A silent vigil to commemorate those who died during the Bloody Christmas (1963) attacks, will be held outside the Greek Cypriot Embassy in London, Kibris Postasi reports.
The vigil organised by the Young Turkish Cypriots, British Turkish Cypriot Association and Embargoed!, will take place on Wednesday, 21 December between 6pm and 8pm.
A joint statement issued by the three organisations read as follows:
“Many people think that the Cyprus events started in 1974, but the events started 11 years before this date, in 1963, with the bloody military coup carried out by the Greeks against the Republic of Cyprus. The Greek Cypriots, who could not digest the power sharing with the Turkish Cypriots in the new Republic, cooperated with the terrorist organisation EOKA, not only expelling the Turkish Cypriot representatives from the parliament at gunpoint, but also expelled the Turks from their homes and villages.
“On December 21, 1963, the Greeks launched a bloody attack against the Turks in order to take control of the entire island of Cyprus. In just 10 days, 133 Turkish Cypriots were martyred and at the same time between 25,000 and 30,000 people (25 percent of the population) were displaced. We will not only commemorate our martyrs on the night in question. At the same time, we will send a letter and call on the Greek Cypriot administration, which has usurped the so-called Republic of Cyprus for 58 years.
“It is our call to the Greek Cypriot Administration: Tell its people and the world the truth about the Cyprus problem.
“Accept the suffering of the Turkish Cypriot people and apologise. Bring to justice those who committed crimes against humanity in Cyprus. End all inhuman isolation against Turkish Cypriots”.
