TURKISH occupation forces yesterday flexed their muscles in a military parade to mark Turkish army day.
As UN envoy Alvaro de Soto flew in to Cyprus in an effort to jump-start settlement talks, and Turkish Cypriot demonstrators took to the streets demanding a solution to the Cyprus problem, Rauf Denktash watched the tanks rumbling down the road.
Among the military hardware on display, Turkish forces showed off newly-arrived M15 203mm artillery and T122 multiple rocket launchers.
The Turkish air force did not take part in the parade, although three helicopters – two Hueys and a Cougar – flew over the parade, carrying troops dangling on ropes.
Far from displays of military might, around 5,000 Turkish Cypriots – members of 41 non-governmental organisations – on Wednesday rallied in occupied Nicosia demanding the immediate resumption of talks to solve the Cyprus problem.
The demonstrators shouted slogans such as: “Welcome peace”, “Denktash resign”, and “Cyprus is ours, we shall govern it”.
During the rally the Turkish Cypriot protesters read out a letter they sent to the UN Secretary-general Kofi Annan, reiterating their support for a swift and lasting solution of the problem and the establishment of a bizonal bi-communal federation, opposed by Denktash and his followers.
“We demand that the two community leaders abandon their narrow nationalistic and intransigent policies and do whatever is necessary for a lasting solution and make every effort to take positive steps towards a solution that is based on the 1977 and 1979 Summit agreements,” the letter said.
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.
