Cyprus Mail 5 September 2023 - by Tom Cleaver
Concerned pro-migrant activist groups have urged vulnerable minorities to keep a low profile when another anti-migrant protest takes place on Wednesday evening, this time outside the presidential palace in Nicosia.
Following on from the violent scenes witnessed in Chlorakas and Limassol last week, when migrants were attacked and their properties vandalised, protestors are set to descend on the capital.
Organisers of the demonstration are calling for a “peaceful protest” this time, but in an incendiary social media post, they described immigration as “the third invasion of our island, with the consent of all the last Cypriot governments”.
“The danger that we may also lose the other half of our homeland is now more than visible and the survival of Cypriot Hellenism in the place of its ancestors is more than in doubt,” they said.
“The problem is not only in Chlorakas, it extends to Ledra street, to Kokkinotrimithia, and at some point it will corrode even the last village in Cyprus.”
The protestors also called for “immediate and mass resignations”, but they did not say of whom.
With the violence of previous anti-migrant protests well-publicised, and the inaptitude of the police to prevent it, environmentalist group Avli and pro-reunification group Hade published a warning to minorities in Nicosia, urging them to keep themselves safe.
“We urge all refugees, migrants, Turkish Cypriots and any other vulnerable minorities to take care of yourselves,” they said.
“Please avoid walking within the areas of central Nicosia from Wednesday evening until the following morning. Please protect yourselves by staying indoors as much as possible and take measures to protect your properties,” they added.
They also encouraged minorities not to go out alone and to “avoid crossing points or being nearby”.
They also urged people not to order food for delivery as “it may put vulnerable people in danger”.
