CYPRUS: Some 30,000 Turkish Cypriots rallied yesterday in the northern sector of the divided capital, demanding reunification of the island so they can join the European Union.
The demonstrators, who took time off from their jobs, carried the blue EU flag and chanted, "Peace in Cyprus cannot be prevented", as they gathered in the main square near parliament.
They called upon the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr Rauf Denktash, to resign for refusing to accept a UN plan for reunification ahead of the Copenhagen summit so that the Turkish Cypriot north could enter the EU in 2004 along with the Greek Cypriot south.
The two sides have been given until February 28th to reach an accord ahead of a referendum on EU membership set for March. If there is no agreement by then on a federal state comprising two largely autonomous cantons linked by a weak central administration, the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot republic will join and the candidacy of the Turkish Cypriot breakaway state will be shelved.
Greek Cypriot political parties and trade unionists hailed the protest as part of a common effort by Greek and Turkish Cypriots for the reunification of the island. The demonstration, the largest ever against the policies of their leadership, was the culmination of a Turkish Cypriot campaign.
On Monday, a group staged a hunger strike demanding immediate acceptance of the UN plan. On Tuesday, professional and other associations belonging to a movement called "This Country is Ours" demonstrated in the picturesque town of Morphou.
The leader of the opposition Turkish Republican Party, Mr Mehmet Ali Talat, called for the resignation of Mr Denktash and his mainland Turkish adviser, Mr Mumtaz Soysal. Mr Denktash has demanded changes in the territorial and constitutional provisions of the plan before accepting it as a basis for negotiations.