AKEL leader and acting head of state Demetris Christofias told Phileleftheros on Sunday that he had refused to become a “second Talat” and undermine the position of President Tassos Papadopoulos as suggested by foreign powers.
Christofias implicated British and American diplomats in an attempt to use AKEL to ‘get rid’ of Papadopoulos the same way they ‘orchestrated’ the replacement of Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash with Mehmet Ali Talat in the occupied north.
Speaking on the government partnership between Papadopoulos and left-wing AKEL, Christofias told the paper that as a matter of principle, the party would never attempt to undermine the position of the President of the Republic, whether in government or opposition.
“We could easily undermine President Papadopoulos, when foreigners sent messages across that they needed a second Talat on our side, in various ways, Christofias could have played that role,” said Christofias of himself.
The AKEL leader added that the party would never take on such a role out of principle. “We did not do it, and I made that clear to British and American officials who came here that, “if they, whoever that might be, are looking in Christofias, Secretary general of AKEL and House President, to be a new Talat who will overthrow Papadopoulos as they did over there with Mr Denktash, they can forget about it.”
Papadopoulos seemed unfazed by the comments, saying that Christofias’ views had come repeatedly in AKEL Central Committee meetings and mentioned by the party leader himself. Regarding the alleged diplomatic manoeuvres, he said:
“What goes on behind the scenes is not for public discussion. Those who make agreements, don’t make them publicly, and neither is it possible to produce evidence.”
AKEL spokesman Andros Kyprianou repeated the claim yesterday adding that foreigners trying to undermine Papadopoulos through AKEL was nothing new.
Regarding Christofias’ comment that he won’t become a ‘new Talat’, he said: “This issue was discussed in great detail in the past few months, in party bodies, and in the Central Committee. Both Christofias and party members came out saying that AKEL was not about to take on the role that certain people expected it to take.”
Kyprianou said there was no way AKEL would behave in such a way which would undermine the office of the president. He also confirmed that the pressure to do so had come from America and Britain.
Meanwhile, Christofias occupied the columns of Politis newspaper yesterday and on Sunday. The paper called on the acting head of state to back up alleged claims that Politis was a paid agent of America. The AKEL leader reportedly made the claim in party circles. The paper called on Christofias in Sunday’s edition to make public evidence to back his alleged statement or face being called a “common mudslinger and political figure without ethics or the most basic sense of manhood”.
Yesterday, the paper repeated its call for evidence under the heading “Day Two Mr Christofias”.
