heroic and unconquerable people. Thefriendship and cooperation between our two peoples, Cuban andCypriot, have strong roots, hence the Monument of Cuba's Na-tional Hero Jose Marti erected here in Nicosia and the statue ofArchbishop Makarios in Havana was and will be an eternal sym-bol of the ties between our struggling peoples; ties of friendshipand cooperation which the current government consciouslysought to strengthen further, launching the operation for 2 years

now of our own Embassy in Cuba” (...)

Jose Marti as a human being devoted his life to the independenceof his country, and with his liberationalist and internationalistthought, strengthened the flame of unity and solidarity of thepeoples of Latin America. As a poet he opened up new roads inpoetry. As an intellectual he grappled with all kinds of writing.His writings are inspired by deep political reflection, humanenessand sensitivity towards the crowning social events of his era.Among these events is the first bloody May Day of 1886 in

Chicago. José Martí was killed in 1895 in aguerrilla war against the Spanish colonizerswithout being able to experience the liberationof his homeland.

He therefore belongs in the pantheon of thosefighters who compliment with words anddeeds, their lives, and which History needs inits outstanding moments, to find a way to ex-press in words the greatness of the peopleswhen they take their fate into their own handsand rewrite history from the beginning”.

Extracts of the speech by Christos Alekou, Member of the Political Bureau of the C.C. of AKEL

at the event organised by the Embassy of Cuba in Cyprus

Message of the Central Committee of AKELon the Anniversary of the victory of the Cuban Revolution

100th anniversary of the foundation of the Communist Party of ChileOn 5-8 December 2012 the Communist Party of Chile brought the celebrations marking the 100thanniversary of its foundation to a culmination with two major forward looking events evidencing thecreative and militant spirit of the party and its youth: An international seminar on “Building Ideasfor the Chile that we Want” organized in cooperation with the Institute of Sciences Alejandro Lip-schutz, ICAL, with guests from Latin and Central America as well as Europe. And a Popular Concert, held in the Estadio Nacionalfor the first time after the 1973 fascist coup d’état. Under the motto “Let’s go, a new Chile is possible” and with the participationof a large number of artists that in one or other way have linked their work and lives with the struggles of the Chilean people, theconcert gathered tens of thousands of people in memory of all those who lost their lives in defending democracy, and in buildingconfidence in the struggle for a new Chile.

Sharing the bitter experience of a foreign orchestrated military coup d’état held just 10 months following the one against PresidentAlliente and Unidad Popular, AKEL was represented in both events. Vera Polycarpou, member of the C.C. and the InternationalRelations and European Affairs Bureau of the C.C. of AKEL, represented AKEL.

14th International Meeting of Communist and

Workers’ Parties

Costas Christodoulides, member of theC.C. and Head of the International Rela-tions and European Affairs Bureau of C.C. and Elias Demetriou, member of theInternational Relations Department participated in the delegation of AKEL atthe 14th International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties held inBeirut, Lebanon between 22 and 25 of November 2012, under the title:“Strengthen the struggles against escalating imperialist aggressiveness, for satis-fying peoples’ socio-economic-democratic rights and aspirations, for socialism”.

19th Congress of Portuguese Communist Party

Yiannakis Thoma, member of the P.B. ofthe C.C. represented AKEL at the 19thCongress of the Portuguese CP, held on 30of November 2013 in Lisbon.

36th Congress of the French Communist Party

Vera Polycarpou, member of the C.C.and the International Relations and

European Affairs Bureau of the C.C. of AKEL, representedAKEL at the 36th Congress of PCF, which took place on 7-10 February 2013, in Paris

Tel: 00357-22817346 | Fax: 00357-22589503 International Department: interbureau@akel.org.cy | Costas Christodoulides: cchristodoulides@cytanet.com.cy Elias Demetriou: edemetriou@akel.org.cy | Giorgos Koukoumas: giorgos.koukoumas@cytanet.com.cy

International Relations Department of C.C .of AKEL

15th Congress of the Communist Party of Russian Federation

Skevi Koukouma, member of theC.C., MP and Vice-President ofWIDF (Women’s InternationalDemocratic Federation) represented AKEL at the 15thCongress of CP of Russian Federation held on 23-24 ofFebruary, in Moscow.