THE GOVERNMENT on Wednesday was left defending President Nicos Anastasiades’ speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday after the rejectionist parties slammed it, a day after they welcomed reports that he would publicly state his ‘red lines’ on the Cyprus issue to world leaders.
According to the parties, Anastasiades had not gone far enough in blaming Turkey or in insisting on the continuation of the Cyprus Republic, EDEK called his speech “tragic”.
Deputy Government Spokesman Victoras Papadopoulos said the parties’ reactions were regrettable and unfounded, and branded them populist.
‘The President of the Republic, both in his speech at the United Nations and during the major contacts he had in the US, stressed the need not only for Turkey to proceed with the adoption of concrete measures and making a practical contribution to solving the Cyprus problem, but also asked the international community to pressure Turkey to open the road to solving the Cyprus problem,” he said.
Anastasiades had also called for an end to the anachronistic system of guarantees, he added.
“If these opposition parties are offended because the President made reference to the prospects that are opening up through the talks to solve the Cyprus problem, this is a matter of concern because everyone should understand the need to end the occupation,” he added.
EDEK used the word “tragic” to describe the speech, saying it was a lost opportunity to reposition the Cyprus problem on its correct basis “one of invasion and occupation and ethnic cleansing”.
The Greens said the president had “forgotten to denounce Turkey”
“He presented the issue as a bi-communal problem and not as an issue of invasion and occupation by Turkey,” it said.
The Citizens Alliance said much the same, that Anastasiades had spoken “like a community leader and not the President of the Cyprus Republic” and had sought only to “caress the ears” of world leaders. “Did Mr Anastasiadis believe that by hiding Turkey’s responsibilities and violations of international law Mr Erdogan would be moved to change Ankara’s policy towards Cyprus?”
DIKO said that on the eve of Cyprus independence, the speech was unclear about whether Anastasiades saw the Republic of Cyprus continuing as a state after a solution. The party accused him of hiding behind “constructive ambiguity”.
The speech was supported by ruling DISY, junior coalition partners EVROKO and main opposition AKEL.
