House President calls on international community to fight injustice

Cyprus House President Demetris Christofias underlined Tuesday the urgent need for the international community to rise above narrow self-interests and arm itself with the necessary political will to fight effectively against political, economic and social injustices and inequalities, against poverty, hunger and unemployment.
Addressing the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association mid-year Executive Committee meeting in Limassol, Christofias said the extremely sensitive area of the Mediterranean acquires particular significance.
“The Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East as a whole is a classic case of the arrogant violation of international law, of choosing the option of unilateral military intervention outside the UN Charter and decisions of the Security Council, the use of double standards and the rewarding of the mighty, through tolerance on the part of the international community,” he noted.
Christofias said that all the member-countries of the CPA condemn terrorism as a means for redressing injustice and as an alternative to exercising politics, just as we condemn state terrorism when exercised against entire peoples and populations
Referring to the Cyprus question, he said “we remain committed to a settlement of bicommunal, bizonal federation, in accordance with international and European law and the pertinent UN resolutions.”
«Τhis is why we very much regret the decision of the Turkish side to retract from the Agreement of 8th July 2006, reached under the auspices of the United Nations, which provided for the setting up of technical committees and working groups, whose task would be to prepare the ground for the resumption of a meaningful dialogue, leading to an agreed overall settlement,» he said.
Christofias said that parliamentary expertise exchanged between CPA members has proved invaluable throughout the years, from debating at the Annual Conferences to election observation and Youth Parliaments, to mention a few. “Issues of common interest in today’s globalised world are thoroughly discussed and analysed in every CPA meeting, depending on the agenda. Moreover, such meetings provide the opportunity for distinguished parliamentarians to meet and this makes our gatherings even more challenging,” he said.
He warmly congratulated the CPA “on the important work it is performing, which is a true testament to the broad scope of parliamentarianism and the potential of those who serve in it. The CPA, through its many conferences, seminars and other activities, puts itself constantly to the test, to achieve new goals and make further progress in the promotion of parliamentary democracy and its principles and values throughout its member countries.”
In his address, chairman of the CPA Hashim Abdul Halim, conveyed the support of the Association to the people of Cyprus, the House of Representatives and the government in the search for a solution to the Cyprus problem which will comply with the democratic principles of the Commonwealth and its member states.
He also wished every success to the meetings of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot political parties, noting that the Executive Committee of the CPA supports every effort by the House of Representatives for the reunification and peaceful co-existence of the people of Cyprus.