By Stefanos Evripidou
THE Secretary-general of the Council of Europe, Walter Schwimmer, expressed concern yesterday over the tense political situation in the occupied north following the arrest of six leading activists during a symbolic referendum on the UN plan for reunification last Tuesday.
“I appeal to all authorities in northern Cyprus to respect, now and in the future, freedom of expression on their territory,” said Schwimmer.
“We must not forget that despite the particular political and legal situation of northern Cyprus, its citizens continue to be protected by the European Convention on Human Rights. Repression will not help to bring about a peaceful and equitable solution to the Cyprus question.”
Schwimmer stressed that for the international community, the Annan plan was still on the table.
Pro-unification Turkish Cypriot groups planned to hold a symbolic referendum last night in Kyrenia, as a follow-up to a similar meeting in Elia, near Morphou, on Tuesday night. However, Tuesday’s mock plebiscite led to violent scenes as ‘police’ arrested six leading activists and allegedly beat protesters with clubs.
According to Turkish Cypriot press reports, the men were charged on a variety of offences including ‘aiming to bring the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus down and join the Republic of Cyprus’.
Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot political leader, Mehmet Ali Talat was quoted by Turkish Cypriot press commenting on the incidents in Elia. He accused those who tried to prevent the people from using their right to self-determination with being intolerant of the people’s symbolic referendum.
He was quoted as saying “The only unrestricted tolerance that has been enjoyed at the utmost level in this country is the tolerance that the people have shown towards a president for the past 40 years.”
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.
