Protesters broke through “police” barriers and entered the “parliament” building in the occupied north today as unions staged a second general strike against a decree freezing cost-of-living allowances, with clashes reported between demonstrators and “police” outside the building.
According to initial information, one protester and one “police” officer sustained injuries during the clashes, neither of which is believed to be serious.
Turkish Cypriot media reported that unions marched on the “parliament” from several points across Nicosia, where the administration had deployed extensive “police” forces from early morning, erected barriers and positioned fire engines on standby. Tension rose as protesters removed “police” barriers and took control of the area outside the “parliament.” Some protesters felt unwell during the clashes. CTP leader Sıla Usar İncirli joined the demonstrators at the protest.
Speaking from a platform erected outside the “parliament,” Turkish Cypriot Secondary Education Teachers Union (KTOEÖS) President Selma Eylem directed her remarks at the administration. “Those whose names are associated with deception, theft, corruption and nepotism, who have made front pages and had their reputations destroyed, who show no shame — those who are dragging the country into darkness. Resign. Government resign,” she said.
Turkish Cypriot Civil Servants Union (KTAMS) President Güven Bengihan also addressed the crowd. “We have come to say stop to those who consider the cost-of-living allowance too much for minimum wage workers, who are rendering it meaningless for public servants and retirees and who want to make the people pay the price of the economic crisis,” he said. “Those who violate the constitution, trample on democracy and murder the law with decrees — shame on them.”
In a separate development, the “court” brought by unions against the decree to allow the administration to be heard.
The protest follows a similar demonstration last Monday, when “police” used pepper spray and water cannon against protesters, who broke through barriers and entered the “parliament” building. Windows of a fire engine were smashed during that confrontation. The administration subsequently implemented the cost-of-living freeze by decree after the bill failed to pass through the “parliament.”
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