The Ministry of the Interior nails DISY on the issue of identity cards, indicating that in 2020 it was in favour of removing parents' details from identity cards, contrary to the stance it takes today.
The Ministry of the Interior, in a statement, throws the ball to the parties, indicating that "in the event that the positions of the parliamentary parties have been modified, the Ministry of the Interior is at the disposal of the interested parties for discussion, so that it can review the decision and proceed, if possible, to a revision of the terms of the Convention on the issuance of identity cards and passports".
The entire announcement of the ministry is as follows:
Update on the new biometric identities
"In relation to the public debate of the last few days on the new biometric identity cards, in which the details of the parents of the identity card holder are not indicated, the Ministry of the Interior points out that:
The issue was raised by the Commissioner for the Protection of Children's Rights in 2012 in her interventions, in which she raised the issue of discrimination, marginalization and stigmatization of children of unknown fathers or children of single women, due to the inclusion of a hyphen next to the father's name in identity policies.
On the occasion of the Commissioner's positions, the issue was discussed at meetings of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights in both 2020 and 2022. The majority of MPs and political parties, including the Democratic Rally, which in today's announcement differentiates its position at the time and disagrees, was in favour of removing parental information from identity cards.
During the discussions, the House of Representatives had urged the Ministry of the Interior to consider the possibility of removing parental data, which was not possible in 2022 due to the current Convention. At the same time, there was a commitment on the part of the Ministry to evaluate the proposal, in the context of the planning for the new Convention for the issuance of identity cards and passports in 2025.
Based on the above, it was decided not to include the details of the parents, in the context of the new Agreement and after taking into account:
the positions of the Commissioner for the Protection of Children's Rights,
the positions of the majority of parliamentary parties and MPs,
the policy implemented in the Member States of the European Union, most of which do not indicate the specific data, and
European Regulation 2025/1208 and manuals of the International Civil Aviation Organization, in which it is noted that the name of the parents is not included in the mandatory information that must be written on the identity cards.
It is clarified that the identity card is an identification document of the holder himself and must be written on it in the personal information that identifies its holder. It is additionally noted that the parents' details are not listed on the passports, while the main document for identification and proof of the parents' details is the birth certificate.
However, in the event that the positions of the parliamentary parties have been modified, the Ministry of the Interior is at the disposal of the interested parties for discussion, so that it can review the decision and proceed, if possible, to a revision of the terms of the Convention on the issuance of identity cards and passports."
The announcement of DISY
It is noted that earlier today, DISY in a statement expressed its disagreement with the Government's decision to remove the fields "father's name" and "mother's name" from identity cards. "Our position was and is the same: Every citizen should have the free choice of whether he wishes to remove the specific elements on his identity. For this purpose, the Democratic Rally has prepared a relevant Law Proposal, which will be submitted to the House of Representatives," he said in his morning announcement.
With a newer announcement, DISY responds to the Ministry of the Interior, saying that "the government is misinforming and shifting its responsibilities for identity cards".
"Under the weight of the social outcry, the government is trying to shift the responsibility for its unilateral decision to remove the details of father and mother from identity cards. At the same time, it misinforms as to the position of the Democratic Rally. Our announcement, dated May 25, 2022, is very clear: "The Democratic Rally does not support the abolition of the indication of the child's parents from the identity cards but the right of voluntary exemption...". We repeat, DISY was and remains opposed to the removal of the fields "father's name" and "mother's name" from identity cards, unless the citizen himself requests it. We therefore call on the government, instead of attempting to shift the blame for its unilateral decision and even misinforming, to immediately proceed with its correction. We reiterate that the Democratic Rally has also prepared a relevant law proposal, which it will submit to the House of Representatives."
Proposal for a law by ELAM
At the same time, there was also a strong reaction on the part of ELAM. In a statement, he stressed that he is not going to take a step back from the issue of removing the names of the father and mother from the political identities. This decision, he continued, is another absurdity that the new order of things is trying to impose in the name of a non-existent progressivism.
''We are submitting a relevant law proposal to the Parliament, in order to restore the names of father and mother as mandatory fields. Let us finally put a brake on those who attack our family and values. And because from the moment we highlighted the issue, some people choose the convenient hide and seek, every political party will now be judged by its actions," ELAM concluded.
