Citizens, trade unions and political organisations staged a protest outside the parliament on Thursday against proposed legislation regulating public gatherings and demonstrations, coinciding with a plenary session discussion of the bill.
The demonstration opposed legislation that protesters argue threatens fundamental democratic rights. The contested bill requires organisers to inform police seven days in advance of any gathering involving more than 20 people, including details of routes, timing and purposes. It also introduces three new criminal offences related to violent behaviour during protests. Violators face fines and imprisonment.
Organisers expressed concern about what they described as an international trend towards restricting demonstrations, increasing police suppression and criminalising dissent.
“In Cyprus too, incidents of intimidation by the police are recorded, with arrests and use of force against demonstrators,” organisers stated in a text read during the event.
The protesters called for rejection of the bill, arguing that MPs supporting the legislation effectively promote authoritarianism and corruption. They demanded that the Justice Minister and Police Chief be summoned to parliament for accountability.
Trade union’s PEO Central Organiser Christos Tombazos questioned whether regulating the right to protest was necessary when more pressing social issues, such as minimum wage, remain unaddressed. He argued that “it was not the absence of a legal framework” that led to racist riots in Chloraka and Limassol, but other societal factors.
Tombazos described the legislation as “an attempt to restrict democracy” and characterised the bill as a threat to anyone organising mobilisations for vulnerable groups. He argued that strengthening democracy comes through enhancing the ability to protest and maintained that withdrawing the bill represents a social demand.
The organisers’ statement emphasised that the right to protest is inalienable and, for several social groups, represents the only opportunity to intervene in public dialogue.
“Police has used increasingly authoritarian practices in the last few years. The bill proposed by Christodoulides’ government and supported by conservative and nationalist parties only comes to legalise these authoritarian practices. We shall not let it pass,” leftist political movement afoa told in-cyprus.
(Pictures by MATTPRESS)
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