By Nick Stamatakis
It was a relatively rare happy and joyous time at Stathakion last night when the
Parade Committee gathered again to offer the Community an initial accounting of the Parade and offer thanks to all who have participated in the strenuous effort to organize a parade in the middle of so many difficulties in the Federation. You can read this initial accounting and the official thanks by linking here (PARADE COMMITTEE ACCOUNTING AND THANKS).
Yes, indeed, congratulations are in order for all the members and participants of the Parade Committee! They achieved a challenging goal, and it seems that in the end, the Federation will have a surplus/profit of anywhere between $18,000 and $40,000! This is a remarkable achievement!…
As usual, Philip Christopher was at the center of attention and received well-deserved congratulations from all sides. He had to perform a balancing act between the opposing sides, the various participants, and the Archdiocese, and has done an excellent job. I spoke to many of the participants last night, and I can report that all of them (with 1-2 exceptions) wished that Philip could stay a few more months to lead the Federation to the elections and help pass the torch to a younger generation. We hope that even those who still today are holding back and delaying the process of the elections will soon realize that their game is over. One way or the other, they will pass to the sidelines, and they will be helping, if they wish, from backstage.
If, by any chance, they make one more attempt to delay the process, I promise I will call them out by name. Everyone knows who they are and what their real goal is. And we all know the result, as stated yesterday by Philip Christopher: If the Federation does not go to the elections and does not transfer the power to a new Governing Committee, then the Parade will be lost.
We all know who is looking to steal the Parade: The failing Archbishop who is used to Ottoman customs and believes that he has to control EVERYTHING. A prime example was the Evzones Committee, led by Fr. Evagoras Constantinides and Costas Ouranitsas. They have failed so far to produce any accounting! Privately we learned that they fundraised $80,000, and they spent about $60,000 for the Evzones participation. Why do they want to keep the $20,000 surplus? The Evzones committee is part of the Federation!
If this is not enough of a warning for the rest of the Federation members, nothing will ever be! Helleniscope has promised to uncover those with “secret connections” and even more secret “plans”… The next meeting will be on June 22, and we hope that by then, the Federation will decide to leave Philip Christopher in place as chairman of the Parade Committee, to start the planning for next year… Next year will be a historic “black” anniversary for all of us, especially for Philip: It will be 50 years since the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus… Philip Christopher deserves to lead the Federation in these historic circumstances, both to the internal elections and to a huge parade/demonstration in support of Cyprus!!
