Direct Democracy Cyprus on Tuesday denied that the children who appeared in a disputed video had been coached or exploited, responding to a letter from Children’s Rights Commissioner Elena Pericleous.
The movement’s spokesman, Foivos Doukanaris, said it was a “spontaneous and relaxed conversation” at a social and sports event, and that the children were put under no pressure. They spoke freely, with enthusiasm and humour, and gave a range of answers, as anyone who watches the whole video can see, he said.
Protecting children from any form of manipulation goes without saying, Doukanaris said, but their right to hold views and express them freely and spontaneously must be protected just as much. He noted that the commissioner herself says in her letter that children have a right to free expression and to meaningful participation in social life.
He said the movement fully respects the commissioner’s office and agrees that no child should be manipulated or exploited, and that children’s voices belong to the children themselves.
The movement’s legal adviser will give the letter a formal, substantiated reply, with due respect for the commissioner’s office and full reference to the facts and the applicable legal framework.
Pericleous had written to Direct Democracy MEP Fidias Panayiotou expressing serious concern over how children’s participation was safeguarded in videos linked to a campaign over electricity.
In a public statement on 5 October, she said: “There is a difference between children participating and adults mobilising or instrumentalising them.”
Using children to strengthen a political position or public campaign did not amount to genuine participation, she said, though protecting children from being used for adults’ purposes should not mean denying them the right to form opinions and take part in public life.
