The opposition AKEL party has called for a demonstration outside the Foreign Ministry in Nicosia this evening following violent police suppression of peaceful protesters demonstrating against the Israeli seizure of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.
AKEL General Secretary Stefanos Stefanou announced the demonstration, scheduled for 6:00 pm, at the same location “where police attacked demonstrators without provocation yesterday evening”.
“AKEL stands firmly against the logic of repression and police-state tactics. It stands against the government’s subservience to the Netanyahu regime,” Stefanou stated in a post on X.
“AKEL calls on every progressive and democratic citizen to unite our voices tonight at 6:00 pm in a gathering outside the Foreign Ministry”.
The Volt party also condemned the police actions, warning against authoritarian practices in a democratic European nation.
“Violent suppressions of peaceful demonstrations have no place in a democratic and European country,” Volt stated.
“We condemn the police violence that unfolded during yesterday’s peaceful demonstration in Nicosia. The demonstration was about the violation of international law and the illegal military operation by the Israeli army against peaceful civilian ships heading to Gaza with food and medicine for Palestinians”.
Volt added: “We cannot allow a return to authoritarianism, nor violence against citizens of the Republic of Cyprus who are peacefully demonstrating simply to reassure third parties”.
Yesterday’s protest began at 6:30 pm outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, resulting in road closures in the area.
The peaceful demonstration, which aimed to demand a stronger official response from the Cypriot government following Israel’s seizure of the Global Sumud Flotilla, turned confrontational when anti-riot police intervened.
Eyewitness reports and videos confirmed that police sprayed participants and attempted to disperse the protest violently, with officers seen pushing and attacking demonstrators in the crowd.
Additionally, dialogos.com.cy reported that a journalist from Haravgi newspaper was attacked by police during the incident.
Hundreds of demonstrators had gathered to protest the Cypriot government’s response following Israel’s seizure of the flotilla heading to Gaza with humanitarian aid.
AKEL has characterised the government’s stance as subservience to the Netanyahu regime, whilst opposition parties describe the police tactics as incompatible with democratic governance.
