Turkish Cypriot demo protesting Turkey's Cyprus Policy - 07.04.2011
As broadcast by the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation bi-lingual (in Greek and Turkish) Program "Kato Apo ton Idio Ourano" on 28th April 2011
Translation from the Greek subtitles:
[Commentator - introduction]
The demonstrations of the Turkish Cypriots continue, and their messages are varied and multidimensional. In our programme we will have the chance to follow reactions during the demonstrations on the 7th of April [2011].
[Banner: "Ankara take your hands off our collars - KTOS"]
On the 7th of April the demonstrators assembled in front of the "puppet-parliament" and the "embassy". The crowd was not as large as those during the "Demonstrations for Existence and Survival" but there was one substantial difference. The demonstrators this time were more dynamic and demanding. Their reaction this time was directed as much against Ankara and those cooperating with it within the administration here as against the political parties which participate in the "puppet parliament". Some of the demonstrators surrounded the General Secretary of the CTP [Turkish Republican Party] Ferdi Sabit Soyer and the President of the TDP [Communal Democracy Party] Mehmet Çakıcı and booed them, demanding their resignation.
During the demonstration, extra security measures had been taken. Efforts were made to intervene to remove placards with slogans against Turkey and also of the flag of the Republic of Cyprus. The demonstrators reacted violently against these interventions.
[Crowd chanting: "Out with the police"]
[Speaker 1 - with loudhaler] In the past they placed barbed wire between the north and the south. They did that because they considered one side as the enemy. Now they place barbed wire between this "parliament" and the people. These are our enemies. Those who are afraid of the people have no place in the "parliament".
[Speaker 2] If anyone expects democracy here, it is like expecting forests to grow in the desert. That's how simple it is. Unfortunately there is no democracy.
[Speaker 3] If the "parliamentarians" and "ministers" do not resign from the "parliament", if they do not respond to the people's demands, there will be far worse things happening.
[Crowd chants: "Ankara, take your hands off our collars" - "We don't want a dishonest parliament"]
[Speaker 4] Our demonstration is against privatisations.
[Question] What organisation do you work for?
In the Electricity one
[Q] Is that why you are here? Because you are against privatisations?
Yes, I have come because I am against the privatisations but also because I am bothered that they consider the Turkish Cypriot community as non-existent. For so many years we have been trying to explain to those who govern us that we are the Cypriot people ... but they open their ears, but do not hear us, it goes in one ear and comes out of the other.
[Speaker 5] I believe that all the problems in Cyprus can only be ended with a solution of the problem. I am therefore here to support the peaceful stance of the Trade Union Platform.
[Question] Today we did not see the practical support of the parties. What could be the reasons for this?
I am a member of the CTP but I am here. I believe the parties did not wish themselves associated with certain unpleasant events which could arise during the demonstration outside the "parliament" and the "embassy". They may be right. This is however binding only on the party leadership. The people, the simple members, as you can see have come here.
[Crowd chants: "Ayse go home"] ["Ayse goes on holiday" having been the code-name used by the Turkish forces during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974]
[Crowd chants: "Out with the puppets" ]
[Crowd chants: "We do not want a dishonest parliament"]
[Addressed to Speaker 6][Question] What is the reason why you are here today?
As you know the unions which are participating in the Union Platform have declared this year to be "The Struggle for Communal Existence". Within that context there are continuing demonstrations. Todays demonstration is a continuation of the demonstrations which took place on 28th January and 2nd March. That is the context of our presence today. We have come here because as Turkish Cypriots we want to recover our will from those who have usurped it, so that we will not disappear and in order that our voice is heard.
[Question] The security measures today are very stringent. How do you comment on that?
We consider this demonstration to be a peaceful one. We live in a fascist establishment. We see this in each of its manifestations. With every demonstration the "police" measures are becoming harsher and reach the stage of overreaction which become provocative. We condemn this hostile position towards their own people.
