Source In Cyprus

NICOSIA, Cyprus: More than 10,000 Turkish Cypriots took to the streets of occupied Nicosia on Tuesday evening to protest increasing Turkish influence in Cyprus.

The demonstration was organised by educational organisations under the banner “It shall not pass”. It began on the central Dereboyu avenue, passed in front of the “presidential palace”, and concluded at the monument in front of the “parliament” and the Turkish embassy.

It was sparked by a decision from the Turkish Cypriot administration to allow the free use of headscarves in secondary schools. Occupied northern Cyprus, recognised only by Turkey, has historically maintained secular educational policies aligned with the Turkish system established under Ataturk’s reforms, though religious influences have increased in recent years.

Protesters held banners with slogans such as “Don’t close children (with headscarves) but Imam Hatip schools”, “We support the electricity authority”, “Even Pikachu would have come, but the power was cut”, and “Impositions and impoverishment shall not pass”. Participants called for the “government” to resign and chanted, “Cyprus is secular and will remain secular” and “Ankara take your hands off us”.

Over 40 organisations, unions, professional bodies, organised groups, and political parties supported the march. Attendees included former Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akıncı, Serdar Denktaş and his son Mehmet, Fazıl Küçük, the leader of the Communal Democracy Party (TDP), Tufan Erhürman, the leader of the People’s Party (HP), Kudret Özersay, the leader of the United Cyprus Party (BKP), Zeki Çeler, and the leader of the New Cyprus Party (YKP), İzzet İzcan.

Selma Eylem, the head of the Turkish Cypriot teachers’ union KTOEÖS, addressed the thousands of participants, stating, “We will not bow down to impositions, neither to the regulation, nor to you.”

“Together, we raise our voices against those who give instructions, disregarding the constitution and laws, ECHR decisions, and expert reports, as well as against AKP representatives who abuse children,” she said.

“We are here to say stop to this and to the short-sighted puppets who follow their ideological instructions to the letter, who sell out their own people, who do not think about the future, and who turn a blind eye to women being dragged into darkness,” Eylem added.

“We came to put in their place those who have seized every one of our institutions and turned them into pawns, and prepared packages to impose plans that condemn us to misery and poverty, those who transformed our education and attacked our will, our social structure, our values, our language, our religion, and our freedoms, those who have reached the point of driving us out of our country. We came here to say, ‘This country is ours’,” she continued.

“We came to explain our position to the fascists who dream of extinguishing cigarettes on the tongues of Turkish Cypriots, to those who talk about freedoms and democracy while doing politics on the bodies of our girls,” the Turkish Cypriot educator stated.

“We came to shout out against all the political impositions followed to eliminate the existence and will of Turkish Cypriots, to those who give instructions by holding high-level closed-door meetings due to the current situation in Turkey, to those who try to create an agenda here and gain political advantage, to those who see this as an opportunity, that we will not allow this. We will continue to resist all together,” she added.

Mustafa Baybora, the head of the Turkish Cypriot teachers’ union KTÖS, said they were there to support their own will. “The will is in Cyprus. All of you will show respect for our will. They are making our country ridiculous by following orders. We are here to support our country.”

Baybora accused the “government” of being champions of corruption and stated that they were there to declare their rejection of corruption and their opposition to the restriction of freedom of expression. “This struggle is no longer just the struggle of educators but of the entire society,” he said.

He continued by saying that they would not allow the politicisation of religion.

“We are here,” he said, “to defend the principles of Ataturkism, secularism, ‘Cyprus is secular and will remain secular’.”

The Turkish Cypriot teachers’ unionist said that their “minister of education” told them “what can we do, it’s a request” regarding the change in the disciplinary regulations, while stating that he is an Ataturkist and secular. “Let him prove it,” he said.

“You cannot govern. First, your mandator will leave the palace, and then you will leave too. The political will is here, the political leadership is also here,” Baybora added.

“The Turkish Cypriot community fought for its existence and continues to fight. We are the children of the generations who waged an armed struggle against EOKA. We are not afraid of you and your derivatives,” he said, adding that educators will give the necessary lesson to the collaborators and derivatives (of Turkey).

Güven Bengihan, the head of the Turkish Cypriot public servants’ union KTAMS, said that they would continue to say stop to those who interfere with the values of this community, to those who do not abide by the “constitution”, do not take it into account, and undermine democracy.

“We came to say stop to those who use religion for political purposes, to those who use our children for political purposes, to the puppets. We came to defend the right to a secular, democratic, scientific education and to say ‘God forbid’ to the enemies of Ataturk, the backward, the megalomaniacs, and the heresies,” he said.

“We are here to put in their place those who say, ‘If you don’t like it, go to the Greek Cypriots’,” Bengihan said. “We are not going anywhere. For years now, we have been fighting for our existence on these lands. We were, we are, and we will remain here. This country is ours. Let us govern it.”

Ahmet Serdaroğlu, the head of the Free Workers’ Union Federation (Hür İş), stated that those involved in every act of corruption and theft cannot lecture the world on religion.

“You cannot teach us how to experience our religion. I am a Muslim, those who violate people’s rights cannot teach me how to live as a Muslim,” he added.

“Selma Eylem and the other friends are supposedly Greek-seeds,” he continued, “they are traitors of the homeland. Am I a Greek-seed now too? Hür İş came here to spoil your game. No one will spoil our love for Turkey. The Turkish Cypriot people and the Turkish people are brothers. No one will spoil this, not even Erhan Arıklı,” he emphasised.

Serdaroğlu said that in the upcoming “presidential” elections, he would not vote for Ersin Tatar. “The Turkish Cypriot people need a leader.” After Rauf Denktaş and Fazıl Küçük, he stated, there has been no other leader.

The Turkish Cypriot trade unionist shouted the slogan “Peace in Cyprus cannot be prevented,” saying that he is a Turkish Cypriot and his desire is for a leader who “will not bend”.

Arıklı announces counter-demonstration

The Nicosia district organisation of the right-wing Rebirth Party (YDP), announced a counter-demonstration titled “Respect for the Motherland” to be held tomorrow at 17:30 in front of the Turkish “embassy”.

According to Turkish Cypriot media, YDP leader Erhan Arıklı, in a post made towards the end of the educators’ and other organisations’ protest, announced that they would give a small response tomorrow with a symbolic action to those who told the Turkish “ambassador” in the occupied territories to “Go Home” (referring to the head of the Turkish Cypriot teachers’ union KTOEÖS, Selma Eylem) and the political parties, entities, and organisations that support them.

“In the coming days, we will hold a rally ‘Respect for the Motherland’ with the participation of thousands of people. We call on all members of our party to our symbolic action tomorrow,” Arıklı concluded.