“We want our salaries in euros, we are going to the south” - protesting Turkish Cypriot farmers

Turkish Cypriot farmers returned to the TRNC ‘ministry of agriculture’ with drums and clarinets after their unsuccessful attempt to cross to the south in an effort to involve Greek Cypriots in their protests against the TRNC ‘government’ on Friday.

The farmers, angered by the refusal of the authorities to keep barley prices low, were shouting “we want our salaries in euros, we are going to the south” and “we want to sell our milk in euros” on their way to the Ledra Palace crossing.

The TRNC police and security forces used tear gas to disperse the crowd heading to the checkpoint and also blocked access to the crossing.

A TV journalist and newspaper ‘Dialogue’ was taken to hospital by ambulance because he fainted due to the tear gas. Another person was slightly injured.

The protesters then moved back to the area of the TRNC ‘parliament’ near the Turkish embassy but when a strong police presence prevented them from gathering in front of the building they marched to the ‘ministry of agriculture’ where they continued their demonstration.

For the third day in a row, the farmers clashed with police while attempting to drive their tanks into the yard of the ‘agriculture ministry’ to protest against the plummeting of the Turkish lira in the morning. They did not manage to get past security forces.

 

CM