THE JOURNALISTS’ Union yesterday condemned a suspected arson attack on Turkish Cypriot opposition newspaper Avrupa, accusing the regime in the north of attempting to eradicate the freedom of expression.
According to Turkish Cypriot papers, a fire started at the newspaper in the early hours of Monday morning. The cause is reported to be “not officially known”.
However, some newspapers said the fire was started by a petrol bomb thrown into the premises, although they said `police’ had refused to confirm this.
The fire caused damage to the main printing machines and to stocks of paper.
The attack was condemned in the north by the left-wing Republican Turkish Party, which said it was aimed at targeting the democratic struggle of the supporters of peace in Cyprus. Several Turkish Cypriot trade unions also condemned the attack.
On the Greek Cypriot side, the Journalists’ Union said the attack was part of an “extermination campaign” against opposition circles in the north.
“The union expresses its anger and abhorrence at this fascist action, which is the work of forces that do not hesitate to resort even to open violence and terrorism in order to strangle Avrupa, stifle freedom of expression and silence those voices in the Turkish Cypriot community which demand that an end be put to the oppressive regime of Denktash and the Turkish occupation army, and that a peaceful solution be found that will reunite Cyprus and its people and safeguard the human rights of all Cypriots regardless of ethnic origin,” a written statement said.
Avrupa has suffered a series of blows this year for publishing articles critical of the Denktash regime.
The newspaper’s owner Sener Levent and several of its journalists were arrested earlier this year accused of sedition, but later were released.
The paper has also been fined after being convicted of libel against Rauf Denktash, and had its equipment seized for failing to pay the fine.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
