AKEL yesterday launched a bitter attack against Politis, after the paper on Sunday challenged party leader Demetris Christofias to substantiate his allegations that its journalists were on the payroll of the Americans.
Sunday’s Politis called on Christofias, currently the acting president of the republic, to back his claims that the daily was a paid agent of America.
The AKEL leader had reportedly been making the allegations in party circles.
Politis challenged Christofias to publish proof of his claims or face being denounced as a “common mudslinger and political figure without ethics, incapable of behaving like a man”.
The issue was discussed by AKEL’s political bureau, which issued a scathing statement accusing the newspaper of working to undermine the domestic front and President Tassos Papadopoulos, while at the same time promoting policies the party disagreed with.
“The political bureau rejects with disgust the abuse and slander against the party and the Central Committee General Secretary in person, and thinks that this unacceptable and condemnable behaviour undermines the ethos that should characterise our political life, harms the institutions and shreds any sense of journalistic ethic,” AKEL’s statement said.
The Political Bureau said the newspaper had declared war against the party a long time ago and “opposes its leadership on a daily basis, unfortunately in an unsubstantiated and unethical manner”.
“AKEL’s Politcal Bureau warns party members that certain people have made it their aim to undermine the party, which all together, members and leadership, we will defend with all our strength,” the statement said.
It added that criticism from the media was and would always be welcome, no matter how strict and many times unfair.
“But when criticism is delivered with spite and hatred and it is accompanied by abuse, it cannot be accepted or tolerated,” the party said.
The daily responded promptly, issuing its own statement insisting that four days after the challenge, Christofias had failed to back his allegations about paid American agents.
“Are we or are we not paid agents of the Americans?” the daily asked.
It added: “But instead of replying directly, Mr Christofias sought coverage from AKEL’s political bureau, which in a statement today attempts to shift the essence of the issue.
“It (AKEL) also attempted to blame ulterior motives for the challenge we extended to Mr Demetris Christofias to substantiate everything he has said about Politis and its journalists, both in AKEL’s Central Committee and party gatherings in Nicosia and Limassol.”
The newspaper said it would pass over the party’s accusations and insist on a simple request: “If AKEL’s general secretary Demetris Christofias has evidence that substantiate the serious accusation against the journalists and editor of Politis about paid agents, he should make them public.
“If not, he remains a common mudslinger,” the newspaper said.
The spat also became the focus of the journalists union, which decided to refer it for examination by the committee of journalistic ethics “assuming that the AKEL General Secretary would take a stance concerning the charges Politis attributes to him in relation to agents paid by the Americans”.
