Greek Cypriots of Victoria have called the planned assembly and march to “commemorate 50 years of peace in Cyprus” by Turkish Cypriots in Melbourne as a “provocation”.
The Cyprus Turkish Community of Australia announced that there will be a march starting at Parliament House on Saturday July 20.From there they plan to walk up Collins Street into Swanston Street and then continue their rally at Federation Square.
“Our purpose is to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of peace on our Homeland island of Cyprus thanks to the intervention of the Republic of Türkiye on 20th July 1974,” the announcement read.
They also expect a minimum of 1000 people to attend.
The Cypriot Community of Melbourne and Victoria and SEKA Victoria have said they will not be addressing this “provocation” further, which they believe was organised after they found out about the Greek Cypriot ceremony at Federation Square the following day.
On Sunday July 21, the Cypriot and Greek communities of Victoria will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus.
There will be a flag-raising ceremony and wreath laying, which will be followed by speeches from the Mayor of Melbourne, state and federal politicians and community and church leaders.
The proceedings will also feature a choir and well-known singers like Marios Charalambous, who will sing beloved songs such as “Ena to Helidoni” and “Tis dikaiosynis Ilie Noite”.
Read more about the event here.
