New revelations aired on state television on Friday regarding recent organised neo-Nazi activity at Vergina High School in Larnaca with allegations that more than 100 pupils are actively involved and others have received extremist training abroad.
Speaking on CyBC, parent’s association president Loizos Constantinou claimed a ‘structured group’ has been operating for ‘at least two years’ at Vergina, creating what he described as ‘a climate of intimidation’ for other pupils.
He said the scale and organisation of the group go far beyond childish provocation or ignorance.
“The number of the group is in the three digits,” Constantinou said, suggesting that specific students had travelled to Greece, to a particular location linked to extremist networks.
“This means there is a centre recruiting from outside Cyprus,” he warned.
Konstantinou said he had information on a group of pupils who travelled recently to Greece to make direct contact with extremist groups.
He refused to elaborate on which organisations or locations he made reference to, but insisted that these trips were most certainly ideological in nature.
The remarks follow the circulation of photographs from social media accounts showing pupils performing Nazi salutes on school grounds, posing beside swastikas and distributing material.
Parents have also reported systematic recruitment efforts and the intimidation of students who objected to the activity.
Constantinou said complaints submitted by parents describe an entrenched situation that has been allowed to develop unhindered.
“They have infiltrated the school and they’re organised,” he accused.
“A climate of terror prevails; this is something far more perverse.”
Constantinou lambasted the ‘sheer negligence’ of the school authorities, particularly the failure to remove fascist symbols emblazoned on campus.
He said swastikas were left on walls for two or three months, suggesting a message of remarkable tolerance or indifference.
“When you enter a school and see slogans and symbols like that, it is like entering a neo-Nazi stronghold,” he said.
“The simplest thing would have been for them to disappear the next day, in a matter of minutes.”
He added that the school knew which pupils were involved and could have identified those responsible quickly, including those appearing in photographs and those coordinating the activity.
“You do not need many people to cause damage,” he said. “The mass is affected.”
According to Constantinou, the group has been expanding steadily over the past two years, and the education ministry holds additional evidence.
He said parents have become increasingly concerned and have formally contacted the ministry.
“We are very concerned,” he said. “Investigations are underway and there will be further developments.”
The Cyprus Mail attempted to reach out to the education ministry for a comment but did not receive a response.
Constantinou rejected suggestions that his allusions to an organised entity exploiting the student body for recruitment were aimed at a specific political party, namely Elam.
He said the phenomenon is broader and reflects a wider resurgence of neo-Nazism across Europe.
He warned that focusing solely on one school would risk not addressing the wider issue at hand.
“If this can happen in one school, it can just as well exist elsewhere in society,” he admitted.
While acknowledging that families bear the primary responsibility for ensuring their children do not engage with extremist ideology, Constantinou said most parents contacted claimed ignorance and were appalled and unaware of their children’s involvement.
He further placed significant responsibility the education system as a whole.
“Schools are where society’s problems are reflected and where behaviour must be rooted out immediately”.
He stressed that the response must go beyond disciplinary measures against a specific group.
“The handling of this particular case is one thing,” he cautioned, “yet we must ensure this is scourged from wider society.”
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