“I am in the Mouttallou neighborhood, and right behind me is Kemal Atatürk Street.”
This is Nina Garaklidou, the Democratic Alarm municipal councilor in Paphos, who submitted the proposal to rename this particular street.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
A change that was ratified following a stormy City Council meeting last night, with Kemal Atatürk Street being renamed “Memory and Hope” Street.
“An important moment, an important decision, which demonstrates that significant and correct steps are being taken toward moral vindication and recognition.”
Nina Garaklidou
A decision that was ultimately made, following intense debates among City Council members, both in the days leading up to it—with social media turning into a battleground—and last night.
READ ALSO: Kemal Atatürk Street in Mouttalo is changing its name—what will it be called?
Behind the Scenes of the Session
During the session, AKEL and DIKO abstained.
AKEL’s municipal councilors pointed out that Muttalos is a Turkish Cypriot neighborhood, but they primarily argued that this specific action reflects divisive practices rather than contributing to the reunification of the country.
“At a time when the UN Secretary-General is making efforts to resume negotiations and build trust, some choose to raise an issue that fuels confrontation rather than reconciliation.”
AKEL
Pointing out that it is contradictory to abolish the name at a time when President Christodoulides has submitted a proposal as a measure to have the names of our occupied villages also written in Greek.
The decision to abstain was based on yet another argument, with which DIKO agreed.
Namely, that although an opinion had been requested from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs months ago regarding a purely political issue… it never arrived.
“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.”
AKEL
At the same time, it criticized DISY, noting that while the party claims to support rapprochement and the BIC solution, it was the party that tabled the issue and voted in favor of it, alongside ELAM.
According to Alpha News, during the session, some proposed an alternative solution, such as renaming the street—again in Turkish. The proposal was voted down, sparking a storm of controversy.
Watch Giorgos Georgiadis’s report:
