‘Hands Off Our Flag’
Turkish Cypriots living in the United Kingdom held a second protest outside Waltham Forest Town Hall north London last week, against what they called “discrimination” and “racism” against the British Turkish Cypriot Community on behalf of Waltham Forest Council’s leader Grace Williams. Cllr Williams gained infamy among British Turkish Cypriots when on November 15 last year, North Cyprus’s Independence Day, she ordered the removal of the country’s flag from the town hall building. The flag had been raised above the Town Hall after a request from British Turkish Cypriot Waltham Forest Councillor Nick Halebi was granted, but Cllr Williams ordered the flag’s removal after it drew complaints from Greek Cypriot groups.
The first protest against Cllr Williams was held on December 9 last year, and last week’s protest was a reiteration of the original. The protesters demanded an apology from Cllr Williams, who ordered the flag’s removal on November 15 and released a statement on the council’s website which insinuated that the flag of the TRNC was offensive. The protesters demanded that the statement in question be removed from the council’s website, and also accused Cllr Williams of lying in her report about the incident that she had scheduled a meeting with the Council of Turkish Cypriot Associations (CTCA), while the CTCA affirm that no such meeting was scheduled.
The protest was attended by many Turkish Cypriots who adorned themselves in the flag of the TRNC, as well as people of other ethnicities, including Kashmiris, Palestinians, Turks, Azeris, and Irish people. At the protest, CTCA chairwoman Ayşe Osman gave a speech, in which she claimed that Cllr Williams ordered the flag be taken down “due to a complaint from the [Greek Cypriot] High Commissioner”. If this were to be proven true, it would constitute a violation of international law by the Greek Cypriot Administration, as it is strictly prohibited for diplomats of a foreign country to interfere in the decision making processes of local institutions.
Mrs Osman went on to confirm that the CTCA had written letters to 60 local councillors, and that on the day of the protest, they had given them “detailed leaflets” which described the reasons for the protest. She also announced that a petition letter that had been signed by 3,286 people had been presented to the Mayor of Waltham Forest, and indicated that multiple local councillors had expressed their support for her cause.
The protesters also won the express support of TRNC President Ersin Tatar, who released a statement in which he spoke of his “deepest appreciation” for the CTCA, “for the endeavour to stand against the level of discrimination that has been imposed on us by Waltham Forest Council”. President Tatar pointed out that Turkish Cypriots are “inherent equal co-owners of the island of Cyprus”, and stated that “denying our flag, or our identity and culture, only serves to violate our human rights and sows the seeds of animosity between the two sides in Cyprus, rather than celebrating their diversity and co-existence as equals”.
President Tatar concluded his statement by saying “I hope that this mistake will be rectified, and that your just voices are heard by the relevant parties. I extend by warmest greetings to the protesters ... and send all my gratitude for your determined stance in seeking an end to this level of discrimination”.
The day after the protest, President Tatar reiterated his support for the CTCA and the protest in an online video conference with several of the group’s representatives. He told the conference’s participants that “I wish for the appropriate authorities to lend an ear to the messages you communicated last night, and for the necessary action to be taken to end this discriminatory act”. He once again commended the CTCA’s “determined stance”, and said “I particularly wish to thank our youth in the UK for the passion they have in lobbying for their homeland, the TRNC, and the rights of Turkish Cypriot people”. The participants expressed their gratitude to President Tatar for his support, and said that they would like to welcome him to London at the earliest opportunity.