Communist Cyprus ? - Political Fever

Comrade Joe · #1 (**permalink**) 03-10-2008, 06:15 PM

Cyprus elected a communist President who apparently supports a watered down form of Leninism. So what lies ahead for Cyprus ? Can he really push through communist policies whilst being in the EU ?

What is promising is he has a unique opportunity to unite the island for the first time since the coup in 1974. And what is surprising is Gordon Brown even spoke of meeting with him to discuss this prospect.

Quote:

A Russian-educated communist who once described the disintegration of the Soviet Union as "a crime against humanity" became the sixth president of Cyprus last night in an election seen as key to the reunification of the war-divided island.

Supporters waving red flags and Che Guevara banners poured on to the streets after Demetris Christofias, 61, clinched 53.4% of the vote in an unprecedented victory for the island's communist Akel party. By beating the conservative former foreign minister Ioannis Kasoulides, who polled 46.6% of the vote, he becomes Cyprus's first communist leader.

The result opens a new chapter in Cypriot politics with a younger generation of politician taking over the reins of government in a country that has remained partitioned since a coup aimed at uniting it with Greece prompted Turkey to invade in 1974. For the first time in the post-invasion era, Greek and Turkish communities will both be headed by leaders who are willing to negotiate - a prospect that has raised hopes of a settlement being reached........

Christofias stands out among Greek Cypriot politicians for enjoying good relations with Turkish Cypriots including Mehmet Ali Talat, the president of the self-declared Turkish republic in the north. Without resolution of the Cyprus problem, Turkey - which has colonised the breakaway state with Anatolian settlers and maintains up to 40,000 troops there - has been told it will be unable to join the EU, a threat that has further raised the pressure.

The election of Christofias will cause concern in the EU and particularly in the UK, Cyprus's former colonial overlord. Although Christofias is a pragmatist keen to wield his pro-European credentials, he advocates a diluted form of Marxist-Leninism, demilitarisation of the entire island and is vehemently against the presence of its British sovereign military bases which he has called a "colonial bloodstain".

Some Cypriots voiced fears last night that the country's high standard of living would be endangered by the economic policies of a party that openly admires Cuba.

Cyprus elects its first communist president | World news | The Guardian

leviathon435 · #2 (**permalink**) 03-10-2008, 06:51 PM

That sounds promising. In fact I might move.

miriya · #3 (**permalink**) 03-10-2008, 07:05 PM

I am staying until they are done, I am not as nuts as people claim I am

Comrade Joe · #4 (**permalink**) 03-10-2008, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leviathon435

That sounds promising. In fact I might move.

It definately does, but i am just confised as to how you can be in the EU and be communist. What annoys me though is the fact our mainstream media like the BBC and ITN, never once mentioned the fact he was communist, it is similar to the talk about the "Russian opposition", when they imply it is some sort of Liberal movement, when infact by far the biggest opposition is the communists who yearn for the return of the Soviet Union.

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