Grivas supporters to protest proposed cut in funding

A rally in support of Grivas Dighenis will be held on Thursday in front of parliament, as a proposal has been put forward to cut any funding to organisations supporting the controversial Eoka leader.

In an announcement released on Monday night, the Grivas Foundation announced that they would be gathering to protest a proposal put forward by main opposition Akel, and the parties Diko, Edek, and Depa calling for any activities surrounding the leader to have their funds cut.

The proposal, put forward at the House finance committee session, will be voted on as part of proceedings for approval of the state budget.

According to the proposal, all funds related to activities, events, memorial services, erection of monuments, guided tours and publications about Grivas will be cut.

Some €376,236 had been earmarked in the state budget for the Grivas foundation.

In a statement, the foundation said that parliament should not concern itself with the funding.

Last month, a small village in Paphos and its wish to create what some view as a controversial museum marking Grivas sparked a political outcry just four months before the elections.

Main opposition Akel alerted that the House finance committee had unlocked the funding for a “Grivas Dighenis museum” in the village of Chlorakas, where the controversial Eoka leader Georgios Grivas secretly arrived on November 10, 1954, ahead of the launch of the struggle against British colonial rule on April 1, 1955.

According to Akel, not only was the funding for the museum, which had been given a less divisive different name, granted but it now had the blessing of Diko and Edek, parties which had originally opposed the funding.

“Unfortunately, this is the reality. It is disappointing,” said Akel MP Andros Kafkalias.

In June, the budget that was meant to be allocated sparked debate in parliament, as most MPs at the time, including Edek and Diko, said Disy was attempting to pass funding by giving the museum a different name and saying it was dedicated to the world wars as well as the Eoka struggle.