[Q] Some people compare these demonstrations here to those in Libya and Egypt. Do the same dynamics exist here and are similar results expected?
That is something which should be analysed by the politicians and the sociologists. What we see is that the Turkish Cypriots have risen against the establishment they find themselves living under. They will continue this struggle until the establishment changes completely. That is clear. I don't know whether this is similar to Libya and Egypt. This is Cyprus. People in those countries have risen up against a repressive establishment. From that perspective there are naturally similarities in our struggle. We want the divisive establishment which has been created in the north to be abolished. As Turkish Cypriots we seek the creation of a democratic establishment which will represent our will and as a continuation that we will reunite Cyprus. These aims of the Turkish Cypriots are clear. This is what they have demonstrated through their mass meetings in the squares. Unfortunately however certain organisations and parties which represent Turkish Cypriots have lagged behind a lot with reference to these demands by the people. As a result the footsoldiers and leaders of the social opposition are today the unions.
[Crowd Chanting: "To hell with fascism"]
[Speaker 7] Here the fascist practices have reached their limits. We see that they are trying through the use of barbed wire to block the march of the people. It is our democratic right to have these mobilisations. The people are demonstrating against situations which bother them. This is their most natural right. When "the state" tries to deny them this right using the police it is fascism. We can no longer speak of democracy. As you can see, they are trying with barbed wire to block the people. Surely the new "ambassador", or we should call him the new "governor", Halil İbrahim Akça, has put in his finger. As you know the Trade Union Platform has declared him persona-non-grata. This unwanted person is proving here how freedom-loving he is, filling the place with police. We have gathered here peacefully making use of our democratic right to express our uprising. They are however using violence. With the roadblocks and truncheons they believe that they will make our people submit. The day will come when our people will overcome all these obstacles. It may be that today they will succeed, but for us this is but one march in our struggle. Struggles are not won easily. They are trying with the use of the "police" and with violence, to stop this people's march, but they will not succeed.
[Question to Speaker 8] Has the way the Turkish Cypriots see Turkey changed?
The Turkish Cypriots had a mistaken view of Turkey. We believed that Edrogan was different, but we see that he is no different. He follows the traditional perception that our relations are those of victim and saviour. In order to change this the Turkish Cypriots must act in unity. In the demonstrations of 28th January and 2nd March this message was delivered. Some people got this message and despite what is said in public Ankara must review the situation.
[Chanting: "Occupier Turkey get out of Cyprus"]
[Speaker 9 - on loudhaler] We will not make presents of ourselves to the puppets .. we will resist the puppets in the same way as we have resisted the packet of measures.
[Chanting: "Out with the puppets"]
[Speaker 10 - on loudhaler] We are here to remind the UBP [National Unity Party] which is ignoring the struggle about the common demands of the Turkish Cypriot people that: the Turkish Cypriots want the withdrawal of the imposed package of measures and to protect their economic and social rights - the Turkish Cypriots do not wish to become the "public" property scapegoat in the name of privatisation.
[Speaker 11] I would very much like to hear the friends who have gathered outside the pseudoparliament, over there where the puppets are, shout the words "Ayse go home", for them to shout it there where Ayse is to be found [there, meaning the Turkish "embassy"]. That is the correct location. Turkey came with the pretext that it will bring peace, but it has enslaved us. It first brought its army, and it then brought its population. It grabbed the properties of the people. It created refugees. It created a false structure. The so called "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" is nothing other than Turkey's back yard. All its corruptions can be found here. This is known. They interfere with our flag, the flag of the Republic of Cyprus, the most beautiful flag in the world. That's why Turkey is here.
What is this flag? Of the TRNC? Let them come here to play football. They play with Anorthosis, they play with APOEL ... even Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu [currently the elected President of PACE, who had paid an official visit to Cyprus earlier in 2011], when he came to Cyprus, he did not come via the pseudo-airport. Yet they force me to hold the identification of the "TRNC". If I had it with me I would show it to you. They forced me to have it. They used the emblem of the Republic of Cyprus and placed on top of it a half moon and a star. The apotheosis of racism. The legacy of Denktash ... the Gray Wolves.... the wolves howl and the caravan continues.
