The plenary session of the House of Representatives approved by 24 votes in favour and 12 against a law for harmonization with a European directive on combating terrorism. At the same time, AKEL MPs who voted against the law spoke of the dangers that the law entails regarding the restriction of fundamental rights.
The adopted law amends the Law on Combating Terrorism and Protection of Victims, in order to bring the Republic of Cyprus into full compliance with the European Union act entitled "Directive (EU) 2017/541 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 on combating terrorism and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA and amending Council Decision 2005/671/JHA".
For the incorrect transposition of the directive, the Republic of Cyprus received a warning letter, dated 15 March 2021, from the European Commission.
In his statement in plenary, AKEL MP Andreas Pasiourtides said that the most effective way to restrict human rights and individual freedoms is to dub something as terrorism or someone as a terrorist. AKEL, he said, will vote against the bill because not only does it not correct some misconceptions, but on the contrary it comes to restrict some freedoms even more. The party, he noted, does not justify any act of terrorism, but there is a question of who is classified as a terrorist organisation or a terrorist. Just because, he said, a particular group of states decides to label an organisation as terrorist, for example Palestinians or Kurds, does not mean that the rest of the world has to accept it.
Speaker Anita Demetriou commented that the view of Mr. Pasiourtidis' view is respected although she herself finds it difficult to understand, which provoked a reaction from AKEL Secretary General Stephanos Stefanos Stefanou, who told her that they were expressing a position and her comment was unnecessary. She said that the party is of course against terrorism, but has distrust of those who determine what is terrorism and who is on the terrorism lists. She said that there is no reason to make disparaging comments even if one disagrees.
Ms Demetriou said that she expressed her own personal opinion and told Mr Stefanou that it would have been good if they had had the same sensitivity when Mr Kyprianou was presiding over the Plenary and making comments. At the same time, she said that perhaps she should not have expressed her own opinion loudly.
DISY MP Nikos Tornaritis said that this is a very formal act and has absolutely nothing to do with the harmonising legislation for which Cyprus has received a warning letter from the EU, with what AKEL is referring to. AKEL, he added, does not understand that from the second Cyprus became a full member of the EU it has both rights and specific obligations and European policies "we do not have the right to put them in the dustbin, citing differences of sorts fears that we had in the past, come to find us in the present and will follow us in the future".
In his second speech, Pasiourides said the existing law removes the reference to the lists of terrorist organisations, so that anyone can label someone a terrorist organisation and they can download things from the internet and exercise certain powers over them. He added that states have the right to update European directives, but they do not have the right to touch the minimum level of protection. He added that the fairy tale that whenever a directive comes along we have to pass it as such and make it law should be stopped because this is not European law, nor are Cyprus' obligations.
Source: CNA
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