Against the backdrop of rising violence towards migrant workers, the Alliance Against the Far Right, Fascism, and Racism has called for a response to ‘far-right incidents’ during an anti-racist event, according to a press release issued on Thursday.
Recent assaults on foreign food delivery drivers that are mainly taking place in Limassol further spotlight the urgent need for action against hate-fuelled violence, the alliance said.
The event was organised on the occasion of the one-year anniversary since the racially charged attacks in Chlorakas and Limassol to which organisers referred to as ‘pogroms’. It took place on Wednesday evening at the “Tassos Papadopoulos” building of the Cyprus University of Technology (TEPAK) in Limassol.
Neoklis Sylikiotis, a former interior minister and coordinator of the alliance, stressed that far-right groups in Cyprus are emboldened by “hate-driven rhetoric and political inaction,” creating a hostile environment for migrants and refugees.
The alliance noted that the incidents in Chlorakas and Limassol specifically targeted migrants and were organised by far-right, fascist, and neo-Nazi groups, either directly or indirectly linked to certain political parties, “with the tacit support of politicians who have long fuelled xenophobia through hate speech.”
Last year’s anti-immigrant protests spiralled into chaos as rioters targeted foreign nationals, destroying businesses and property while the police struggled to maintain control. Protestors, some armed with Molotov cocktails, chanted “Cyprus is Greek” and assaulted anyone perceived as non-Cypriot. Businesses owned by migrants, like a Syrian-owned barbershop, were ransacked, and five foreign nationals were injured. Despite assurances of a police action plan, officers failed to contain the violence as rioters spread through Molos, leaving fires and smashed windows in their wake.
Sylikiotis further noted that far-right ideologies, fascism, and racism target not only migrants and refugees but anyone of a different race, religion, language, sexual orientation, ideology, philosophy, or culture.
For his part, academic and sociologist Andreas Panayiotou emphasised that “those coming to Cyprus, for economic or geographical reasons, knowingly or not, are helping shape the Cypriot society of the future,” he stated, acknowledging that there will always be individuals “who seek someone to hate.”
Regarding the attacks on delivery drivers, Panayiotou suggested caution in judging the motives of the perpetrators, as “we don’t yet fully understand why they are doing this” and pointed out that it could be “a group of young people venting their frustrations in this way.”
In total 19 foreign delivery drivers have reported they have been attacked so far this year, 16 of which in Limassol while three attacks occurred in Nicosia.
Director and screenwriter Adonis Florides highlighted how crises expose underlying far-right and racist tendencies, as insincere rhetoric falters under pressure. He added that “last year’s pogroms were deliberately organised”, aiming towards “the methodical, targeted construction of these events through a series of lies is no coincidence.”
