IMMIGRANT support group KISA has sounded the alarm over the rise in apparently racially-motivated crime following the firebombing of a Palestinian cultural centre in Larnaca.
Around 1am on Wednesday the cultural centre was broken into and torched. The perpetrators left a warning on the walls, in red paint, reading: “You started, we finish it. Not the end.”
Larnaca CID is investigating. No suspects have been named.
The building was being used by Larnaca’s Palestinian community as an activities centre and a school where, among other things, Palestinians take Greek language lessons.
KISA is concerned because despite the increase in similar acts against immigrants, authorities do not seem to be taking matters seriously.
Wednesday’s incident was put down to “anti-social behavior,” but KISA believes it is much more than that.
The group said this was the third recent incident in Larnaca with racist undertones. On March 21, unknown perpetrators threw a Molotov cocktail inside the mosque in the town of Larnaca. Prior to that, there were a number of instances where stones, bottles and eggs were thrown at the mosque causing minor damage.
On the day before (20 March), the site of an old factory, used by young immigrants as a gathering spot, was also torched.
KISA says that police kept quiet about these two incidents, and is worried that inaction could encourage further acts of violence against immigrants.
In a statement released yesterday, KISA cautioned against the proliferation of self-styled nationalist groups on the island, in particular drawing attention to an outfit calling itself the ‘Black Brigades’.
About a month ago, KISA said, the ‘Black Brigades’ circulated leaflets in Larnaca calling for a halt to immigration and spray-painting their logo and slogans on walls across the town. Similar actions have been documented in Limassol.
A recent post on the group’s website reads: “The Autonomous Nationalists Black Brigades took action against the rampant immigration demanding the immediate deportation of all immigrants. Our Struggle in Larnaca is being intensified.”
KISA believes the latest incidents are evidence of growing activity by extremist and racist elements, which if unchecked could lead to more serious violence.
“It seems the Palestinian community is being targeted, not because of anti-Palestinian sentiments per se, but probably because the community is not as low-profile as others,” said KISA head Doros Polycarpou.
“The Palestinian community in Larnaca is quite sizeable – perhaps 3,000 strong – and organised…perhaps that is what has drawn undue attention. For some reason, which warrants study, Larnaca seems to have become a breeding ground for a number of nationalist groups.”
Hassan Abd-al Rahman, a spokesman for Larnaca’s Palestinian community, said they were “saddened” but undeterred by the torching of their cultural centre.
“We shall continue our activities elsewhere while we repair the communal centre. Our relations with the people of Larnaca are very good,” he told the Mail.
In addition to holding Greek lessons, the Palestinian community organises folklore activities and is actively involved in sports, including football, tae kwon do and basketball.
“We suspect no one. The most important thing is to go back to our normal life,” said Abd-al Rahman.