[Speaker 12] Does İrsen Küçük [so-called 'Prime Minister' of the "TRNC"] have one of these IDs? He does. İrsen Küçük has one, we all have one ... Erdogan ... look at it. It is not a Greek Cypriot identity. It is Cypriot. For you I have written it also in Turkish.
[Speaker 11, addressing the armed forces] If they didn't block you, you would have these also. In Brussels I'm a local. You are an occupier. Europe doesn't accept you because you are an occupier.
[Q] You have shown your identity ...
I showed it to them ... the "policemen" lunge to grab the Cyprus flag, thats why I show them my identity card. On the Cypriot Identity Card there is the Cypriot flag and all the "parliamentarians" and "ministers" in there have one of these in their pockets. Let them not be ashamed to come out and show it. If they would allow the policemen, tomorrow they would all go to get one. Why do they all lunge against it?
When they are not on duty, they go to the other side every day. They do their trading. They go to the doctors and then they come here and they play the tough guys. This is not my uprising, it is the uprising of all of us. Let them not joke with us, its enough that they are double-faced.
The roadblocks have opened. Over there and over here ... it is all our country.
They have locked us in the sheep-pen, and they have put one ....
The instructions come from over there [presumably he is pointing at the Turkish "embassy"]. The last time we came there were no roadblocks here. Now the new governor has arrived they have them. So that no one can lunge against the governor. Is he a governor? Is it only England that would send us governors? There we are, now Turkey is also sending them. In one country they appoint an ambassador, on the basis of mutual respect. The "ambassador" of Turkey is afraid of us? Let him come out. What are the roadblocks doing here?
[applause]
The other day he told the newspapers that he can't understand ... when he's there, locked-in, then naturally he can't understand.
Let him come here close to us and we'll explain it to him. As long as he is locked up inside he will not understand anything.
[Chanting] "Ayse go home"
[Speaker 13] Tell me, what has changed ... we have had so many demonstrations ... in this place nothing changes without action. Even if we are to die we must do it. And if we are to die, lets die. Let us sit here and let them send the army, guns, tanks ... let them send whatever they want. We are not like the nationalists who are afraid in case the tanks come, just in case they find themselves face to face with the army. We are true patriots. We have worked for this country, we will fight for it. We are not like the nationalists. They are not brave guys who abandoned their positions. We have stayed here in our communities. We don't go around boasting that we have been at war, like those who boast ... "I was in the TMT, I fought, I am in the leadership of this or that group". Marauders raising "patriotic" flags ... let these marauders stop playing the tough guys. I've seen many of them running to save their lives. So let the nationalists not joke with us. We are the people. And we want to live in peace, like people already, in this place.
[Speaker 14 - holding a flag of the Republic of Cyprus] Neither the "TRNC" nor the Turkish flag. I only hold the flag and the identity of my country. Let the occupation come to an end. We don't want Turkey here, nor its money or anything else. We want a free Cyprus, to be able to govern it with our free will. We want a reunited Cyprus. This is my second flag. The first one was grabbed off me by the occupation "police". I would want to tell them that in 1974 when they invaded the island, the soldiers were holding this flag in their hands. They are here because of this flag. Turkey came here allegedly to restore the constitutional order, but it does not live up to its obligations. From now on we target the Turkish "embassy" and our demonstrations will continue.
