“We have declared many times that at this specific stage of our struggle, namely the stage aiming at the liberation and reunification of Cyprus, we do not set the goal of the socialist transformation of Cypriot society. This of course doesn’t mean that we stop struggling for the interests of the working people, the unemployed, the young generation etc. On the contrary, today when the effects of the economic crisis have led to growing inequality and contradictions, it is more than ever before necessary to fight for the working people.”
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Your statement on election night that you do not trust Nicos Anastasiades was the subject of various comments.
AK: We have arguments with which we substantiate our lack of trust in him. First and foremost, for us it is unacceptable that a President tells lies to the state and society, and secondly, this lack of trust is also down to the fact that he acted in a way that put his personal ambitions over and above the country’s interests.
We can’t trust such a person. With regards internal governance matters, huge differences separates us from Nicos Anastasiades. In this sense, for that reason we don’t trust him and this lack of trust doesn’t just concern today, given that we have always stated that we do not give him a “blank check” on the Cyprus problem.
However, many people consider the support you gave him on the Cyprus problem as a weapon for his re-election, as it is being claimed that he is only President to come so close to a solution.
AK: All our actions aimed to serve the country’s interests and for sure not to facilitate Anastasiades’ re-election. Anastasiades couldn’t have been elected had the parties of the so-called “intermediate spectrum” remained consistent to what they themselves were declaring.
That is, their goal was to achieve the change in the governance of the country. If they had backed the candidacy of Stavros Malas in the second round, Nicos Anastasiades wouldn’t have been reelected. Instead, they chose to refrain from assuming their responsibilities.
What opposition will AKEL be exercising?
AK: We shall be strict in our opposition both inside and outside parliament, but objective and for sure guided by how best the interests of the country and the The people are served.
What was it that hindered you till now from exercising harsh criticism? Was it the developments surrounding the Cyprus problem?
AK: In the Mont Peleran 1 talks, Nicos Anastasiades used my name, telling lies in order to return to Cyprus. Given that the procedure was underway and since we didn’t want to undermine the President who was moving the negotiating procedure, we kept silent. We won’t do him the same favour again. When it is required and as developments are unfolding, we will be expressing our views.
Should we assume that no developments on the Cyprus issue are to be expected and consequently that is the reason for this decision of yours?
AK: The UN Secretary-General said that a precondition for the negotiations to resume is that the two sides should agree that they have a common goal for the solution of the Cyprus problem, that they agree on the methodology and that they should then convince him that the political will exists to work for the fulfillment of the common goal. I don’t think both leaders can easily convince the UN Secretary-General about all these things. At least as far as the public statements of both Mr. Anastasiades and
Mr. Akinci are concerned, I haven’t ascertained that the intention exists on their part to move in that direction.
So how do we proceed on the Cyprus problem?
AK: As AKEL, we are waiting to see what Mr. Anastasiades’ next steps will be and will judge him on what he will say. I reiterate that we will be very strict in our criticism as developments unfold. We are not now going to be silent so as not to weaken Mr. Anastasiades’ negotiating capacity because our responsible stand was in the end interpreted by the government as a weakness.
Leaving the result to one side, it seems that the confrontation between AKEL and governing DISY party or fundamentally the Left-Right clash rallied AKEL’s supporters.
AK: What did rally and unite the people of AKEL is first and foremost the candidate we had supported. He was a personality with a lot of virtues. Ethos, sincerity, honesty, credibility and dignity. These are all characteristics that we as AKEL attach particular importance to. What also contributed to the rallying of AKEL’s voters is the intense hard work carried out by our local election campaign organizations and the more general messages we conveyed to our people.
We managed not only to rally more than 99% of AKEL’s supporters, but we managed to bring to the ballot box people who hadn’t voted in previous election campaigns. The big challenge for us now is to keep this interest alive and to engage these people in the struggle to help our country move forward.
Will you continue your cooperation with Stavros Malas?
AK: We have had an initial exchange of views with Mr. Malas and have arranged to meet and discuss how our cooperation will continue
So it will continue…
AK: That’s our intention. We must find the way in which this cooperation will continue.
You were particularly critical of the “intermediate political spectrum” and the position it took (“neither candidate” in the second round).
AK: The reason we criticized these parties was because there is statement by Mr. Papadopoulos himself recorded in an interview he gave to your newspaper saying that whoever is an opponent of Mr. Anastasiades in the second round must be supported by all of us because our goal is for Mr. Anastasiades to go from the presidency of the Republic. There is also the Social Democratic EDEK party leader Mr. Sizopoulos’ statement in a television debate which we participated together stating that he would do everything in his power to get Mr. Anastasiades out from the presidency. We criticized them for their inconsistency. Beyond that, they have a right to take decisions that affect them. However, they were saying otherwise up to the moment they considered that their own candidate (Mr. Papadopoulos) would pass through to the second round. They said completely different things when the first round results were announced. That’s what we are judging and criticizing.
