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Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot unions will mark May Day with a joint rally Thursday in the United Nations-controlled buffer zone in Nicosia, calling for peace, workers’ rights and renewed efforts toward reunification.
Organized under the slogan “Shoulder to Shoulder for Peace and Social Justice,” the event will bring together civil society groups and labor organizations from both sides of the divided island. Participants from the south will march from Eleftheria Square at 5 p.m., while those from the north will depart Kugulu Park at 5:30 p.m., converging at the meeting point by 6:30 p.m.
The event was announced Tuesday during a press conference at the Home for Cooperation in the buffer zone. Union leaders Burak Mavis of the Cyprus Turkish Teachers’ Union (KTOS) and Sotirilla Haralambous of the Pancyprian Federation of Labour (PEO) delivered a joint statement.
The statement emphasized workers’ struggles amid global inflation and rising living costs, and criticized the European Union’s spending priorities, saying military budgets are being favored over health, education and social services. The unions also expressed solidarity with Palestinians, condemning Israeli military actions and supporting Palestinian statehood.
Organizers warned that stalled reunification talks risk deepening the island’s division and called for negotiations to resume from the point they ended in Crans-Montana in 2017.
“This is a call for unity in the face of conflict, nationalism and division,” the statement read, reaffirming a shared commitment to peace and class solidarity.
The gathering will also include speeches and musical performances by Izel Seylani and Yorgos Kalogirou. This year marks a century since May Day was first commemorated in Cyprus.