[Banner] "Turkey take your hands off our collars" - KTOS
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This video (without the superimposed English subtitles) with the original subtitles in Greek is available (along with many other interesting items) at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJSYPunD0PY
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More video of this demonstration at:
http://www.kurultay.org/haberler/dunya/kktc-de-turk-elciligine-rum-bayragi-2011-04-07.html
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See also:
"Downer: No Cyprus Problem Solution – No EU for Turkey"
http://www.cyprusupdates.com/2011/05/downer-no-cyprus-problem-solution-no-eu-for-turkey/
My own comment about the short statement in the above item, about Downer's alleged comment about there being no possibility of 'recognition' of the so-called TRNC:
There is nothing new in "No Cyprus Problem Solution – No EU for Turkey", though its of course nice of Mr Downer to choose to actually remind the Turkish side on behalf of the UN about what is after all an EU matter - what IS interesting in the story as presented here is "in case of a solution he can guarantee Turkey’s EU membership" which just HAS to be a misrepresentation of what Downer might have said. It would be far too presumptive of a former Australian Foreign Minister and a representative of the UN to issue any guarantees on behalf of the EU, which would of course cause great offence to the people, as well as to a number of governments in the EU, as well as to the European Parliament and to the European Commission. That having been said, what is most interesting in this story, if this part of what is reported in this story is correct, is Downer having said that in his opinion there is no likelihood of 'recognition' for the illegal entity created in the Turkish occupied part of Cyprus EVEN IF ... "the talks fail and Greek Cypriots are to blame".
That is something which in my opinion should be repeated again and again by all foreign 'dignitaries' having any contact with the Turkish side ... because of course that is what the radical elements on the Turkish side have been trying unashamedly to achieve ever since the troubles of 1963 which long preceded the calamity of the Turkish invasion of 1974!
Making sure that the politicians as well as those in the military and in the mass media in Turkey, but also the many thousands of Turkish settlers shipped into the Turkish occupied part of Cyprus, as well as the Turkish Cypriots still remaining on the island do need to understand. That 'romantic dream' of the Turkish psyche (of a recognised entity in the secessionist north) ... and the mainland's attachment to its own 'strategic interests' in Cyprus is what caused those elements so much damage when the brave Turkish Cypriots who do understand the realities of the world sought to display and raise the flag of the Republic of Cyprus outside their so-called 'parliament' building in April and during the massive demonstrations by Turkish Cypriots in January and March this year!
Flying the flag of the Republic of Cyprus within the Turkish occupied part of Cyprus is the one symbol which can cause the puppet regime in the north to implode!
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See also, the videos uploaded to the Syntyxanoume profile at Youtube:
ΙΝΣΤΙΤΟΥΤΟ ΓΚΑΙΤΕ_ΟΜΙΛΙΕΣ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB8qW7rpQjE
Debating "The Global Crisis and Social Movements and Revolts" - Seminar spoken in English, Goethe Centre, Nicosia, Cyprus - 4th March 2011
An event organised by the Bi-communal Peace Initiative United Cyprus.
Speakers Sener Elcil (KTOS Teachers Union), Nicos Georgiou, (PEO Trade Union), Niyazi Kizilyurek (University of Cyprus), Nicos Trimikliniotis (University of Cyprus), Ari Sitas (University of Capetown), Immanuel Wallerstein, (Yale University)
ΙΝΣΤΙΤΟΥΤΟ ΓΚΑΙΤΕ_ΣΥΖΗΤΗΣΗ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDW2eJTbPKU
Question and Answer - "The Global Crisis and Social Movements and Revolts" - QnA spoken in English, Goethe Centre, Nicosia, Cyprus - 4th March 2011
An event organised by the Bi-communal Peace Initiative United Cyprus.
Speakers Sener Elcil (KTOS Teachers Union), Nicos Georgiou, (PEO Trade Union), Niyazi Kizilyurek (University of Cyprus), Nicos Trimikliniotis (University of Cyprus), Ari Sitas (University of Capetown), Immanuel Wallerstein, (Yale University)
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See links to previous items regarding Turkish Cypriot demonstrations, available at:
"Şener Elcil KTOS - Turkish Cypriots demos planned at the EU against Turkeys Cyprus policy"
http://aspectsofreality.blogspot.com/2011/03/sener-elcil-ktos-turkish-cypriots-demos.html
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