The village of Elia, near Lefka, on Saturday night lit its own fire in protest against the north’s ruling coalition’s decision to legalise the wearing of hijabs by children at public schools.
The protest was organised by the village’s “action committee”, which wrote, “we did not bow down to Abdul Hamid, to the Queen of England, to Makarios, or to Grivas, and we will never bow down to religious orders and sects!”.
Abdul Hamid II was the Ottoman sultan who leased Cyprus to the British Empire, effectively ending Ottoman control of the island after three centuries in 1878.
Meanwhile, action committee spokesman Mehmet Bicen said the fire “is not just a reaction, but an awakening”.
“If no step is taken, this fire will burn the government as well,” he said.
The fire’s lighting was attended by village residents, as well as Turkish Cypriot Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe member Armagan Candan, opposition party TDP leader Zeki Celer, as well as Cyprus Turkish secondary education teachers’ trade union (Ktoeos) leader Selma Eylem and secretary-general Tahir Gokcebel.
The event is a replication of the nightly fires which burnt outside the north’s parliament every weekday last week, supported by opposition political parties and trade unions.
The first such protest saw an estimated 2,000 people attend, after around 13,000 had taken to the streets the previous week for the same purpose.
Cyprus Turkish teachers’ trade union (Ktos) leader Burak Mavis also confirmed to the Cyprus Mail that next week, the nightly protests will move around the island.
Monday’s protest is set to take place in Kyrenia, while Wednesday’s protest will take place in Famagusta and Thursday’s protest will take place in Morphou. The protests will return to Nicosia on Tuesday and Friday.
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