THERE was a carnival atmosphere in Morphou on Wednesday night as crowds of both Greek and Turkish Cypriots gathered in the town’s Inonu Square to celebrate International Peace Day.
The event was originally to have been held in north Nicosia, but was relocated to Morphou as a mark of protest against unknown forces who detonated a bomb in the doorway of the Ayios Mamas church last week.
The event also came in the immediate wake of a historical service held at Ayios Mamas by almost two thousand Greek Cypriots – the first to be held since the Turkish invasion in 1974.
Organisers of the peace rally, the Turkish Cypriot This Country is Ours Platform (BMBP), said afterwards that over 3,000 took part and that a sizeable number of Greek Cypriots joined after attending the vespers at Ayios Mamas. The crowd was predominantly a youthful one.
EDON central committee member Andreas Viras, along with several other party members, joined the rally to applause. He told the Mail he had joined the event because, “the only future we have in Cyprus in a solution. We want to demonstrate our willingness for peace in Cyprus and to show that we and the Turkish Cypriots are compatriots”.
He added that he felt “completely at home” among Turkish Cypriots.
Also present were a number of Greek Cypriot pro-solution politicians, namely DISY leader Nicos Anastassiades, former president George Vassiliou, AKEL deputy Eleni Mavrou and former EU harmonisation co-ordinator Takis Hajidemetriou.
Turkish Cypriot pro-solution politicians also lent support to the rally. ‘Prime minister’ Mehmet Ali Talat and Peace and Democracy Movement (BDH) leader Mustafa Akinci joined the crowds along with a number of deputies from the Turkish Cypriot ‘parliament’.
The rally began at 8.30pm with the same tight security that had been laid on for the church service. Turkish Cypriot ‘police’ say they put a third of their entire force into the Morphou area to prevent anti-solution forces from disrupting the two events. To the surprise of many, the Turkish army provided helicopter surveillance from the air.
Interspersed by live music, a host of speakers called for peace and the reunification of Cyprus. The opening speech was made in both Greek and Turkish.
Speaking on behalf of the BMBP, Sener Elcil vowed to “continue the struggle” to reunite the island. His pledge was backed by Hajidemetriou, who observed, “With each passing day Turkish and Greek Cypriots are coming closer to each other”.
PEO general secretary Christos Alecou also pledged his union’s support for the peace process and even joined in chants in Turkish declaring, “Peace in Cyprus cannot be obstructed”.
The rally ended peacefully at around 10.30pm.
