The demonstration, held in a square near the Turkish Embassy and internationally unrecognized TRNC’s parliament buildings, was a powerful display of determination. Participants, undeterred by the potential consequences, carried banners reading “It Shall Not Pass,” “This Land Is Ours,” “Don’t Touch My Education, My Way of Life, My Faith, My Culture,” “We Will Not Allow Political Islam to Exploit Our Girls,” and “We Do Not Submit, We Resist.” Slogans such as “Unity, Struggle, Solidarity” and “Cyprus Is Secular and Will Remain Secular” echoed throughout the route, inspiring all who heard them.
Several opposition politicians joined the march, including Tufan Erhürman, Zeki Çeler, and Mehmet Harmancı. In a fervent address, Selma Eylem, chairperson of the Turkish Cypriot Secondary Education Teachers’ Union (KTOEÖS), denounced efforts to turn the north into “a backyard” for outside powers.
Mustafa Baybora, president of the KTOS teachers’ union, echoed the call: “We will never yield an inch of our secular way of life. If Erdoğan thinks these streets belong to him, he will find they belong to us.” Burak Maviş, KTOS’s general secretary, stressed that Turkish Cypriots “paid with blood” for their secular identity and will not bow to Ankara’s interventions, which he said prioritize luxury projects over hospitals and schools.
Ozlem Gürküt of TIP-İS denounced attempts to impose political Islam on young women and condemned threats and bans on strikes. Basın‑Sen chairman Ali Kişmir concluded: “Despite our differences, we share secularism, liberties, our children, and our love for the homeland. In October, democratic forces will fight to reclaim leadership of our community.”
The rally underscored mounting resistance within the occupied north to Ankara’s policies on religion and education.
Photo: YeniDuzen