#EDONews (Bulletin - October 2017)

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ood news for the island’s bankers! During Parliament plenary, DISY(right wing party) hand-inhand with DIKO(centre-right party), have voted for a tax exception of 20 millions per year for Banks, that would last for the next four years. In other words, committed to everything set out by the Association of Cyprus Banks and plutocracy, they are holding back millions from the state’s funds and the worker’s pockets. A few days later, they had a field day again, when during the Committee of Finances the two parties voted again in favor of the disbursion of funds for Privatizations.

The cooperation of these two parties does not surprise us anymore. It took place numerous times during the last five years. Various anti-social Bills have been voted in Parliament with their help, serving the private interests of the few to the detriment of many.

Either directly, using the votes of the MPs of the “co ruling” DIKO, or indirectly silently using their abstention.

Various anti-social Bills have been voted in Parliament with their help, serving the private interests of the few to the detriment of many

In other news, Nicolas Papadopoulos’s (President of DIKO) election campaign motto of bringing “change” raises reasonable questions. What is the change they have been talking about at Nicolas Papadopoulos’s campaign team? We all know that you cannot turn a circle into a square, and changing your wardrobe does not change you. From Nicos Anastasiades the current president to… Nicolas Papadopoulos the other candidate for the January s Elections, we can hardly see a substantial change for the youth of the island, nor for the society in general. The best proof for this is their cooperation over the years. The only option in the upcoming Presidential Elections is Stavros Malas. Only if Malas wins these elections we will manage to obtain a true progressive change.

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he Archbishop of Cyprus Chrysostom, has managed to make the people of Cyprus to doubt their ears yet another time.

It seems that the “purpose justifies the means” for Anastasiades government, since once again we have witnessed a favorable treatment in a case that would normally be impossible to receive special handling. More specifically, back in 2014 a land plot in Geroskipou village, a property of the Church of Cyprus about to be used for the construction of a multi-floor five-star hotel, had been classified as an “archaeological site”. Since then archaeological excavations had started in site, while the Archbishwhen private op had been publicly threatening during ininterests terviews that he would enter the destroy everything with scene, everything else the force of a tractor, if falls to the background the excavations continfor Anastasiades ue!

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The public threats seem to have brought results, since by order of the Council of Ministers, the land plot (no. 233, Sheet/Plan 51/27E1, 51/27E2) has now been declassified, meaning that our cultural heritage is being sacrificed for the sake of plutocracy’s profits.

As expected the order has raised a wave of opposition, while the President Anastasiades is trying to explain what cannot be explained.

As EDON we strongly condemn in any way Anastasiades government ‘s unprecedented order to declassify the land plot in Geroskipou, since the Department of Antiques has already started archaeological excavations in site and has brought to the surface valuable antiques like ceramics.

What is the meaning of this act by Anastasiades government and the Archbishop of Cyprus? The answer is that when private interests enter the scene, everything else falls to the background, less so in the case of antiques, the identity of our culture.

We feel the need to clarify to Anastasiades government that we do not accept any cuts regarding the protection of our antiques and that when culture is being afflicted, consequently democracy is being afflicted.

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he student movement at the University of Cyprus (the 1 of the 2 public universities of Cyprus) it is a fact that cannot fail to react and to demand continuously, as very often another imaginative idea will come to the minds of the University’s authorities. Recently came to our attention the new proposal for the modification of the the election process of the University’s authorities into the election of the Dean by a small group of people. The current process takes into account the Academic and Administrative Staff, as well as the student representatives, which vote for the next Dean and Vice Deans. From a democratic process, they want to turn it into a “wise” choice of few and “fine” people.

The new proposal promotes the abolition of any election process, i.e. the right to vote by students and the Academic and Administrative Staff. More specifically, the election process is proposed to be replaced by a committee consisting of former Deans of the University of Cyprus, Nobel Prize-winning Academicians and by Deans of Universities in foreign countries. This small committee will choose the Dean and the Vice Deans of the University of Cyprus and then those who will be selected, along with the Committee, will choose the Quaestors of the Faculties.

From a democratic process, they want to turn it into a “wise” choice of few and “fine”

As EDON we express our complete disagreement and we warn that we will never consent to the implementation of such a process. We appeal to all, academics and students, as we, together, defend democracy and our rights at the public University of Cyprus.

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n September 24th the parliamentary elections took place in Germany. Once more, the majority of the people gave the order to Angela Merkel and her coalition to govern for another four years. At the heart of the election results was the entrance of the far-right party (AfD) to the Bundestag with 12.6%, a percentage corresponding to 94 seats in Parliament. Historically, the presence of a far-right party in the German Parliament dates back to 1961.

The far-right party, whose main agenda is the immigration problem that plagues the country, using Merkel’s unpopular policy managed to establish itself in a portion of popular strata and to enter with high representation in the Parliament. The unpopular policies pursued in the European Union lead to the working people’s poverty and the shrinking of the welfare state. The outcome of the German elections is yet another example of the era we live, as in other major European countries racism and xenophobia lead the people into neo-fascist models, perceptions and parties.

What is happening in the rest of Europe is not strange to us in Cyprus, as the entrance of a neo-fascist party to the Cypriot Parliament took place one and a half year ago. EDON and our party AKEL is the only force that can oppose and eliminate the system that generates and regenerates fascism. For a state with social justice, solidarity and peace a strong People’s Movement is needed to become a mound for racism and xenophobia.

The unpopular policies pursued in the European Union lead to the working people’s poverty and the shrinking of the welfare state.