‘They are trying to undermine my dedication to the party’
FORMER AKEL deputy Doros Christodoulides yesterday fired accusations against the party and berated its decision to demote himself and three former deputies from the AKEL Central Committee, because they refused to deposit their once-off parliamentary payment to the AKEL Solidarity Fund.
Describing the decision as ‘unconstitutional’, Christodoulos then went on to accuse AKEL Permanent Secretary Demetris Christofias of actively attempting to undermine his politics, his dedication to the party and moral substance.
Christofias’ actions, he added, would not affect Christodoulides’ stance towards AKEL. At the same time he expressed his deep gratitude towards the members and thousands of his fellow workers who had “showered him with trust”.
“I express my gratitude towards the people of AKEL, because for three continuous parliamentary elections they elected me with their vote as a deputy of the honourable AKEL,” said the former deputy, in his single positive comment.
Christofias was the first to incur Christodoulides’ wrath. “Specific activities by AKEL’s permanent secretary – especially in the past two years – against my dedication to the party and moral substance, which underhandedly attempted to affect my faith and devotion to the principles and the ideology of AKEL, on the contrary have made me more stubborn to continue in the fight for socialism and the liberation of our country,” said Christodoulides.
Referring to yesterday’s official statement by AKEL parliamentary spokesman Nicos Katsourides – who condemned deputies Thasos Michaelides, Kyriacos Tyrimos, Christos Mavrokordatos and Christofides’ decision to retain their one-off payment and said that this was at the expense of other Akelites who had worked hard for the party with not much reward – Christodoulides said the spokesman had deliberately misinformed the public to turn opinion against him and the three other deputies.
“In other words, the parliamentary spokesman of AKEL has accused me to the Cypriot public for being so money-friendly and cruel towards my partners, who have such large needs, that I am not returning money that belongs to the party but I am retaining it, which means that I have embezzled it.”
This, he said, was “purposeful misinformation and a deliberate attempt to create a climate of resent against me from the thousands of members and friends of AKEL”.
“For the restoration of the truth,” Christofides said, “First, as a member of AKEL I respect the legally made decisions, which do not violate the party’s constitution. Meaning, the constitution and decisions made by the AKEL Central Committee.
“The central committee of AKEL, the permanent secretary of AKEL and all the other bodies of AKEL are not above the constitution and the committee decisions,” he said.
“In the specific case, the Central Committee’s decision is unconstitutional and therefore illegal. It conflicts with Chapter 26, paragraph 2 which mentions:
“The party members do not benefit, neither are they burdened financially from the withdrawal of public office.”
AKEL spokesman Andros Kyprianou expressed his sadness over Christodoulides’ comments and criticised him for choosing the road of confrontation.
He added that if it wasn’t for the party, no AKEL member would have succeeded as much as they had.
“I am saddened. This is not how the officers of AKEL should behave”, said the party’s spokesman.
As for Christodoulides’ comments about the permanent secretary of AKEL, Kyprianou pointed out that the decision to demote the four deputies was a common, unanimous decision made by the party’s Central Committee.
“The matter is in no way personal. It is not a matter that concerns only Demetris Christofias. These decisions were made unanimously by the cc.
none of the attending cc members disagreed with the decisions that were made.”
Kyprianou added that during the pre-parliamentary elections, AKEL candidates did not spend a penny towards personal campaigns.
Asked if it was possible for Christodoulides to be completely marked off the party, the spokesman said that this would be decided by the appropriate members of the party.
Former deputy Kyriacos Tyrimos’ statement:
“I WOULD like to express my sadness and bitterness towards the AKEL Central Committee’s to demote us as members.
“I state that I was born and bred in the working movement and will remain left-wing until the end.
“I believe in the principles and ideals of socialism, I honour the fights and sacrifices and generally the contribution of AKEL towards the political and social struggles of the Cypriot public and national working movement.
“I am, however, obliged to respond to the statements made by Nicos Katsourides so that the public and especially left-wing voters are aware of the reality.
“In 1996 I was promoted as a candidate deputy for AKEL. I was a public servant, working at Nicosia General Hospital. I was elected as a member of parliament.
“My rights and obligations resource from the party’s constitution where in Chapter 26 it is positively stated that a person that is elected in public office should not benefit but neither be burdened financially in comparison to the position he/she held beforehand.
“I respect the constitution and request an investigation to be carried out. I am stating that if I have benefited then I will return it back.”
According to Tyrimos, when he was re-elected in parliament in 2002, parliamentary spokesman at the time Andreas Christou informed him on the 1990 CC decision and asked him to sign a document agreeing to it. But he refused for the following reasons.
“Firstly, I accepted and was elected a deputy on the basis of the constitution.
Secondly, the one-time payment is part of our pension – if you accept it you receive a reduced pension”.
Tyrimos explained, “Along with my co-workers, I took the one-off payment because after our failure to be re-elected and until we receive our pensions, we have no other income. I am employed part-time and the others are unemployed at an age that you need to obtain a degree and help your children, pay off loans.
“That is why we opted to keep the one-time payment and a reduced pension, which we will start receiving after we reach 60.”
In a meeting with AKEL permanent secretary Demetris Christofias, Tyrimos said he had explained the difficulties he was experiencing and that he couldn’t deposit the payment.
“I told him: ‘I believe that in two years I will be in a position to contribute much more, but today I do not have that ability.’ He asked me to commit, but I said no.”
It is a fact that deputies who work under payment are paid less, but they have other benefits, said Tyrimos, such as cover for telephone bills, cars, social insurance and the Solidarity Fund, which they will receive once they retire. “Something we previous public servants never had.”
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