A televised debate between Elam leader Christos Christou and Akel secretary-general Stefanos Stefanou turned heated on Monday night during a discussion on security and developments in the Middle East.

Televised on Sigma, the debate centred on historical references linked to the Turkish invasion of 1974.

Stefanou accused Elam of attempting to present itself as “the only patriotic party” while questioning the patriotism of others.

Referring to the paramilitary organisation, Eoka B, he said, “the spiritual ancestors of Elam also made this mistake” and added that “it is they that brought the Turks into Cyprus”.

Christou responded by remarking that “my own father, when he was called up to the front during Operation Attila, found the way to go,” he said.

“Someone else, who later served as president, lost his way”, an apparent reference to former Akel president Dimitris Christofias.

Taking to social media on Tuesday following Sigma’s debate, the former president’s son and Akel MP for Kyrenia, Christos Christofias, responded in defence of his father, remarking that he “served as a reserve in 1974, and as a medic at the Nicosia airport. Demetris Christofias did then what thousands of others did, their duty”.

“While others found themselves in Troodos roasting souvla, others watered the soil with their blood. Elam is constantly looking for deserters amongst Akel, but Christou will search in vain”, he concluded.

The exchange later progressed onto Cyprus’ role in regional security developments regarding the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Christou said, “security is the most important challenge of the era” and argued that in the modern political theatre, diplomacy had increasingly “been replaced by force”.

He defended the republic’s cooperation with countries including Greece, France and Italy, saying their military presence contributed to regional stability and the protection of Cyprus.

Referring to recent events regarding the drone strike on RAF Akrotiri, Christou said his primary concern was “the safety of the Cypriot citizen”.

“I am not interested in where the American or British aircraft take off from,” he said.

“I am interested in if a drone loses its way and instead of falling into the British Bases hits a school in Ypsonas and whether the republic can deal with it.”

The Elam leader also criticised left-wing parties and Volt over their response to the presence of Turkish F-16 aircraft at Tymbou (Ercan) airport in the north, which in response to Greece’s own deployment of naval frigates and aircraft to support Cyprus.

“There are parties that did not issue a statement of condemnation,” he said, adding that some had attempted “to downgrade the presence of Greek aircraft”.

Stefanou rejected the accusations and said Akel had publicly addressed the issue.

 “When you have a problem with your eyes, you cannot easily see the announcements”, Stefanou retorted.

Christou described the comment as offensive, as he himself suffers from an eye condition, and accused the secretary-general of mocking a health issue.

“The fact that a health problem is being mocked shows exactly that the other side have no political arguments,” he said.

“I am proud of those who face health problems and have managed to achieve great things in their lives.”