In a new statement, AKEL has renewed its criticism of DISY, regarding the remarks made at Nicos Anastasiades’ press conference as well as the findings of the “Mafia State” investigation.

As the left-wing party states in its announcement, the DISY leadership is acting as Anastasiades’ lawyer and defender, citing statements by Efthymios Diplaros and Fotini Tsiridou.

Read also: “AKEL has shown disrespect for the findings”: Harsh response from DISY regarding “Mafia State”

At the same time, it emphasizes that the “Mafia State” is a battle waged by the Cypriot people against a corrupt elite.

The statement reads as follows:

The Democratic Rally could no longer bear to hide and pretend. It was officially confirmed today that the DISY leadership will continue to play the dismal role of Anastasiades’ lawyer and defender. The Deputy President of DISY, Efthymios Diplaros, in a statement to OMEGA, declared that Nikos Anastasiades’ responses are convincing and that the Authority’s findings are unsubstantiated allegations. With similar seriousness, DISY Vice President Fotini Tsiridou, speaking on RIK, went so far as to claim that AKEL is outside the democratic spectrum because it is demanding a purge and the resignation of the General Secretary and Deputy General Secretary.

In any case, AKEL is making it clear to all sides that this matter is not a battle between parties, nor is it a confrontation between N. Anastasiades and his former colleague, M. Drousiotis. It is a battle of society against the Anastasiades system—that is, the web of collusion and cover-ups. It is a clash between the rule of law we want for our country and the “mafia-state” that has been in place since the last decade. It is a battle waged by the entire Cypriot people against a corrupt elite that is bleeding the country dry.