AKEL MP Christos Christofides has launched an attack against the Council of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Cyprus, revisiting the issue of the alleged persecution of a university professor for political beliefs, following the university’s response to his allegations.
Christofides points out that the Council’s response does not address “why the Senate of the University of Cyprus emphatically rejected the, evidently unfounded, request by the majority of the Faculty to dismiss a specific professor.”
“In the entire statement by the majority of the Council of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Cyprus, which supposedly responds to my allegations of political persecution of a University of Cyprus professor, there is no answer to the most simple and crucial question: why did the Senate of the University of Cyprus emphatically reject the, obviously unfounded, request by the majority of the Faculty to dismiss a specific professor,” he notes.
He further adds, “It does not respond to why this is the umpteenth time that this individual (who had the audacity to run as a candidate for parliament with AKEL and must now pay the price) is referred for dismissal, and in one way or another, this request is rejected.”
Christofides then asks, “Is it perhaps because it is evident that there is an ulterior motive behind this request? And what exactly does this reality constitute if not political persecution? We should remember the case of Professor Papaleontiou who was also expelled from the Faculty of Philosophy and was reinstated after being vindicated by the justice system, with the University paying tens of thousands of euros in compensation.”
“Therefore, no additional evidence needs to be submitted to the university authorities because the Senate itself responded to the unfounded request of the majority of the Faculty of Philosophy. It is time, therefore, for the motives behind this unfounded scheme to be made known. Not to mention, none of those who orchestrated, once again, unacceptable decisions that expose the Faculty itself, have had the courage to show the corresponding integrity and take responsibility,” Christofides says.
In response to the university’s references, he notes that “the authors of the statement correctly point out that I have a ten-year presence and three degrees from the University of Cyprus. I also informed them that I have specialised in the Faculty of Philosophy in the Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, I was a member of the Senate for years, and indeed I am constantly by the University’s side as they point out.”
He suggests that “if they wanted to be precise, they would say that perhaps I have consistently supported the University of Cyprus as few of my colleagues have, and AKEL has consistently supported the University of Cyprus like no other party. This involvement over the years translates into knowledge about people and situations. About mentalities and obsessions that expose the Faculty and the University. About extremes that cannot be tolerated in spaces of academic freedom. These things are more or less an open secret in the academic community.”
“In the Faculty of Philosophy, I was fortunate to meet and befriend some of the leading philologists in the Greek world—other great academics who have adorned and continue to adorn the Faculty and the University. A few narrow-minded and obsessive individuals should not be allowed to tarnish the Faculty and the University. We cannot, however, turn a blind eye to such unhealthy phenomena,” he concludes.
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