Forty Kurdish asylum seekers are being threatened by the Cypriot government with being deported back to Syria where they face imprisonment, torture and persecution by the authorities.

Kurdish people are the most persecuted and discriminated section of Syrian society. They are not allowed use their own language in public life and are often refused access to schools and universities. Any time Kurds in Syria have tried to campaign for their national rights they have been brutally suppressed by the Syrian regime.

However the Cypriot government (which also includes the Communist Party of Cyprus) has chosen to ignore these facts and is determined to deport these Kurdish asylum seekers. In the past it has hypocritically sought to use the persecution of Kurds in Turkey in order to attack to Turkish state which occupies the North of Cyprus. However when Kurds arrive in Cyprus seeking refuge from the oppressive regimes under which they live, they are forced to live in squalor, insecurity and despair.

Last May these Kurds along with other refugees waged a magnificent campaign against these threats of deportations and against their inhumane treatment by the Cypriot government. For 11 days and nights they set up camp and occupied Eleftheria Square in central Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus. The asylum seekers also occupied the Red Cross for five days and nights.

An indication of the desperation of the asylum seekers was shown by the fact that a number of them went on hunger strike and threatened to throw themselves off the roof of the Red Cross building. This action resulted in 1,000 strong demonstration taking place. As a result of these protests, the Cypriot government was forced to give them their basic rights as asylum seekers. These included access to medical care, housing and human living conditions.

Members of the Committee for a Workers International (CWI) in Cyprus have played a central role in giving support and assistance to the Kurdish asylum seekers. It is vital that as much political pressure is put on the Cypriot government in Cyprus and internationally to stop these deportations from taking place. In the next few weeks, different sections of the CWI will be organising protests at various Cypriot Embassies throughout Europe. The Socialist Party and Socialist Youth are urging all our supporters and readers of The Socialist to send in letters of protest to the Cypriot government.

Click here for a model letter of protest.

Send emails to:

Dimitris Christofias, President of Parliament, gen. secretary of AKEL

president@parliament.cy

N. Silikiotis, Minister of Interior

cgregoriades@moi.gov.cy

Office of the Ombudsman

ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.cy

Government spokesman

govspokesman@pio.moi.gov.cy

And copies to:

Youth against Nationalism in Cyprus

youthagainstnationalism@gmail.com

Committee for a Workers International

cwi@worldsoc.co.uk

Cillian Gillespie

cillian@socialistparty.net