Turkish Cypriots protest over dominant role of the military

The streets and squares of the Turkish Cypriot sector of Nicosia were filled with protesters last night as preparations continued for tomorrow's celebrations of the 26th anniversary of the Turkish army's invasion and occupation of the north of the island.

At Inonu Square, named after the second president of modern Turkey, 35 trade unions and other groups gathered at a rally organised by the left-wing opposition Republican Turkish and National Unity parties. The demonstration was organised under the slogan, "This country is ours", and its principal demand was "democracy for the owners of the land".

In other areas of northern Nicosia there were protests against the economic crisis caused by the collapse of the banking sector and the citrus industry.

While the economic protests castigated the ruling establishment's policies and performance, the other demonstration challenged the dominant position of mainland Turkish military in northern Cyprus.

Earlier this month the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Mustafa Acinci, raised the issue of the military's role by demanding the transfer of the police and fire service from army to civilian control.

This was taken up by the leftwing newspaper Avruppa, published by Mr Sener Levent. Mr Levent, three journalists and a Turkish Cypriot army officer and his wife were arrested on July 7th and charged with spying for the Greek Cypriots. While the three journalists - Avrupa columnists Ali Osman Tabak and Harun Denizkan and photographer Mehmet Inanci - were released earlier, Mr Levent and the officer and his wife were only freed yesterday, and still face further investigation.

Mr Levent, a one-time presidential candidate, is one of the harshest critics of the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr Rauf Denktash, and Turkey's policies on the island.

On Monday, Ms Sarah de Jong, a representative of the International Federation of Journalists who visited northern Cyprus, flatly dismissed the spying charges as unfounded and accused the Turkish Cypriot administration of violating the right of freedom of expression.

Newspapers in mainland Turkey have also taken up the case. "Turkey can no longer delay answering the question of whether the `Turkish republic of northern Cyprus' is an independent state or a province of Turkey," wrote Cumhuriyet. This is precisely the question the demonstrators in Inonu Square were asking last night.

The Turkish army's role is cited as an obstacle to the process of democratisation and liberalisation expected to take place ahead of Turkey's accession to the EU. Last Friday, the Commissioner for Enlargement, Mr Gunther Verheugen, began a visit to Ankara to discuss Turkey's efforts to meet EU requirements. He is due to submit his report in October.