DIKO yesterday enhanced its image as a party in confusion, washing its hands of Nicholas Papadopoulos’ onslaught against President Christofias.
“Mr. Papadopoulos did not inform the party [that he would make the comments], nor did he ask for, nor he get authorization from the party, therefore he is voicing personal views,” party spokesman Fotis Fotiou said at a news conference yesterday.
“The Democratic Party does not espouse the personal views, assessment, analysis or rhetoric of Mr. Nicholas Papadopoulos or of any party cadre who may voice personal opinions,” he added.
Hawkish DIKO Vice-President Nicholas Papadopoulos, son of the late President, upped the ante this week in his spat with President Christofias, accusing him of more or less giving away what former Turkish Cypriot leader and hardliner Rauf Denktash wanted in 2002. The implication was that the President is a turncoat.
The bone of contention was Christofias’ readiness to negotiate a rotating presidency, continuance of Turkish guarantees and Turkish settlers. Papadopoulos claimed that former president Glafkos Clerides had rejected the proposal for a rotating presidency that would give the Turkish Cypriot president executive powers.
While distancing itself from Papadopoulos, DIKO stopped well short of reining him in.
In a nutshell, the party did not disagree on the points of criticism, Fotiou said. However, he clarified, it did not endorse Papadopoulos’ harsh language or style.
“Characterisations made by Mr. Papadopoulos are not adopted by the party,” said Fotiou.
Fotiou conceded the party was concerned with the image of discord it was presenting: “I would be lying if I said we were not worried.”
DIKO is convening its Executive Bureau on Monday, where party boss Marios Garoyian will call for an end to such displays.
“The chairman is determined to put an end to this sort of behaviour by individual party cadres,” Fotiou told the Mail later in the day, but declined to elaborate.
At the news conference, Fotiou urged Christofias to pull from the negotiating table his proposals for the Turkish settlers and a rotating presidency.
Nevertheless, Fotiou once again dismissed the notion that the senior government partner should walk out of the coalition given the huge disagreements with the President on the Cyprus problem, the number one issue on the political agenda. He referred to the party’s decision in June according to which DIKO would stay put but would reserve the right to voice its opinions – a stance viewed by most observers as paradoxical.
Papadopoulos has been waging a one-man battle against ruling AKEL, which yesterday rushed to the President’s defence via the government spokesman and Andros Kyprianou, leader of the communist party.
“The use of insults, lies and distortion are evidence of weakness, evidence of an inability to substantiate one’s opinion…I need not say more,” Kyprianou said.
“I have said all there is to say about Nicholas Papadopoulos. I do not want to dedicate more time to him,” he added.
Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou meanwhile rubbished the DIKO deputy’s claim that the President had agreed to recognize the executive, the legislature and the judiciary of the breakaway regime, calling this a gross distortion of reality.
Stefanou said former President Tassos Papadopoulos himself had agreed to discuss a rotating presidency in a reunified state, and as evidence cited a Papadopoulos interview with Greek newspaper Kathimerini.
Assuming the role of victim, Papadopoulos yesterday complained of “intellectual terrorism” on the part of the government.
“This has to stop. It seems some people have a weird perception of what constitutes freedom of speech. We too have the right to voice dissenting opinions even if they are unpleasant.”
“Since yesterday I have been showered with names, such as underminer, maximalist, I have been accused of employing bulldozer tactics, of tending to demonize, that I am politically unethical, that I am prejudiced and a traitor, or even that I do not want a solution to the Cyprus problem.
“With all due respect, I wish to say that whoever disagrees with the President’s handling of the situation is not a traitor,” said Papadopoulos.
“Am I all these things because I refuse to accept what Rauf Denktash was demanding in 2002? Is that the message that our negotiating team wants to send? That the dilemma before us is either a Denktash-type solution or partition?”
He acknowledged his father had at one time discussed the possibility of a rotating presidency, but pointed to the same interview where Tassos Papadopoulos lamented the rotating presidency as being an “unfortunate development” in reunification talks.
