AKEL C.C. Press Office, 17th March 2017, Nicosia
The upcoming UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination finds humanity in the midst of a global upsurge of racism and rise of neo-fascist forces.
More specifically in Europe, a continuous exacerbation of racism and intolerance is being observed. Hatred, xenophobia, Islamophobia, and anti-Semitism are being cultivated. In this course the forces of the extreme right and neo-fascism are continuously growing stronger in Europe and elsewhere.
No matter how much they pretend to be anti-systemic forces, the ultra-right and neo-fascism, in actual fact, complement the official EU policy which wants foreign workers as a cheap labour force. The EU’s policy is violating International Law on asylum, constructing fences and walls, unleashing NATO and Frontex patrols, sealing passages and closing borders, attacking women and children with batons and teargas so as to drive off refugees escaping from the horror of war.
Fortunately, there are millions of people in Europe who are confronting those disseminating or tolerating racism and who refuse to distinguish people based colour, origin or religion; millions of people who are standing in solidarity and helping voluntarily and unselfishly those seeking hope for a better life.
AKEL, with all its strength and using every podium and forum, is fighting against racism, xenophobia, racial discrimination and neo-fascism. It is struggling for equal labour, insurance and social rights, regardless of race, colour, language and religion. AKEL is asserting equal access to free public education, health and welfare for all migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. It is calling for dignified and humane accommodation for refugees, with special care for unaccompanied minors and other vulnerable groups. It is demanding greater support for the Authority against Racism and Discrimination, the strengthening of anti-racist education programs in schools and the enforcement of legislation for the resolute combating of racist speech and behaviour in the public domain.
AKEL calls for social resistance to racism in all its forms. It addresses an appeal for mass participation in the anti-racist and anti-fascist demonstration co-organized by numerous other agencies on Saturday 18th March in Nicosia (meeting at 11:00 a.m. outside the Nicosia Municipal Town Hall courtyard).
