Ledra Street a hive of demos

NICOSIA’S LEDRA Street was buzzing with youthful energy yesterday when two different events were set up to raise awareness about human rights and to highlight the multicultural character of Cyprus.

Both events took place near the Ledra Street crossing point, with volunteers handing out information leaflets and encouraging discussions among the passersby.

The Human Rights event’s aim was to raise awareness and provide a global perspective on human rights and their violations.

The impromptu event was organised by several volunteers of the Amnesty International support group and the civil society Human Action.

The Ledra Street event was set up to commemorate the 50 year anniversary of the founding of Amnesty International in London in 1961, while December 10 was also the 63rd anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948.

“In Cyprus, we tend to focus exclusively on the human rights violations on the island, and we lack any sort of solidarity with other countries that also face similar violations,” said Nicolina, one of the event’s participants.

“Especially during difficult times of financial crises, there tends to be an increase in human rights violations and it is imperative that people learn about their rights and stand up for them,” said another.

Only a few metres away, the One StreetS Festival stand was set up, where photographic exhibitions of the Green Line were on display and children’s face painting and colouring was set up.

The festival included Zumba dancing, a Cameroonian choir and street performances by various artists.

The festival was organised by the “Youth Leaders and Cultural Activists”, a group of around 50 young Greek and Turkish Cypriot volunteers who promote Cyprus’ multicultural character. 

“We want to show everyone that as young Cypriots we want to live together in peace without prejudice and old traumas” said the event coordinator, Meltem Ikinci.