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Residents and people working in walled Nicosia are concerned about the possibility of fascist violence spilling over to the area, where many migrants live and have businesses.
The unrest was prompted after migrants and migrant-owned properties were targeted in fascist attacks in Limassol and twice in Chloraka, last week.
Moreover, fears of renewed violence heightened after “anti-migrant” protesters announced a demonstration in Nicosia, initially scheduled for September 6, which has since been cancelled.
The organised supporters’ groups of Apoel and Apollon, who are known for their nationalist views and often carry fascist insignia in football games said they would participate in the demonstration, which was scheduled to start outside the presidential palace on Wednesday evening.
However, on Tuesday afternoon, the protest’s organisers announced the cancellation of the event.
Writing on the Facebook page “Mass Deportations Now” the organisers said they decided to call off the protest after the violence in Limassol on Friday.
“The riots that took place, gave arguments to the far-left and Akel to cover up their responsibilities for the problems they themselves instigated through the migration issue in order to win votes because their ideologies have collapsed for years now,” they wrote, claiming that left-wing Akel is trying to mobilise voters in anticipation of the 2024 European elections.
“Our aim is not to aggravate the situation and split the internal front for electoral reasons, as is the case with Akel, but to solve the migration issue. In order to achieve this goal and to avoid civil conflict, we have decided to cancel tomorrow’s demonstration,” they noted.
According to philenews, police, acting on information, took measures in case some demonstrators splintered from the protest to head downtown to attack migrants. Sources said that the anti-riot squad was put on alert, while members of the force were recalled from their leave.
Looming threat of violence has residents, workers in Nicosia on their feet
In statements to in-cyprus before the cancellation of the protest, people residing and working in walled Nicosia said they were worried about the possibility of fascist attacks in the area.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the manager of a local business, said that he planned to come to work on Wednesday, despite being his off day, to be alongside his staff, in case something happens.
Furthermore, some activist groups took to social media and went door-to-door warning people who could be at risk, such as refugees, migrants and Turkish Cypriots to be cautious on Wednesday evening. They also issued announcements which among others, urged people to avoid ordering food, as this could have put delivery drivers in danger.
Three migrant delivery drivers were attacked and robbed last Saturday in Limassol, which is the latest incident in a spate of similar attacks.
Moreover, sources told Phileleftheros that following the attacks in Chloraka and Limassol, police intensified patrols near areas where migrants live and go to school, as well as outside Muslim places of worship.
The measures were decided last Thursday during a conference at the Ministry of Justice, which has faced criticism for its mishandling of the “anti-migrant” protests that turned into pogroms. Sources added that the police’s cybercrime unit has been put on alert as well, to identify people who may have participated in or organised the attacks.
Racist violence in Cyprus this year
On Friday night, far-right anti-migrant protesters attacked migrants and vandalised shops in Limassol, which quickly turned into a war zone, with cars and motorbikes set on fire by the protesters.
Moreover, on August 27, a group of far-right activists broke from an “anti-ghettoisation” protest in Chloraka and attacked migrants, while breaking the windows of shops and homes of Syrian residents with stones and injured people inside. The violence continued the following evening.
In June, police said that recorded incidents of bias-motivated violence have increased yearly, highlighting the negative consequences of the growing hostility towards refugees and migrants.
This year, a black boy was a victim of a bias-motivated attack by other local children in his school, while foreign delivery drivers have been subject to multiple attacks.
Also, in May 2023, a Cypriot man was sentenced to eight months for beating a pregnant African woman to the ground in Larnaca. The incident was caught on tape, causing outrage on the island.
A number of political figures and organisations on the island have called for a reconfiguration of the Republic’s integration policies, which as they argue leaves migrants and refugees in vulnerable circumstances.
Furthermore, a Council of Europe report in March highlighted that hate speech remains widespread in the country which has seen a spike in the arrival of migrants and people seeking asylum in recent years.
(Featured image by George Christophorou)
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