ILPS Europe Organizing Committee calls to Expose and Oppose Continuing Turkish Colonization and Occupation of Cyprus

Support the Cypriot People’s Struggle for Genuine Independence and Freedom!

The recent declaration of the Turkish Erdogan regime to blacklist 42 Cypriots as “persona non grata” is another vicious move to intensify the national oppression against the people of Cyprus. Among the 42 singled-out individuals were prominent personalities like the former leader of the Turkish-speaking Cypriot community Mustafa Akıncı, the chief editor of Avrupa newspaper Şener Levent, the general secretary of the Turkish Cypriot Teachers’ Union Şener Elcil and Oz Karahan, the president of the Union of Cypriots.

While Turkish-speaking Cypriots are forced out of their homelands, a massive wave of thousands of illegal settlers from Turkey are flocking to Cyprus. This move further aggravates the social, cultural, and economic oppression against the people of Cyprus. Moreover, it unmasks the brazen arrogance and cowardice of the Turkish state against dissenting voices and the growing resistance against oppression and domination. The ILPS Europe Organizing Committee also raises grave concern regarding the security threats to the 42 named individuals as imminent dangers emanating from the oppression of the Turkish state.

This continuing Turkish colonization scheme and occupation of Cyprus and the worsening national oppression of its people is part and parcel of imperialism’s geo-political strategy to advance its control and hegemony in the Eastern Mediterranean and the adjacent territories under the aegis of the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Wittingly or unwittingly, the Turkish state under the Erdogan regime is a conduit of and complicit in advancing this imperialist agenda in the region.

Thus, the ILPS Europe Organizing Committee reiterates its call to expose and oppose the continuing Turkish colonization and Occupation of Cyprus. Likewise, we appeal to the international community, progressive organizations and peace-loving peoples the world over, to extend their solidarity and support to the Cypriot people’s struggle.

Support the struggle of the Union of Cypriots and the people of Cyprus for genuine independence and freedom from foreign domination! ###