Newsroom
Carrying Cypriot flags and chanting for reunification, secondary school students marched from the wholesale market in Kaimakli toward Mia Milia on Friday. Their message to the island’s leaders was clear: get back to the negotiating table and work toward a Cyprus where Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots can live together.
The Pancyprian Coordinating Committee of Secondary School Students, known as PSEM, organized the Nicosia march to condemn the Nov. 15, 1983, unilateral declaration of independence in the Turkish-occupied north. Secondary school students held similar marches in Cyprus’ other major cities.
PSEM President Despina Kyprianou called for a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, in line with U.N. resolutions. In practical terms, she said, that would mean one country with a single citizenship and a single voice internationally, with both communities having a say in how it is governed.
“We are fighting for the restoration of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all Cypriots,” Kyprianou said. She also called for a demilitarized Cyprus where both communities could live together peacefully, free from outside intervention.
Andreas Panagides, representing the Frederick University Student Union, urged both community leaders, and President Nikos Christodoulides in particular, to work toward restarting negotiations where they left off and build on what had already been agreed. He also called on young people to challenge nationalism in both communities.
