The Pancyprian Peace Council protested against the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Freedom Square on Sunday (27/2), when Ukrainian protesters expressed their opposition with speeches.
In particular, a protester from Ukraine said: "Today we came here and I did not hear from the gentlemen there that Putin is to blame for something. What are these things? They repeat the Russian propaganda. My beloved Cyprus, which is like my second family, did not you experience the same thing in 1974? 1955, EOKA, did not you fight for freedom? Grigoris Afxentiou, Stylianos Lenas, Evagoras Pallikaridis, did not they die for freedom? […] Please, open your eyes a little ".
Another protester wonders why the Cypriot protesters do not hold Ukrainian flags but only Cypriot ones.
During the speeches he shouts "are you with us or not?". "Why did you call us?" Another protester asks, while the phrase "shame on you" is heard.
However, the Peace Council responded to the criticism with a post, in which it quotes the controversial excerpt from the speech.
See the post:
This is the speech of the President of PSE Tasos Kosteas at the anti-war condemnation of the war in Ukraine:
"Friends
We are gathered here again today to condemn the outbreak of a war that a week ago we wished was a bluff and a gimmick of the moment. Within a week all attempts at a diplomatic settlement collapsed and any hope of de-escalation vanished. Today we are living the nightmare of war in Europe again.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues the many bad precedents of foreign intervention around the world, and must stop immediately. At the same time, the United States and NATO must respect Russia's concerns as expressed in the reunification of Germany and the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
War is not the solution but a disaster for ordinary people and thousands of young child soldiers on whatever side they are on. The PSC unequivocally condemns the attacks and the use of weapons in residential areas, which cause casualties among the civilian population and destroy its vital living infrastructure.
The Cypriot people have a bitter experience with foreign interventions, coups, military incursions and asylum, and unequivocally condemn any violation of international law - wherever it comes from. As Cypriots, who have taken refuge in our own skin, we express our full support to the Ukrainian and Russian populations who are leaving their lands for fear of war. The daily tragedies that unfold live through the screens of the media are not much different from our modern history.
Wars, however, do not start in a day or a week. Their causes are chronic and the opportunities to avoid them are not few. It is in this period that it is judged whether irrationality will displace logic, nationalism will count more than cooperatives, and the power of arms will replace diplomacy. Russia's military operations in Ukraine have puzzled and awed Europe, but unfortunately they are not unprecedented. What happened all this time until yesterday?
In 1974, two or more NATO countries conspired to divide Cyprus. A military invasion, the effects of which we live to this day. From 1991 onwards, they were NATO countries that rallied for the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the accession of new states to their spheres of influence. A tragedy that ended with the barbaric bombing of Serbia for almost three months, the destruction of its infrastructure, and the further secession of its territorial integrity. The excuse was almost always the same: Human rights violations, restoration of democratic order. Fifteen years later, two more wars broke out during the Arab Spring in our neighboring countries, Libya and Syria. And these interventions began under the pretext of democratization.
We all want to live in conditions where we can criticize or even curse the president of our country without impact. But how many of us believe that wars are fought for this fundamental right?
It is this immorality, greed and arrogance of the West that has fueled the aggression of today's Russia. In the last 20 years, 14 new member states from Eastern Europe have joined NATO. And instead of bringing more peace and security, as were the official announcements, we are now seeing just the opposite effect - never before have tensions, military spending and war preparations been so intense, never in the recent past the specter of a catastrophic war. it was not so close to the heart of Europe.
The responsibility for avoiding war falls heavily on the large and militarily powerful countries. Regardless of what preceded it, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is an unacceptable development that can not leave us indifferent. It is a blatant violation of international law, state sovereignty and the territorial integrity of a neighboring state. This war will not only affect the peoples of the countries involved. It will have serious repercussions throughout Europe.
World peace can be ensured through mutual respect, demilitarization and disarmament. We need a new security system without exclusions, boycotts and embargoes. We need new strong institutions but also the strengthening of existing ones such as the UN. In this difficult period of fake and superficial news, we need to strengthen social ties
Friends
The peace movement has no color, language or religion. In this difficult time, peace movements around the world are taking a neutral step towards social and political action. We call on you to walk together in this struggle now that peace is being tested. We unite our voice and strength with the peace movements in Europe, in our neighborhood and beyond. We say a strong one
NO TO WAR YES TO PEACE ".