Opposition slams CyBC and Archbishop for politcally-charged Christmas message

Opposition Akel hit out at Archbishop Georgios and the state broadcaster on Tuesday, after the latter broadcast the former’s speech on Christmas instead of the president’s message.

Akel said that the archbishop gave politically-charge speech on the Cyprus issue and said “not a word” about the war in Palestine, and the “slaughter of civilians and children”.

“The message of Christmas, by definition ecumenical and universal, is consistent with messages of peace, love and solidarity, rather than with political positions that again raise questions as to whether the Church realised that any ethnarchic and political role it may have played was closed many decades ago,” Akel said.

The party also criticised state broadcaster CyBC for broadcasting the prelate’s speech, something done only for the president of the country.

“We wonder in which other European country, the state broadcaster transmits messages from religious leaders,” they questioned.

In his Christmas message, the archbishop had said people that go to the north for anything besides prayer at churches there are “trivialising human dignity”.

Using the birth of Jesus Christ to make his political statement, the church’s prelate argued that the incarnation of God is necessary to wake Greek Cypriots from a “national lethargy”.

“Christ with his teaching gives the man of Cyprus, today, to understand that he debases human dignity when he enters and exits the occupied territories under the conqueror’s dictatorial restrictions, personal humiliations, and national humiliation,” he said.

The archbishop criticised people visiting casinos in the north, staying in hotels, or using Tymbou airport.