The New Cyprus Association on Tuesday expressed its condolences and solidarity with the victims and those missing following the shipwreck off Kyrenia, while condemning hateful reactions to the tragedy from some members of the Greek Cypriot community.

“At a moment like this, the only appropriate response is human solidarity. When a person is in danger at sea, we do not ask what language they speak, which community they belong to or what passport they hold. We hope they are saved,” the association said.

In its statement, the association said that alongside the grief caused by the disaster had come something which “fills us with shame”, referring to reactions from some Greek Cypriots who, it said, had treated the shipwreck not as a human tragedy but as an opportunity for “mockery, gloating and expressions of hatred, publicly and openly”.

It said that given the deep suffering and tragic experiences of 1963 and 1974, one would have expected people to have emerged from them “more humane”.

The association stressed that such behaviour had nothing to do with patriotism, adding that “love for one’s country is not measured by hatred for one’s neighbour”.

It called on people to respond to the unfolding human tragedy with respect and to remember that “before any national or communal identity, we are human beings”.