In 2011, a series of rallies and worker strikes were held by

Turkish Cypriots Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( tr, Kıbrıs Türkleri or ''Kıbrıslı Türkler''; el, Τουρκοκύπριοι, Tourkokýprioi) are ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,0 ...

North Nicosia North Nicosia or Northern Nicosia ( tr, Kuzey Lefkoşa ; el, Βόρεια Λευκωσία) is the capital and largest city of the ''de facto'' state of Northern Cyprus. It is the northern part of the divided city of Nicosia, and is governed b ...

against Turkey's policies on

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

. The first protest was held on 28 January 2011. After the hostile reactions of Turkish Prime Minister

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as mayor of Istanbul from 1994 t ...

and Turkish society, Turkish Cypriots organized a second and third rally on 2 March and 7 April 2011. The average turnout was 50,000–80,000, making these some of the largest demonstrations by Turkish Cypriots under the occupation. As of 2011,

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, isl ...

had a population of approximately 290,000. Some protesters carried flags of the Republic of Cyprus and banners demanding the reunification of the island, and signs condemning economical, cultural, and social oppression of Turkish Cypriots by Turkey. During the final rally, unsuccessful attempts were made to hang the flag of the Republic of Cyprus on the Turkish embassy.

References

Cyprus dispute 2011 protests 2011 in Northern Cyprus 2010s in Cypriot politics Politics of Northern Cyprus {{NCyprus-stub

See also

References