A number of Turkish Cypriots gathered in front of Parliament and organized a protest on the 60th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 186, which was passed on March 4, 1964, calling for the sending of peace forces to Cyprus.
Protestors demanded the annulment of the decision and drew attention to the isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
The event which was organised by the Council of Turkish Cypriot Associations in the UK (BTCA) and Embargoed. The protesters, who carried flags of the TRNC, as well as banners with the slogans “Not a peace force, but an invader,” “Britain was wrong in Cyprus,” “60 years of the UN Security Council resolution is enough,” wore masks with the inscription “embargoed.”
Kenan Yaman, President of the BTCA, who participated in the protest said, “The purpose of these was to supposedly protect us, the Turkish Cypriots, but since then, with this decision, the Greek Cypriot Administration has usurped all our rights under the name of the ‘Republic of Cyprus.'”
Adding “We are here today to protest this decision. We want this decision, written by Britain, to be changed or withdrawn because it is clear that the root cause of the problem in Cyprus is the UN Security Council decision. We want it to be corrected.”
Yaman emphasized that the Turkish Cypriots support a two-state solution on the island and said, “Now they must return our rights. Otherwise, the Cyprus issue cannot be resolved in any way or in any situation.” Yaman expressing that the recognition of the TRNC is the most natural right of the Turkish Cypriots going on to add ‘the inability to travel, trade and even sent letter direct to North Cyprus is a violation of their human rights.’
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