The member for Northcote in Melbourne, Kat Theophanous has been suspended from a sub-faction of the Victorian Labor Party over her comments commemorating the 49 years of Turkish illegal occupation Cyprus’ north according to a report in the Herald Sun.
Labor factional infighting has erupted after Theophanous stood in parliament to commemorate the invasion of Cyprus in 1974. Only Turkey recognises the occupied part of Cyprus as a self-declared state.
In her speech Theophanous highlighted a range of human rights violations and war crimes in 1974, committed by Turkish forces, in her mother’s village.
“It has been 49 years since Türkiye invaded Cyprus, illegally seizing and violently occupying 36 per cent of the island, displacing hundreds of thousands of people,” she said.
“I am proudly Cypriot Australian, and this year, along with eight other Hellenic Australian parliamentarians, we passed a resolution at the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association’s general assembly.
“Together we condemned the illegal occupation of Northern Cyprus by Türkiye, which contravenes international law and UN resolutions, and we called for the right of return for Cypriot refugees to their ancestral homelands.”
She added that her mother’s village, Asha, remained under Turkish control.
“It is occupied by Turkish military, who rounded up the Greek civilians, executed them and dumped their bodies into mass graves,” she said.
“The international community has repeatedly called for the withdrawal of Turkish troops from Cyprus and a peaceful resolution – a chillingly similar scenario to Ukraine now. I stand in solidarity with them.”
Theophanous was suspended from the Cons faction — a sub faction of the party’s Right.
The a push to expel her was changed to an indefinite suspension after negotiations.
According to the Herald Sun, senior minister Natalie Suleyman, was enraged by the comments.
The comments prompted an outcry from the ALP’s Turkish base and are understood to have infuriated senior minister Natalie Suleyman.
Minister Melissa Horne moved a motion to suspend Ms Theophanous.
“The excuse given for suspending her was that she failed to consult with colleagues,” one source said.
“They wanted to demonstrate to the Turkish community that they had punished her.”
Another said: “It’s pretty extraordinary she’s been penalised internally for a position that is held by many countries.
“It’s akin to moving on a First Nations person who raises concerns about the history of their people.”
Factional heavyweights have downplayed the suspension.
But several sources said Ms Theophanous now faced an uncertain political future with no prospect of promotion unless she changed faction.
The suspension has also prompted fears of broader implications for the party including calling on the Victorian branch to formally recognise Greek and Armenian genocides.
