25.06.2020 – As the Union of Cypriots, we would like to announce to the public that we welcome the return of the Avrupa newspaper with its name, which has been bravely fighting against the Turkish occupation for decades.
Since its first publication in 1997, the Avrupa newspaper has caused discomfort among occupiers and collaborators, which is why it has become a target of shootings, bomb attacks, and lynchings organized by Turkey. There have been countless court cases opened against its writers and the editor-in-chief, Şener Levent, by the occupation regime after Turkey’s incentive. In 2001, the Avrupa newspaper closed due to the pressures and initiatives of Rauf Denktaş, and later continued under the name Afrika until yesterday.
The latest event occurred on January 22, 2018, when the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, gave a directive for a lynching to the illegal Turkish settlers on live television. The newspaper headquarters were subsequently attacked, and a massacre attempt took place.
In recent weeks, an unfair smear and lynching campaign has been launched against the newspaper’s name and logo by so-called non-governmental and media organizations. The common characteristic of these organizations is that they are “bi-communal, bi-zonal federationists” living in the occupied areas on European Union grants. Following this lynching campaign, Şener Levent has decided to change the newspaper’s name back to Avrupa (Europe) again.
Regardless of the source of the lynching attacks, whether they originate from the occupiers, the separatist-segregationist “bi-communal, bi-zonal federationists” on the island, or any other party, the Avrupa newspaper remains the most valuable fortress to be defended against the invasion by the Union of Cypriots. We will continue our struggle shoulder to shoulder until the victory day for the independent Republic of Cyprus.
Respectfully announced to the public.
Union of Cypriots