Mr. Sizopoulos said that you rejected his demands. Shouldn’t there have been a consultation to find the common denominator, since your goal was to get Nicos Anastasiades out of power?
AK: Stavros Malas asserted his election on the basis of a program and the people voted for him on that basis. If he changed this program, he would have been mocking the people who voted him in the first round. These aren’t serious arguments that are being put forth. What we said could have been done is for some ideas to be submitted that would have enriched Stavros Malas’ program and wouldn’t have changed it. They demanded the abandonment of the proposal for a rotating presidency, also demanding that any agreement on the Cyprus problem be concluded after the withdrawal of all troops. All these demands would have altered the philosophy of Stavros Malas’ approaches and would have made him totally untrustworthy. He couldn’t do that.
Facing the possibility of not going through to the second round, there was a rumor that there was also an issue with regards your position being challenged. Was passing to the second round a personal challenge?
AK: The result we achieved was a collective effort on the part of AKEL together with Stavros Malas. It was not a personal challenge.
We thought of how best to serve the interests of the people and the priorities we had defined as a Party. We passed to the second round. We didn’t win the elections and that certainly does not please us. Beyond that, AKEL came out of this battle much stronger, and the important thing for me is that there is an excellent atmosphere among the militants and members of AKEL and a satisfaction with the way we waged the election battle, both Stavros Malas and AKEL. Moreover, it is important that a significant section of society backed the positions proposed by Stavros Malas on the Cyprus problem and the economy, as well as on society and on the issues related to society’s democratization and modernization.
Is there a possibility that you will again contest the position of General Secretary of the Central Committee of AKEL?
AK: I am consistent to what AKEL’s Party Statutes state. When one reaches 65, our statutes state that you have to leave the full-time mechanism. Therefore, I want to adhere to what our statutes stipulate. The higher position one has, the more must he/she set a better example to be imitated and not to be avoided. That’s why we must be the first ones to implement what the Party’s statutes specify. Consequently, there is no question of being a candidate again for the post of General Secretary.
So you are entering a process of a smooth succession?
AK: We have plenty of time until the next Party Congress.
Will you nominate someone as was done in the past or will you let the processes evolve on their own?
AK: No such nomination occurred before.
Demetris Christofias had designated you as the ideal successor and Ezekias Papaioannou (Note: late historical General Secretary of AKEL) had favoured Demetris Christofias…
AK: I cannot understand how Demetris Christofias had “designated” me. He gave an interview in which he said that the next General Secretary should be honest and untainted. Why do we presume that only Andros Kyprianou has these characteristics? Why do we think others don’t also have these characteristics? I can’t understand why he pointed me out. We will discuss in a collective way in the Party’s bodies and that’s where any decisions will be taken.
Will you keep a distance from the issue of your succession?
AK I will say my opinion in the collective bodies of the Party. Just like everyone has the right to express their opinion, so too has the General Secretary of the Party the right to express his own opinion.
Is there an issue of renewal and the involvement of new cadres?
AK: For AKEL, the process of renewal is an ongoing process. I have to tell you that the oldest comrade in the Secretariat is me actually. We shall proceed to the renewal of the Party. We will look at the issues related to the staffing of our Party mechanism. We have been largely understaffed because of the difficulties we have faced in recent years and we need to look at all these issues in an organized and comprehensive way. We will do this in the Party bodies.
Given that the “intermediate spectrum” has increasingly shifted to the Right, is there an issue of AKEL moving on from your communist positions to a more socialist framework in order to reach out to that section of society that doesn’t embrace communist ideology?
AK: We are the first political party that took big steps to reach out to society. And we managed to bring figures with us from other spectrums because they agreed with AKEL’s positions on the Cyprus problem and on major socio-economic issues. I don’t consider that as being introvert.
The second point is that, in recent years, a great effort has been made not only by DISY and other political parties, but also by the mass media, to defame and denigrate AKEL as a very closed and undemocratic party that does not inspire confidence.
We have been through difficult times. I think we are slowly regaining the trust of the people and our goal is to move forward with the aim of serving the interests of Cyprus and the majority of the people. I believe that our parliamentary presence is characteristic. Our concern is to better serve the interests of the majority of the people.
We have declared many times that at this specific stage of our struggle, namely the stage aiming at the liberation and reunification of Cyprus, we do not set the goal of the socialist transformation of Cypriot society. This of course doesn’t mean that we stop struggling for the interests of the working people, the unemployed, the young generation etc. On the contrary, today when the effects of the economic crisis have led to growing inequality and contradictions, it is more than ever before necessary to fight for the working people.
I mention this because there is a rumor about the creation of a left party…
AK: Those who think they can build a party and operate it have every democratic right to attempt to do it.
Interview of the General Secretary of the C.C. of AKEL A.Kyprianou to “KATHIMERINI” newspaper, Sunday 11th February 2018, Nicosia