Huge turnout for anti-war protest in Nicosia (Update 2)

Hundreds of protesters gathered for an anti-war rally at Eleftheria Square on Friday evening, calling for an end to the war in Gaza.

An impressive turnout for Cyprus, nearly a thousand people of all ages and nationalities assembled at the square, waving Palestinian flags and holding placards denouncing war and imperialism.

Heavily policed by officers in riot gear, the event kicked off at around 6.30 pm with live protest songs, followed by speeches. A peaceful march then followed in the streets of central Nicosia, moving towards the ministry of finance then looping back to the square, to end around 8pm.

Working under the slogan Yes to Peace, No to War, the event was organised by the Cyprus Peace Council, which said it is “demanding an end to the war in Gaza”.

“I’m glad this is a good protest,” a half-Palestinian woman present at the event told the Cyprus Mail.

“In all my years here they’ve always been small. So nice to see so much support,” she said.

Another protester, a Lebanese woman, said: “I don’t think anybody who has a decent moral compass needs to think about where to stand on this cause.

“It’s a genocide. I think the people all over the world have spoken, it’s the government’s that aren’t listening,” she added.

People need to stop listening to what they’re told, and start reading books and learning about the history, an English Cypriot protester said. “Check your sources”.

When the Hamas attack first happened, the Western world came out and said that Israel has a right to defend itself against this, but with proportionality, a Cypriot protester said. “Where is that proportionality now?” he asked.

The Palestinian issue is not ten days old, he added. “It’s decades…decades of oppression and violence and land grabbing”.

In a speech at the start of the event, Cyprus Peace Council general secretary Charis Pashias said that the demonstration’s message is that “atrocities against civilians and children cannot be tolerated” and “there is no tolerance for any war crime”.

He added that “the massive murderous attacks of the Israeli army, as well as the terrorist acts of Hamas with the murders and kidnappings of civilians, are reprehensible”.

“What is happening right now is genocide,” Pashias underlined, adding that “up to this moment more than 1,500 children and 1,000 women have been murdered by Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip”.

Pashias went on to say that the US, Britain, the EU and other allies of Israel are turning their backs to the horrors as they speak of Israel’s right to self-defense, “indirectly but clearly justifying” not only what is currently happening but also “ignoring the crimes that unfolded in previous years”.

To this he added that some parties, politicians, media and journalists in Cyprus and beyond are attempting to “turn Israel from a perpetrator into a victim” and referred to a “shameful resolution” passed by the House.

He also spoke of an apathetic stance on behalf of the government and political parties, saying the government needs to stand in support of Palestine.

The struggles of the Cypriot and Palestinian people are moving in parallel, “against the same enemy, imperialism,” he finally said, and expressed solidarity and support “to the heroic and just struggle of the Palestinian people for liberation”, as well as to the pro-peace forces in Israel.

Palestinian ambassador Abdallah Attari, who was also present, thanked those who attended the protest, saying that Cypriots and Palestinians share common values and principles.

“We breathe the same air and have the same future,” he said.

“We promise you this: we do not bargain, we will continue our struggle on the front lines,” he said, adding that when Palestine is liberated “we will once again be on the front lines defending all wronged peoples”.

Also present were MPs, mayors, and Akel leader Stephanos Stephanou.

Photo by Christos Theodorides

Photo by Christos Theodorides

Photo by Christos Theodorides

Photo by Christos Theodorides

Photo by Christos Theodorides