March for Truth & Hope

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Women’s march for truth and awareness
By Stefanos Evripidou

THE PLATFORM of island-wide teachers, ‘United Cyprus’, is organising a Bicommunal March for Truth and Hope this Saturday, raising awareness on the issues of historical truth, missing persons and women’s role in the struggle for peace.

According to a statement released by the platform of Greek and Turkish Cypriot teachers, educators and intellectuals are responsible for seeking, promoting and defending historical truth and not distorting it.

The platform accuses sections of the religious leadership, mass media and nationalist groups on both sides of “stubbornly hiding any historical truth that puts them in an uncomfortable position”.

While the Church leadership threatens to burn the history books if they are changed, conservative elements among the Turkish Cypriot community have promised to bring back the old history books if they win the ‘parliamentary’ elections in April, noted the platform.

United Cyprus calls on anyone with any information on missing persons to come forward, offering an invaluable service to the relatives of missing persons while putting pressure on the authorities to contribute to this procedure in an honest and active way.

The organisation of Greek and Turkish Cypriot teachers will meet at Eleftheria Square and Inonu Square at 11am on Saturday and walk towards the end of Ledra Street, unfolding on each side a black ribbon of sorrow.

“There we will tie our ribbons, symbolising the union of our common effort to build a momentum of Hope for our country,” said a statement released by the platform.

Members of the public are invited to join the march.

The Hands Across the Divide women’s association is also calling on Cypriot women across the island to attend the funeral in Aglandja of Margarita Liasi, her three daughters and her two-year-old grandson on International Women’s Day this Sunday.

Liasi and her family were all killed at the Palekythro massacre in 1974.

Greek and Turkish Cypriot women will also hold an event at Voroklini village where they will plant an olive tree at the “Missing Bus” from 1964 where 11 Turkish Cypriot passengers were found.

The event, titled “The Missing–A Shared Pain”, will be attended by Huseyin Rustem Akansoy who lost all his family at the Maratha-Sandallaris-Aloa massacre and Katerina Antona who lost her brother at Palekythro. Journalist-author Sevgul Uludag will show her work on the missing using photos at the event.

According to the association, those killed in the Maratha-Sandallaris-Aloa and Palekythro massacres where mainly Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot women and children.

The five members of the Liasi family were listed as missing since 1974 until their bones were found at a mass grave amongst 16 others. The funeral will take place on Sunday at the Apostolos Andreas Church in Aglandja at 12.30, coinciding with International Women’s Day.

For further information on Hands Across the Divide, contact Sevgul Uludag at 99 966518 or 0090 542 853 8436 or Magda Zenon at 99 495364.


Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009

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Comment

Comment by Panos-Limitless on March 4, 2009 at 4:35pm

Looks really interesting but I don't get why it says "women's march".
I don't think I can make it, I have a drums exam at that time. Whoever attends, please take videos and invite people to join the network!

Peace

Comment by Michael Donahue on March 4, 2009 at 3:00pm

no I changed the details March 7 11:00-12:00 see description for details

Comment by costas on March 4, 2009 at 12:21pm

Was that today??