NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) –
Dozens of Orthodox Christian believers held wooden crosses and sang church hymns outside the Cypriot state broadcaster on Saturday to demand the withdrawal of the country’s controversial entry to the Eurovision Song Contest – “El Diablo” – which is said to promote worship. satanic.
Some of the protesters, including families, held placards that read in Greek: “We protest peacefully, not at El Diablo,” “Repent and return to Christ,” and “Christ saves, Diablo kills.”
The broadcaster and the singer of the song insist that it was misinterpreted, and the song is actually an abusive relationship between two lovers.
The protest came days after the powerful Orthodox Church demanded the withdrawal of the song, which it said mocked the country’s moral foundations, supporting “our surrender to the devil and the promotion of his worship.”
The Holy Synod, the Church’s highest decision-making body, said in a statement that the song “essentially praises the fatalistic submission of people to the authority of the devil” and urged the state broadcaster to replace it with one that “expresses history, our culture, our traditions and our demands. ”
Last week, police accused a man of making threats and causing a disturbance when he threw himself on the ground of the public broadcaster to protest what he condemned as a “blasphemous” song that was an insult to Christianity.
The state broadcaster insisted that the entrance will not be withdrawn, but the chairman of his council, Andreas Frangos, acknowledged that the organizers should have done a better job explaining the basic message of the song, whose lyrics include: “I gave him his diablo heart … because he tells me I’m his angel. ”
Even the Cypriot government has entered into controversy, with presidential spokesman Viktoras Papadopoulos saying that although dissidents’ views are respected, the government cannot override freedom of expression.
“The government fully respects the intellectual and artistic creative freedom that cannot be misinterpreted or limited because of the title of a play, and unnecessary dimensions should not be attributed,” Papadopoulos said in a written statement.
The play’s performer, Greek artist Elena Tsagrinou, said the song is about a woman crying for help after falling for a “bad boy” known as “El Diablo” and coming to identify and bond with the aggressor. They. Tsagrinou insisted that any other interpretation is “unfounded.”
“The song conveys a strong message against any form of abuse, such as the one in El Diablo,” Tsagrinou told The Associated Press in a written statement. “In these times of the ‘Too Big Movement’, that message is extremely relevant and can be felt not only in Cyprus, but in all of Europe and beyond.”
She added that she is a Christian and her faith was very important to her.
Addressing the song’s detractors, Tsagrinou said “we must all embrace the true and intentional message of the song” and that people are now taking a step forward with their own stories of abuse.
“Music unites and empowers. Let’s focus on this and the important issues around us and leave behind misinterpretations and dark thoughts, “said Tsagrinou.