The General Secretary of AKEL S.Stefanou replies to a journalists question on T
4 December 2021, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia
QUESTION: Do you think that the Pope’s visit also sent out messages to the world and international community on the Cyprus problem, of course, but also on the migration issue, which is a problem that is particularly plaguing our country?
SS: The Pope conveyed messages of a universal character that must be understood here in Cyprus first and foremost by the government ruling forces.
As the leader of a big church should do, as religious people do, they must first and above all convey messages of love, humanism and solidarity, especially to people who are exposed to dangers, suffering from disasters and ongoing wars. I am pleased to observe that the Pope constantly and through his statements and actions – not only here in Cyprus, but also wherever he may be – that these are precisely the messages he sends out because, yes, during these difficult times the whole world is going through, those who have the power and means must help the countries and peoples who are suffering in disasters or who are forced to become refugees or emigrate in order to escape from disasters and seek better living conditions.
I think that this message must first of all be understood by the government in Cyprus which, I have to say, is not on the same wavelength since on both the migration and refugees issue, but on other issues too, acts in a different direction.
As far as the Cyprus problem is concerned, I think the Pope’s statement was quite clear without being a politician and without naturally going into the details. Namely, that problems are resolved through dialogue.
Consequently what we have before us is what AKEL has been saying formally and pressingly since the very first day the collapse of the Crans Montana conference on Cyprus. That is to say, concrete initiatives must be taken by the government so that the deadlock is broken and the negotiations can be resumed from the point where they were interrupted at Crans-Montana, preserving the body of work in the negotiations that has been agreed over the years.
Indeed, as AKEL has always been a Party projecting positions and submitting proposals, I remind you that since last December we have given the President of the Republic a specific proposal on how the President can take initiatives to push things towards the resumption of the negotiations at a time when Turkey is being very provocative, violating international law and the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus so that a momentum is created for the resumption of negotiations.
Our proposal without violating the Greek Cypriot side’s “red lines” gives a practical content to the position of the Secretary General of the United Nations to make use of the natural gas issue as a catalyst to create momentum. We are continuously conveying our willingness to the President of the Republic to have a dialogue and assist in this regard. We face the government’s silence and reaction.
