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'WAKE UP, YOU'RE LOSING YOUR COUNTRY'
By Alexia Saoulli
Cyprus Mail, Cyprus
Dec 12 2007
CYPRUS is at serious risk of being overrun by immigrants, if the
Movement for the Salvation of Cyprus is to be believed; failure to
clamp down on the influx of legal and illegal foreigners, they say,
will culminate in an irreversible situation where the majority of
the island is made up of non-Greek Cypriots.
"We are fighting for our national identity... We are sounding the
alarm bell and saying wake up, you're losing your country," Panicos
Arsalides said yesterday.
Arsalides was speaking at a modest gathering of the Movement for
the Salvation of Cyprus. The Movement, formed about a year ago, is
concerned that the growing number of immigrants on the island will
irrevocably impact the island's demographics over the next 30 years.
"If there is a five per cent increase in the number of immigrants
every year, aided by our low birth rate, in 30 years there will be
about 600,000 immigrants and 520,000 Greek Cypriots," he said.
Speakers at the meeting gave examples of other European countries
facing similar predicaments and questioned how Cyprus was expected
to cope.
One theory put forward was that the influx of immigrants was a design
by Turkey to take over the island.
"Illegal immigrants are brought to the free areas by the Turkish
mafia... It is undoubtedly a plan... A large portion of them
speak Turkish as their mother tongue and say they are Kurds," the
participants heard.
Many nodded their heads in agreement, while others voiced their
approval aloud.
"The situation is at the point of no return. If we are negligent,
in another year or two it will be irreversible," Arsalides said.
The 28 people who turned up to listen to the panel of seven Movement
members were told that in light of a Cyprus problem solution, Turkey
would use the immigrants as a negotiating tool to excuse the huge
number of settlers in the occupied areas.
"They'll say they are seasonal workers the way we have immigrants who
do seasonal work, except theirs speak the same language, are the same
nationality and have the same religion.... They'll say they can't
get rid of them," Arsalides said.
The economist also likened Nicosia's Ledra Street on a Sunday to
Lahore in Pakistan.
"From the Ochi roundabout to the mosque when it is Bairam [Islamic
festival] there are around 10,000 children. Is that not something to
worry about? We have a problem," Arsalides said.
He said Cyprus had to open its eyes and set up a line of defence to
protect itself from the wave of immigrants flooding the island like
"a tsunami".
"The excuse we keep hearing is that our economy needs immigrants.
This has no basis because it has never been investigated. Who benefits
from this situation I don't know," Arsalides said.
The Movement's president, Petros Stylianou, said they had been unfairly
labelled racist and almost called uneducated.
"We are none of these things," he said.
Arsalides added: "What the Turks didn't take [in 1974], the immigrants
will. Wake up... And they say we are racist. In several years, Greek
Cypriots will make up 20 to 25 per cent of the population and the
remainder will mostly be made up of Turks followed by Pakistanis,
Bangladeshis, Chinese..."
Movement board member Vias Livadas said the group was talking to
lawyers regarding to what extent people who defended illegal immigrants
could be held accountable.
"They are accomplices and we are examining to what extent they can
be considered accomplices," he said.
Livadas also said the Movement had come across a map published in
a Turkish publication depicting Cyprus, Crete, all of the Aegean
islands, Salonica, part of Syria, northern Iraq and nearly all of
Armenia as Turkish, therefore "proof" of what Turkey believed to be
its territories.
The people present at the gathering showed signs of being afraid.
One man said: "We have been terrorised but it is the truth. These
are the facts."
The Movement said it planned to make 2,000 copies and distribute the
minutes of yesterday's meeting.
By Alexia Saoulli
Cyprus Mail, Cyprus
Dec 12 2007
CYPRUS is at serious risk of being overrun by immigrants, if the
Movement for the Salvation of Cyprus is to be believed; failure to
clamp down on the influx of legal and illegal foreigners, they say,
will culminate in an irreversible situation where the majority of
the island is made up of non-Greek Cypriots.
"We are fighting for our national identity... We are sounding the
alarm bell and saying wake up, you're losing your country," Panicos
Arsalides said yesterday.
Arsalides was speaking at a modest gathering of the Movement for
the Salvation of Cyprus. The Movement, formed about a year ago, is
concerned that the growing number of immigrants on the island will
irrevocably impact the island's demographics over the next 30 years.
"If there is a five per cent increase in the number of immigrants
every year, aided by our low birth rate, in 30 years there will be
about 600,000 immigrants and 520,000 Greek Cypriots," he said.
Speakers at the meeting gave examples of other European countries
facing similar predicaments and questioned how Cyprus was expected
to cope.
One theory put forward was that the influx of immigrants was a design
by Turkey to take over the island.
"Illegal immigrants are brought to the free areas by the Turkish
mafia... It is undoubtedly a plan... A large portion of them
speak Turkish as their mother tongue and say they are Kurds," the
participants heard.
Many nodded their heads in agreement, while others voiced their
approval aloud.
"The situation is at the point of no return. If we are negligent,
in another year or two it will be irreversible," Arsalides said.
The 28 people who turned up to listen to the panel of seven Movement
members were told that in light of a Cyprus problem solution, Turkey
would use the immigrants as a negotiating tool to excuse the huge
number of settlers in the occupied areas.
"They'll say they are seasonal workers the way we have immigrants who
do seasonal work, except theirs speak the same language, are the same
nationality and have the same religion.... They'll say they can't
get rid of them," Arsalides said.
The economist also likened Nicosia's Ledra Street on a Sunday to
Lahore in Pakistan.
"From the Ochi roundabout to the mosque when it is Bairam [Islamic
festival] there are around 10,000 children. Is that not something to
worry about? We have a problem," Arsalides said.
He said Cyprus had to open its eyes and set up a line of defence to
protect itself from the wave of immigrants flooding the island like
"a tsunami".
"The excuse we keep hearing is that our economy needs immigrants.
This has no basis because it has never been investigated. Who benefits
from this situation I don't know," Arsalides said.
The Movement's president, Petros Stylianou, said they had been unfairly
labelled racist and almost called uneducated.
"We are none of these things," he said.
Arsalides added: "What the Turks didn't take [in 1974], the immigrants
will. Wake up... And they say we are racist. In several years, Greek
Cypriots will make up 20 to 25 per cent of the population and the
remainder will mostly be made up of Turks followed by Pakistanis,
Bangladeshis, Chinese..."
Movement board member Vias Livadas said the group was talking to
lawyers regarding to what extent people who defended illegal immigrants
could be held accountable.
"They are accomplices and we are examining to what extent they can
be considered accomplices," he said.
Livadas also said the Movement had come across a map published in
a Turkish publication depicting Cyprus, Crete, all of the Aegean
islands, Salonica, part of Syria, northern Iraq and nearly all of
Armenia as Turkish, therefore "proof" of what Turkey believed to be
its territories.
The people present at the gathering showed signs of being afraid.
One man said: "We have been terrorised but it is the truth. These
are the facts."
The Movement said it planned to make 2,000 copies and distribute the
minutes of yesterday's meeting.