Following an arduous effort of many
months, we reached an agreement on the content of the Joint Statement, which
will allow the resumption of a substantive dialogue for the attainment of a
solution that will relieve our homeland from the occupation, will lead to
reunification and also to the safeguarding of human rights and basic freedoms
of all the legitimate citizens of Cyprus.
I follow with patience and calmness but
also with special respect, the views and positions expressed by political
leaders and other personalities about the content of the Joint Statement.
Nevertheless, I am obliged to point out
that I consider totally baseless and groundless but also dangerously arbitrary,
the allegations that are put forward in order to alter the content of the joint
statement. I feel the need to stress with emphasis that, in spite of whatever
is being put forward, I have not deviated even in the slightest from my
pre-election commitments toward the Democratic Party (DIKO) or to the people of
Cyprus at large. During a press conference that I will hold in the coming days,
I will make a detailed analysis of the actual facts and all that is achieved
through the Joint Statement, in order to inform the people fully.
I purposely avoid any confrontation
because my goal remains to have consensus and to move forward together, to the
greatest degree possible, with all the political forces. What I seek, is
the joint handling of the great challenges and difficulties that we are asked
to address with the commencement of the new round of negotiations. We don’t
agree on everything, but neither do we disagree on everything. Let us at least
cooperate on everything that unites us; in order to fight together for the
achievement of a viable solution that will safeguard a modern European state
for all the citizens of our country.
I take the opportunity to express my
warmest thanks both to the Prime Minister and the Government of Greece, for the
full support they offered me. I also express my great satisfaction for the
responsible stance by the two major political parties, DISY and AKEL, but also
for the responsible attitude shown by other political forces, and in particular
the wider society.
The Joint Statement is only the beginning.
Hard work and an arduous effort are waiting for us. In the next time period,
the patriotic stature of all of us will be assessed: political leadership,
mass media, and civil society. Everybody has something to contribute in this
effort; as long as we engage in discussions with arguments based on real facts
and with calmness and political ethos, as it is appropriate for a mature
society. As the Prime Minister of Greece also pointed out, we must not allow
ourselves to experience the divisive discord of the past.
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