The STEK outpost of the National Guard in Deryneia and SEDIGEP Paralimni were visited last Tuesday by the President of the Democratic Alarm, accompanied by the Vice President, MPs, members of the Provincial Secretariat and party officials.
At the STEK outpost in Deryneia, Mr. Neophytou had the opportunity to talk to the National Guard and wish them a Merry Christmas. The President of the Democratic Alarm then made the following statement.
"As we said in our greeting to the national guards, we are in an area that is opposite us occupied Deryneia and occupied Famagusta. One is our vision and in this we will remain focused until we get rid of the occupation and the occupying troops and we will live in a reunited homeland that will offer the conditions for prosperity to all its inhabitants, to the whole people, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. It is here that we must and especially now that we are approaching the holidays and not even perceiving what the colleagues of the other parties perceive, we do not teach lessons to anyone, we just call everyone to a national unity because what comes out every day is a rivalry between us. As President of the ruling party, I show tolerance and I believe that this contributes to rebuilding a tight front in Cyprus. If this place is saved, it will be for all our people, Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, leftists, rightists and centrists. If with our mistakes and omissions this place will go from bad to worse, the cost will be paid by the current generations, regardless of their ideological approach, but the next generations will pay more. That is why let us focus on the sovereign who must unite us all, our struggle to get rid of the occupation ".
Afterwards, the President of DISY met with the producers and the Board of Directors of SEDIGEP Paralimni as part of his tour in the area. Mr. Neophytou was accompanied at the meeting by the Vice President of the party, Mayors, MPs, officials of the District Secretariat and officials of the Democratic Alarm. The meeting was preceded by a position of Mr. Neophytos for the farmers. Asked by journalists to comment on the fact that the producers, who talk about many problems plaguing their sector, and want some measures from the government in order to alleviate both financially and in terms of their livelihood, Mr. Neophytou replied:
"Indeed, the agricultural sector, despite its prospects, faces many difficulties. We are a remote island so both fertilizers and other medicines used by our farmers are more expensive than in other European countries. At the same time we are a small place, there is no scale to be able to reduce your costs and therefore the cost of production due to the fact that it is used by the Cypriot farmer is more expensive than their colleague in other areas. Second, the Cypriot farmer has a small area compared to larger areas in larger countries. So what we need to focus on with the support of the state is the quality of Cypriot products. The Cypriot potato, we are in Kokkinochoria, it is not because we are Cypriots, it is the best quality potato produced in Europe. We have many other products, our fruits are delicious, but we must find ways for the consumer to know the difference between the foreign, the imported from the local, the delicious and the quality. And if the state has to help, it is that the produced quantities of perishables, potatoes, fruits, can go to the consumer because the difference between the price paid by the producer and the price paid by the consumer is very large. "These are the issues we have talked about in the past, we have talked about today and we will try to support our farmers."