‘Cut to the bone’ Turkish Cypriots to hold mass protest

A total of 30 political parties, trade unions, and other organisations in the north will hold a mass protest on Friday evening.

Protestors will gather at the top of northern Nicosia’s Dereboyu avenue, before marching to the north’s ‘parliament’ building.

In a statement on behalf of all 30 organisations taking part, the Cyprus Turkish secondary education teachers’ union (Ktoeos) said Turkish Cypriots have been “cut to the bone” by political developments in the north in recent months and years.

“Owners of private capital, the politicians who claim to rule the country, and their supporters benefit from the theft, robbery, plunder, bribery, extortion, and money laundering schemes which have been created in the northern part of our island,” they said.

They decried a “rotten system created by fake universities, fake educational institutions, fake diplomas, fuel purchases without tenders, tax evasion, illegal residence permits and citizenships, bribery and human trafficking,” and said the north has “no population policy”.

This lack of policy regarding population growth, they said, “allows development to continue without a plan and for agricultural lands, natural resources, coasts, streams, and forests to be plundered”.

“Politicians who should be on trial have been brought into positions of power in our country.

“Our democratic values are being destroyed, those who raise their voices against the regime are tried and arrested, freedom of thought and expression is considered a crime, and freedom of travel is interfered with, and entry into Turkey is not allowed,” they said.

They called for the “swamp” of Turkish Cypriot leadership to be drained.

Organisations taking part in the protest include opposition political parties the CTP and the TDP, various trade unions covering a range of professions, and a number of civil society groups.