A pro-Palestinian protest was held on Sunday in central Nicosia, co-organised by a coalition of left-wing groups and social movements aiming to highlight the plight of Palestinians facing food and medical shortages.
Around 400 protestors gathered in Eleftheria Square at 14:00 pm, moving on to march towards the Nicosia Municipal Theatre, where speeches were given. In a symbolic gesture, protestors held a ‘die-in’, laying on the ground in a moment of silence for Gaza’s war victims.
Protestors then marched to Starbucks on Georgiou Griva Digeni Avenue, where a symbolic sit-in took place. Starbucks has been accused of supporting Israel after it sued the Workers United union, which represents Starbucks employees, over copyright infringement related to a pro-Palestinian social media post. Starbucks has repeatedly denied supporting Israel.
Protestors returned to Eleftheria Square around 18:00 pm, leading to the end of the march.
“Our purpose today is to show that, as citizens of Cyprus, we feel ashamed that our government continues to support and whitewash Israel’s genocide of the Palestinians. We are appalled by what we see on our screens. Unarmed civilians, women, and children are being executed or bombed daily. 15,000+ babies have been killed, and countless more lie under the rubble! What is happening is a disgrace and a crime against humanity, and we certainly do not accept it being done in our name through our government,” a local activist told in-cyprus.
The demonstration comes amid criticism of the Cypriot government’s support for the “Amalthea programme,” an aid initiative shunned by the organisers as a public relations exercise that fails to address the core issue of the land blockade.
“Since the seventh of October 2023 the government of the Republic of Cyprus, as a close ally of Israel, has been complicit in its war crimes in Gaza. Recently, the government together with other countries have launched the Amalthea programme (a ‘humanitarian’ corridor that will transport minor aid through sea) with Israel as the distributor”, the organisers stated in their announcement calling for the protest.
“At the same time, aid entering through land is being actively blocked by the occupation army. Τhus Amalthea is used as a media stunt and cover-up for using the starvation of the population in Gaza as a weapon of war,” the organisers further noted.
Demands from the protestors included an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the complete lifting of the blockade on Gaza, an end to the perceived complicity of the Cypriot government, the dismantling of the Israeli occupation and freedom for Palestine.
The protest marked 6 months since October 7th, when Hamas gunmen burst into Israel, killing around 1,200 people and sparking the bombardment and invasion of the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces.
More than 30,000 Palestinians have been reportedly killed following Israel’s military response, sparking international criticism against Israel. Humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip have dramatically since the start of the war, with the United Nations and a senior U.S. State Department official warning of famine.
Israel is currently under trial at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for the crime of genocide. The case was brought forward to the Court by South Africa, and a final verdict on the case is expected to take years.
