A group of Turkish Cypriots gathered in front of parliament in London yesterday to demand that UNFICYP withdraw from Cyprus, Kibris Postasi reports.
The protest was held on the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC) resolution number 186 dated March 4, 1964, which included the sending of peacekeepers to Cyprus.
The protest was organised by the British Council of Turkish Cypriot Associations (BTCA) and the non-governmental organisation “Embargoed”, with the demand for the annulment of the decision taken by the UNSC in 1964.
In addition to the flags of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), the demonstrators carried banners saying “Not a peacekeeper, but an invader”, “Britain was wrong in Cyprus”, “The 60-year decision of the UN Security Council is enough”, and wore face masks with “embargoed” written on them.
Stating the UNSC’s decision had led to the Turkish Cypriots in Cyprus being isolated, BTCA President Kenan Yaman, in his statement to the press, said that the UN Peace Force (UNFICYP) was deployed to Cyprus with the UN Security Council’s decision no. 186 dated March 4, 1964.
Yaman said, “Their purpose was to protect us, the Turkish Cypriots, but since then, with this decision, the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus has usurped all our rights under the name of the ‘Republic of Cyprus“.
Stating that the Greek Cypriot side had removed the rights of the Turkish Cypriots, citing the UN decision in question, and embargoes were imposed on the TRNC, Yaman said:
“We are here today to protest this decision. We want this decision written by the UK to be changed or withdrawn because the cornerstone of the Cyprus problem here is the UN Security Council decision. Using this, it is clear that Cyprus is currently in a stalemate situation. We want this to be fixed“.
Yaman stated that Turkish Cypriots are in favour of a two-state solution on the island and said, “It is now imperative that they return our rights. Otherwise, the Cyprus issue cannot be resolved in any way or situation“.
Direct Flights
“I cannot write a letter from here, from England, and send it directly to Cyprus. Isn’t this a violation of my human rights? It will go directly to Turkey. I will give an address in Turkey and from there it will go to Cyprus. This will take months, or even get lost on the way. Our elderly, young children, and pregnant women here cannot fly directly to Cyprus from here. They have to go from Turkey. They will land in Turkey, go through security, get on the plane again, and then arrive in Cyprus. Isn’t this a violation of our rights? We can’t go to our hometown directly whenever we want. This mistake must be corrected“, Yaman said.
Direct Trade
Pointing out that direct trade cannot be made with the TRNC due to the embargo, Yaman said, “We cannot send anything directly from here to there. There is no export or import. All this is due to decision number 186. Our most fundamental problem is this decision, we object to this decision. It has been 60 years. This should be abolished and our rights should be returned to us“, he said.
