EDON Bulletin - May 2015

Τ

The elections in the Turkish Cypriot community opened a new window of hope in the process for the Cyprus solution.

The election of Akıncı, his first statements and actions from the day of his election, entitle everyone to believe that this time things might be different.

The resumption of negotiations, after the withdrawal of Barbaros and the change in the Turkish Cypriot leadership, finds us facing a new page in Cyprus. Where it will lead only time will tell, but we have a duty to fight for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem. The Left, as always consistent, supported and supports the resumption of negotiations and hopes that this time it will have a successful conclusion.

The election of Akıncı in the leadership of the T/Cs is therefore a promising development. But it is not enough to reach a solution to the Cyprus problem. Akıncı’s diachronic positions should be confirmed at the negotiating table. Similarly Ankara should harmonize its public rhetoric for a Cyprus settlement with its attitude at the negotiation process, especially given its key role in efforts to find a solution.

The moments are critical and we must all be ready to assist in this effort. With seriousness and with full understanding of the problems and difficulties

that exist for achieving an agreed solution to the Cyprus problem.

We, therefore, call upon all the forces that want a solution, without populism, to contribute constructively to inform the people, and especially the youth.

Isolated voices that do not tolerate the common coexistence and are using as a pretext their opposition to bizonal bicommunal federation to cover their opposition to solution itself should be marginalized by everyone.

As CC EDON, we emphasize that in these critical times we will rise once again to the occasion. We support the process and through initiatives that we will develop, we aim to strengthen the common struggle of G/Cs and T/Cs for liberation from the occupation and in order to reunite Cyprus and our people.

1

W

ith the creation of financial interests in football there emerged phenomena of vested interests and corruption, leading to the constant arrival of red envelopes from FIFA, that indicate match-fixing and manipulation of results. Added to these the recurring serious refereeing mistakes, some peculiar refereeing decisions and the referee’s general attitude, is as if they are on a mission.

Since almost everyone identifies the problem, there should finally be some research aimed at the catharsis of the popular sport. The Ministry of Justice was given the opportunity, following the complaints made by referee Marios Panagis, to make a thorough investigation on vested interests in football.

Bear in mind, that Mr. Panagis denounced specific persons and circumstances, such as the denunciation of the President of DISY for backstage involvement in football. It is worth mentioning that the issue of the vested interests, match fixing and refereeing was subscribed by all parties, except the Democratic Rally, and has been discussed in the parliamentary Committee on Education.

2

Once again, we call upon the leadership of the CFA to provide an opportunity of catharsis through its resignation, the continuation of investigations at all levels and move rapidly by ensuring transparency in the functioning of the CFA and impartiality in refereeing.

The government must assume its responsibilities and must take institutional steps to ensure the proper functioning of the football championship, in the right framework and rules.

T

he student elections were completed, with the election procedures for the Board of 21 of the 22 Student Unions in Cyprus, Greece and Europe. The overall result reinforces the intervention of Progressive Student Movement PROODEFTIKI which manage to achieve a percentage of 39.91% (4980 votes) with an increase 2.7% compared to last year’s results.

In these difficult conditions for Cypriot society and especially for the youth, with the implementation of unpopular policies by the Government of DISY, the right to education is threatened as never before. The authoritarian effort of Government in order to cut the Student Grant and abolish the Student Welfare Package is a result of their real intentions. If this policy was implemented, it would lead many students to stop their studies and thousands of young people to be excluded from the higher education.

At the same time, with their vote they sent a message for the liberation and reunification of our country and of our people, based on a bizonal - bicommunal Federation. They sent the message that they do not accept the accession of Cyprus to the “Partnership for Peace” and NATO itself which is the main culprit for the double crime in our country.

The support of PROODEFTIKI by the students, is what will make our struggle stronger, more massive and more assertive.

The strengthening of PROODEFTIKI in almost all Student Unions is connected to the constant struggle for public and free education, for the right to education and for the right to work. It sends the message for new struggles and conquests by the students and for the students and for Cyprus.

The students never submit to the pressures the Government. Along with PROODEFTIKI they struggle to secure both the Student Grant and Package for this year. But our struggles do not end here. The strengthening of PROODEFTIKI in the student elections gives a clear message that we won’t accept the abolishment of our rights.

Students sent a message of resistance. They sent the message that organized struggle is the only way to resist and fight for a decent future.

The support of PROODEFTIKI by the students, is what will make our struggle stronger, more massive and more assertive

3

I

n their effort to find a new land that will provide safety and dignity to themselves and their families, thousands of people migrate massively and mainly from Africa across the Mediterranean in unsuitable boats. The recent dramatic events with hundreds of migrants dying in the Mediterranean, is the result of the European immigration policy. The FRONTEX mechanism which is based on the idea of border guard and police, led to the deaths of hundreds of immigrants.

Although the world was shocked by the watery grave of the Mediterranean, the leaders of both the European Union and the US, remain the real culprits in this cruel incident, and continue to contribute to the destabilization of the Middle East and Africa with NATOand American imperialism as the pioneer, to dominate in the name of supposed “freedom�.

In order to save all these people, the mechanism ofEU FRONTEX should immediately be abolished and converted froma police rescue mechanism to the rescue of the lives of immigrants.

Also, there should be a common asylum policy on the basis of solidarity among peoples suffering from conflict situations that force them to live without the necessary human rights. Additionally, it is necessary to regulate problems of temporary accommodation conditions of asylum seekers grounded in UN standards, with the financial assistance of the European Union. A series of additional measures will ease the pain and allow the rescue of all those immigrants.

A necessary component in solving this problem is the cultivation of an antiracist culture within the peoples of Europe together with the struggle for the overthrow of capitalism, so to realize a Europe of peoples and not a Europe of borders and exclusion of other nationalities. This effort still needs to be intensified since in recent years the territory of the entire European Union revived the fascist and racist climate from various organizations bringing back fond memories of the peoples of the old continent.