Thousands Protest in Nicosia for Secular Education and Society

Gathering at Citroen traffic lights in Dereboyu, demonstrators marched with banners and slogans toward the Martyrs’ Monument, following a route that included Ledra Palace traffic lights, the Presidency, Kuğulu Park, and the Parliament.

The protest was held in response to what organizers described as increasing threats to secularism. Protestors carried banners reading:
“You Deserve Better, My Cyprus,”
“No Passage,”
“We Are Atatürk’s Children,”
“No to Imposition, Beauty Cannot Be Forced,”
“Every Child Is an Individual with a Voice and Free Will,”
“Hands Off My Education, My Lifestyle, My Faith, and My Culture,”
and
“We Will Not Compromise on a Secular, Modern Social Structure.”

Chants of “Cyprus Is Secular and Will Remain Secular,” “Unity, Struggle, Solidarity,” and “We Are Not Afraid, We Are Not Silent, We Do Not Submit” echoed through the capital.

At the Martyrs’ Monument, union leaders and representatives from political parties and civil society organizations addressed the crowd, including KTOEÖS President Selma Eylem, KTÖS President Mustafa Baybora, KTAMS and KİEF President Güven Bengihan, and HÜR-İŞ President Ahmet Serdaroğlu. Speakers reaffirmed their commitment to protecting democratic values and secular education.

Eylem: "No Passage for Those Who Threaten Our Future and Existence"

President of the Cyprus Turkish Secondary Education Teachers’ Union (KTOEÖS), Selma Eylem, delivered a powerful speech during yesterday’s mass protest in Nicosia, declaring that they had gathered to say “no passage” to the hands reaching out to undermine the community’s will, values, secular structure, education system, schools, girls, women, future, and very existence.

Eylem criticized the decision taken by the Council of Ministers, stating that society would not bow to impositions. She argued that the constitution and laws rooted in Atatürk’s principles and reforms, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, rulings by the European Court of Human Rights, and expert reports were all being disregarded. According to Eylem, the government 

was neglecting education and the future, plunging schools into chaos and pushing women and girls into darkness. She called for resignations, stating that such a course of governance was unacceptable.

Eylem claimed that attempts were being made to undermine the will and existence of the Turkish Cypriot community, with politically motivated agendas designed to extract short-term gains. “We will not yield to these initiatives,” she declared, “we will not allow them, and together, we will continue to resist.”

She also revealed that she and others had been targeted through insults and threats from fake online accounts, aimed at intimidating and discrediting them. "We will not remain silent or stand down. With our heads held high and our integrity intact, we will continue the struggle," she said.

Eylem concluded with a call to action:
“We are here today to declare that we will never give up the fight to live in our own country with dignity, in peace, independently, and freely—within the framework of international law. We demand a society where the constitution and laws cannot be disregarded, where wrongdoers are held accountable, and where we live in equality, justice, democracy, and secularism. Guided by Atatürk’s principles and reforms, in a modern, progressive, and fair system in which we govern ourselves—this is what we are fighting for. For our future and for our children, we will continue this struggle without retreat.”