Turkish Cypriots take austerity package protest to Brussels
REPRESENTATIVES FROM ten Turkish Cypriot unions headed to Brussels yesterday to carry out protests against Ankara’s austerity package in the north and its policy on the Cyprus problem.
The delegation of unionists will hold contacts with political groups of the European Parliament and officials from the European Commission to pass on the message given at the mass protests held by Turkish Cypriots over the last two months in the north.
On January 28 and March 2, thousands of protestors called on Turkey to let Turkish Cypriots run their own house and not impose on them measures by force. Many Turkish Cypriots also expressed fear that their own identity was at risk due to the large number of Turkish nationals brought to the north.
A number of protestors argued that Turkish Cypriots were a minority in hospitals and schools in the north, and yet Turkey insisted on reducing the economic aid package for the north.
The travelling unionists will hold a demonstration outside the European Parliament today, where they are due to hold a number of banners, including one that reads, ‘British bases out of Cyprus’.
The participating unions belong to the Turkish Cypriot Trade Unions’ Platform, and include representatives of ‘civil servants’, teachers, medical and customs staff, retired municipal staff and cooperative bank employees.
However, not all members of the Platform are taking part in the EU protest, with Turk-Sen opting out.
According to yesterday’s Kibris, general secretary of the primary school teachers’ union Sener Elcil will hold a press conference in Brussels today.
Elcil was quoted in an interview with Phileleftheros saying: “Today, the conditions that made us believe in (Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip) Erdogan and his party have disappeared. Erdogan is not sincere on the question of a solution.”
He added: “However, the majority of Greek Cypriots believe that Erdogan will bring a solution. Erdogan’s goals are moving in the direction of the US. He used the ‘YES’ in the referendum to partition Cyprus.”
Elcil argued that Erdogan exploited the Greek Cypriot ‘NO’ in the 2004 referendum to show that they did not want a solution, noting that Ankara’s proposed changes to the Annan Plan went against Greek Cypriots.
“On the other hand, (former president) Tassos Papadopoulos saw the Republic of Cyprus as the property of Greek Cypriots. The current leadership (in the north) does not truly represent the Turkish Cypriots”.
The Turkish Cypriot delegation will return to the north on March 25. It is believed that the platform will discuss the idea of a new mass march against Turkey’s austerity package on their return. It is not clear how many of the political parties who lent their support to the first protests will continue to do so in the next one.
It remains to be seen what kind of a march the platform will arrange this time and whether it will get the kind of critical mass support as the last two.
One Turkish Cypriot politician told the Cyprus Mail that the next mass rally would probably have “fewer but angrier people” taking part.
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/turki ... s/20110322
