Famagusta party backs independent Achilleas Demetriades for president

The Famagusta For Cyprus movement on Thursday publicly threw its support behind the independent presidential candidacy of Achilleas Demetriades.

According to Politis, the party’s decision to support the independent candidate and human rights lawyer for the 2023 presidency was taken unanimously two weeks ago at a meeting of its central committee.

This was followed by a meeting by a party delegation with the independent candidate where some concerns and some suggestions were raised, which Demetriades is expected to adopt in his election programme before he announces his final positions in detail after the summer.

Speaking after the meeting, Demetriades said he was honoured to be joining with Famagusta For Cyprus, stressing that “Varosha is for him the beacon of the solution, because if it is extinguished, Cyprus will fall on the rocks of partition,” Demetriades said.

Famagusta For Cyprus president Pieros Karoullas said that after examining the proposals, the positions and the track record of the presidential candidates, we decided that the most suitable choice for a modern European and green Cyprus from Akamas to Rizokarpaso is that of Achilleas Demetriades”.

He also pointed out that Demetriades has proven that he is a very capable and deserving individual through his work in the defence of human rights.

Answering questions from journalists, Demetriades criticised the handling of the Cyprus problem by the current president Nicos Anastasiades and his colleagues, which is currently facing deadlock due to Turkey’s intransigence and, as he stressed, “and our own inaction for five years”.

He also put forward his positions to unlock the effort to resolve the Cyprus problem, saying that Cyprus must first restore its credibility in the UN and the European Union.

Demetriades said a new leadership is needed to explain to Europe the mistakes made – the golden passport practices, the Pandora Papers – and to align with European interests because under the umbrella of Europe, he said, “we will avoid the two-state mire.”

Elaborating on his positions, Demetriades said that Cyprus must exploit the key issue of its natural gas and co-construct the new Euro-Turkish relationship, to include the resolution of the Cyprus problem, as well as other issues such as migration.

In response to a question regarding natural gas and a proposal by Mavroyiannis to supply natural gas to Turkey before the resolution of the Cyprus problem, Demetriades criticised Anastasiades handling of the issue, with the result that – today, after five years of inaction, there is no basis for talks.

“Without a basis for negotiations, we will tell them come and get gas?” Demetriades pondered.

He said Cyprus had yet to become an energy player and remained only a spectator, referring in particular to Wednesday’s agreement in Cairo between the European Union, Egypt and Israel. “Where is Cyprus?” he said.