Nicosia, Cyprus. Disy president Annita Demetriou announced on Wednesday that former Kyrenia MP Rita Superman has been appointed head of the party’s refugee policy portfolio.
Demetriou said Superman’s experience, knowledge and involvement in refugee issues made her suited to the role.
Appointment and policy role
Demetriou referred to Superman’s participation in the House refugee committee during the previous parliamentary term and thanked her for contributing to the party’s recent electoral result.
Superman lost her parliamentary seat to Demos Georgiades, the acting president of Paeek football club.
Support for displaced people
Demetriou said that, 52 years after the Turkish invasion in 1974, displaced people and those who lost property were entitled to state support through policies addressing their needs.
She said substantive proposals and interventions were needed to strengthen refugee policy and tackle problems faced by refugees until a solution to the Cyprus issue is reached.
Party initiatives
Superman thanked Demetriou for the confidence placed in her and said she would work to promote issues affecting the refugee community.
“The injustices are many,” she said, adding that displaced people continue to seek greater support from the state.
The appointment forms part of Disy’s efforts to assign officials to specific policy portfolios, effectively creating a shadow cabinet. The party has also submitted a proposal to establish a fund addressing loss of use of properties in areas outside government control in the occupied north.