Demonstrations in Northern Cyprus in 2011

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Protesters in front of the Turkish embassy

During 2011 there were a number of demonstrations in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus against Turkey's policy on Cyprus and in favor of the reunification of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus with the Republic of Cyprus on the island of Cyprus . It was the largest demonstration in the history of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus .

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is heavily dependent on Turkey after the invasion of Turkish troops and international isolation. After a referendum held in 2004 , the Cypriot Turks voted with a large majority in favor of reunification and the Cypriot Greeks voted against, whereby only the Cypriot Greeks were admitted to the EU. After the failure of the reunification plan, parts of the Cypriot Turks criticized the abandonment of the policy of reunification and EU accession by the then Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan . After a rigid austerity policy was imposed and there was a constant influx of Anatolian Turks, as a result of which the Cypriot Turks felt increasingly culturally marginalized and feared for their jobs, protests broke out. The demonstrations took place in the northern Turkish part of the capital Nicosia . The first protest was held on January 28, 2011.

After the negative reactions from Erdoğan and the opponents of reunification, the Cypriot Turks organized a second and third protest meeting on March 2, 2011 and April 7, 2011. The average number of participants for each protest was between 50,000 and 80,000 people. The population of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is approximately 300,000; they were therefore the largest demonstrations by Cypriot Turks after the Turkish invasion.

Some protesters carried the flags of the Republic of Cyprus and the European Union and banners calling for the reunification of the island. The protests were heavily criticized by the Turkish government.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ileana Ros-Lehtinen: Time for Turkey to leave Cyprus in peace. In: The Washington Times. The Washington Times, LLC, June 15, 2012, accessed July 24, 2014 .
  2. ↑ Cyprus Turks against Ankara. In: The Standard. derStandard.at GmbH, February 8, 2011, accessed on July 24, 2014 .
  3. ^ Jones Dorian: Turkish Cypriot protests set back Turkey's EU membership bid. In: Deutsche Welle. Deutsche Welle, February 9, 2011, accessed July 24, 2014 .
  4. ^ Sarah Fenwick: The Turkish Cypriots Protest - Does Erdogan Hear Them? In: CyprusNewsReport.com. CyprusNewsReport.com, March 3, 2011, accessed July 24, 2014 .
  5. ↑ KTÖS: “Ankara elini yakamızdan çek”. Sendika.Org, March 3, 2011, accessed July 24, 2014 (Turkish).
  6. ↑ Turkish Cypriots stage new anti-austerity rally. In: Kathimerini. International New York Times - Kathimerini English Edition, March 2, 2011, accessed July 24, 2014 .