Nicosia, Cyprus. Disy leader Annita Demetriou on Wednesday marked the party’s 50th anniversary, paying tribute to its founding principles, thanking supporters for its recent parliamentary election result and declaring that the centre-right party was entering a new chapter. Speaking at a commemorative event at the old GSP square in Nicosia, she said the anniversary belonged first and foremost to those who founded the party in 1976.
Tribute to founders
Demetriou said Disy stood “with pride, emotion and deep gratitude” as it reflected on its 50-year journey. She described party founder and former Cyprus president Glafcos Clerides as having left behind not merely a political party, but a political ethos and a way of thinking that placed the country above personal ambition and party interests.
New chapter for the party
“Tonight we do not close a chapter. We open the next one,” Demetriou said. She added that Disy now faced a renewed mission to keep Cyprus on a path of stability, represent those who believe in reason and moderation, and unite those who refuse to accept pessimism and division.
Reference to founding declaration
Demetriou repeatedly referred to the party’s founding declaration, saying Disy had been created in the aftermath of the 1974 Turkish invasion, when Cyprus was still grappling with occupation, displacement, division and economic devastation.
“In that environment, Glafcos Clerides and the founders of Disy took a historic decision, to create a major democratic, patriotic and liberal political movement that would be ahead of its time,” she said.
Cyprus problem and party principles
Demetriou quoted Clerides’ political principle on the Cyprus problem, “Tin patrida ouk elatto paradoso” (“I shall not hand over a diminished homeland”), saying it remained a guiding principle for the party today.
Referring again to Disy’s founding declaration, she said the party remained committed to being “a party of the people and for the people”, rejecting personal political vehicles and closed systems of power.
Commitment to democracy
“No individual, no circumstance and no personal ambition can be placed above the party and above the homeland,” Demetriou said.
She also stressed the party’s commitment to democracy and parliamentarianism, saying Disy rejected “all forms of totalitarianism and oppression” and condemned violence in all its forms.
