Highly concerning revelations are escalating regarding the alleged activity of students at Vergina Lyceum in Cyprus, who reportedly formed a “neo-Nazi organisation” and recruited other minors, according to the President of the Pancyprian Confederation of Parents’ Associations of Secondary Education, Loizos Constantinou.
Mr Constantinou claimed the group’s membership reached triple digits and that some students had travelled to Greece to meet with extremist organisations.
According to multiple complaints received by Phileleftheros, the activities were reportedly visible within the school for two years. This has raised serious questions for the school’s administration and the Ministry of Education, which are being urged to take immediate action.
Sources questioned why alarm bells were not raised when swastikas repeatedly appeared on the school’s walls and equipment, and why several students publicly posted photos making the Nazi salute. The students also allegedly created a public Instagram account named “Verginazi.”
Phileleftheros received new complaints yesterday about a climate of intimidation at the school. Some reports suggest that members of the “neo-Nazi organisation” were involved in a recent incident at Finikoudes, where black-clad individuals threw stones at a group of students participating in an event condemning the Turkish-occupied area of Cyprus.
Speaking on state television yesterday, Mr Constantinou characterised the students’ activities as dangerous. He stated that this was “not something superficial” and that this was “not the first time” such things had happened at the school.
“This specific group has been operating this way for the last two years and is expanding,” Mr Constantinou said, adding that the Ministry of Education possesses further evidence. “What worries us is that they have infiltrated a school, they have organised. A climate of terror prevails among the other children,” he stressed. “Many times we say, ‘it’s just children being frivolous,’ but this is not the case here; this is something more advanced.”
The Parents’ Confederation President explicitly accused the school of negligence and holding enormous responsibility.
“When you see the swastika on the school wall and you leave it there for two or three months, what is that?” he asked. “The simplest thing is that it should have disappeared within minutes the next day. Why should the others suffer? Why should they enter a space that looks like they are entering a neo-Nazi lair? The children knew, which is why it would have been very easy for the school to provide the information in a few minutes about exactly who was involved, who was in the photos, and who was leading and coordinating.”
Mr Constantinou also noted that the parents of children allegedly involved expressed ignorance and surprise. He stressed that the issue needs to be addressed with all students and that both the school, the Ministry, and the family bear responsibility.
Police involvement possible
Students allegedly involved in the incident were called to the principal’s office yesterday. Following the public uproar, and despite the Ministry of Education being informed a day before the issue became public, a District Inspector was sent to the school yesterday.
“The incident is still under investigation because the students were absent the day before yesterday,” Giorgos Koutsides, the Deputy Director of Secondary Education at the Ministry of Education, told Phileleftheros yesterday. “The principal has spoken with them today, and an investigation is underway. The District Inspector also went to the school today.”
Mr Koutsides added: “We are investigating how many students are involved, and if anything arises, measures will be taken, and if there are other issues, the Police will be notified.”
When asked under what circumstances a complaint would be filed with the Police, Mr Koutsides said: “It could be, for example, if any external individuals are involved behind the students, which we need to look into.”
He clarified that if the principal’s and District Inspector’s investigation confirms the Parents’ Confederation President’s claims that students had contacts with extremist organisations in Greece, “then yes, the Police will have to get involved.”
The Mayor of Larnaca, Andreas Vyras, also expressed intense concern about the revelations, insisting that measures must be taken immediately. He pointed out that history has clearly taught the consequences of such ideologies and that the matter “must not be treated lightly or excused by the young age.”
