The Paphos City Council passed a resolution yesterday, during its meeting, to rename Kemal Atatürk Street in the Muttalos neighborhood.
Following a vote, the City Council decided by a majority to rename the street “Memory and Hope.”
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The majority of the City Council, as well as the mayor of Paphos, Angelos Onisiforou, while the municipal groups of DIKO and AKEL abstained.
Furthermore, in a statement, Paphos Mayor Angelos Onisiforou noted that the choice of the name “Memory and Hope” is not merely a name change, but a choice imbued with symbolism and responsibility.
As he noted, “Memory” refers to respect for history and the preservation of the memory of the hardships, the hardships, and the people who lived before today’s generations, while emphasizing that memory must not turn into hatred.
“Hope,” according to Mr. Onisiforos, symbolizes the need for history not to hold society captive to the past, but to serve as a lesson for creating a better future.
The mayor emphasized that the new name aims to convey a message of peace, reconciliation, respect, and peaceful coexistence.
At the same time, he made it clear that the goal is not to reopen old wounds or create new political and social divisions, nor to replace one division with another.
“We choose to keep the memory alive and hope alive,” he said.
According to Mr. Onisiforos, the true way to honor those who came before us is not by perpetuating enmity, but by learning about history, drawing lessons from it, and creating a place where future generations can live in safety, dignity, and mutual respect.
In closing, the mayor placed special emphasis on the symbolism of the two words in the new name, noting: “‘Memory’ reminds us of where we come from. ‘Hope’ shows us where we want to go.”
As he noted, between memory and hope lies society’s responsibility “not to forget, but also not to allow the past to rob us of our future.”
AKEL Opposes the Decision
The Paphos City Council approved the renaming of Kemal Atatürk Street in Mouttalo, with AKEL Paphos expressing its disagreement with the majority’s decision.
The party describes it as a “political choice that cannot be separated from the current context of the Cyprus issue.” At a time when the UN Secretary-General is making efforts to resume negotiations and build trust between the two communities, some are choosing to raise an issue that fuels confrontation rather than reconciliation.”
As the party emphasizes, this is not the message Cyprus needs today. The government cannot hide.
“The Municipality of Paphos officially requested the position of the government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. No response was received. The government chose to hide. At the same time, the President of the Republic is promoting new confidence-building measures, including a proposal to list the names of towns and villages in the occupied areas in Greek.”
“The government cannot speak internationally about confidence-building while domestically choosing to remain silent when issues arise that affect the climate between the two communities,” adds AKEL Paphos, noting that “the contradiction is obvious.”
“At the same time, DISY declares that it supports rapprochement and the solution of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation. In Paphos, however, it was its municipal council group that introduced the motion to rename Mouttalo and voted in favor of it, along with ELAM, the mayor, and other municipal councilors.”
“Political positions are judged by actions, not just by declarations,” the party adds, while arguing that DISY must explain how this specific decision serves the reconciliation and the creation of a climate of trust that it claims to seek.
“We do not dispute society’s right to honor the memory of the past and discuss its history. However, we do question political choices that, at this particular juncture, could deepen mistrust and provide ammunition to those who oppose reunification. For us, the answer to occupation and division is not more division. It is the solution. We will not settle for a Cyprus of two separate realities.”
While emphasizing that he wants negotiations to resume, a substantive rapprochement between the two communities, and a solution based on a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality that will reunite our homeland and our people.
“This must be the path for Paphos. This is the path for Cyprus,” he concludes.
