A STUDENT protest against Greco-Turkish rapprochement outside the Presidential Palace was yesterday marred by minor scuffles when police manhandled students and ripped up a banner.
Around 20 students of the Higher Technological Institute, members of an independent group, assembled outside the Presidential Palace at around 10am to demonstrate against Greco-Turkish rapprochement, which they claim is unacceptable as long as Turkish troops are occupying the island.
Papandreou is seen as the architect of rapprochement and came under fire earlier this year for dancing the zembetika on the island of Samos with his Turkish counterpart Ismail Cem clapping him along.
The chairman of the group, Yiannis Zaharoudiou, said: “We planned to come here for a peaceful protest and we told the security officer that our demo would be peaceful.”
“We wanted to voice our exasperation and displeasure about Greco-Turkish rapprochement while the occupation continues in Cyprus,” he said.
But according to Zaharoudiou, several officers out of around 25 on duty charged a group of female students who were holding a banner saying: “shame on you for dancing with the occupier”.
One officer apparently ripped the banner, took the piece and left the scene.
This action outraged the students, who nevertheless continued their peaceful protest from the pavement outside the palace’s entrance.
“Only the (Greek) Junta and the police today dared to muzzle students and behave this way.” Zaharoudiou said.
When the Greek Foreign Minister arrived at the Presidential Palace for a scheduled meeting with President Glafcos Clerides, he got out of his car and spoke briefly with the students, who handed him their pamphlet.
According to the students, Papandreou told them he understood their worries and assured them that Greece was doing its best to solve the Cyprus issue.
Zaharoudiou said Papandreou had showed good will towards the students, adding nevertheless: “I think what he does is an insult to the nation.”
He added: “We are fed up with words. Unfortunately, it’s the actions that matter, and what’s being done behind our backs; that’s what stays.”
Anna Georgiadou accused the police of attacking them without any reason.
“We came here to protest peacefully and the police attacked us, ripped our banner and hit us,” she said.
“As far as I know only the police forces of fascist regimes hit women like this,” she added.
But Georgiadou said that the “unacceptable” incident would not change the essence of the demonstration, which was about the Greek Foreign Ministry’s policy over Cyprus.
Florentia Kyprianou justified the protest as the least the students could do when Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis had declared that Greco-Turkish rapprochement could not be interrupted just because Turkey had invaded Cyprus.
“Turkey hasn’t shown any signs of good will and Greece insists its policy would make it stronger in the diplomatic field and bring better days for us, which unfortunately we are not seeing,” Kyprianou said.
The 20 or so students withdrew peacefully chanting: “No friendship while occupation continues in Cyprus.”
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.
