DISY Kyrenia deputy Christodoulos Taramountas yesterday announced his resignation from the party’s parliamentary team and his decision not to attend any more executive meetings.
In a news conference yesterday, Taramountas said the reason for his resignation was the party leadership’s insistence on backing a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum on the Annan plan, ignoring the grass root members, who with their ‘no’ vote sent a clear message to the party’s leadership on the policies they should follow in the future.
Taramountas said DISY leader Nicos Anastassiades had asked him also to resign as deputy, but that he had decided to continue to represent the people of Kyrenia, who had elected him to parliament.
“If I felt that I was in disharmony with the views of the DISY voters in Kyrenia, I would have also handed in my resignation as deputy. Today I call on Nicos Anastassiades to act in the same way,” he said.
“If Mr Anastassiades is in disharmony with the DISY voters I call on him to show the same sensitivity he has asked me to show,” he added.
Taramountas said the DISY leadership had caused the collapse of the party by ignoring the message put forward by its members.
“I cannot co-exist with their views and I have repeatedly asked the party leadership to listen to the voice of its grass root members, a voice that was clear even before the referendum took place.”
Taramountas made it clear that he would not be resigning from the party and that he would not be running for the European Parliament in the Euro elections next month, but added that he would continue to support the DISY people and that he would support candidates that were against the plan at the European elections on the June 13.
“Some people made sure that Cyprus’ image was marred abroad and that the Cypriot people would be put in the dock and they even marred the name of the President of the Republic,” he said.
“It’s not Tassos Papadopoulos, it’s the President of the Republic; it’s not a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote, it’s the people of Cyprus for whom they showed no respect,” he added.
Taramountas said his resignation had nothing to do with the expulsion of dissident deputies Prodromos Prodromou and Rikkos Erotocritou, but was not clear on whether he would be joining their European Democratic Rally anytime soon.
DISY deputy chairman Averoff Neophytou said Taramountas’ decision would be respected by the party.
“DISY has set a new course in which it will listen to the worries and the concerns of its members,” he said.
“At the same time we started a campaign to be able to deal with the EU and the international community in order to be able to deal with the day after the referendum.”
