11.07.2024 – The Union of Cypriots participated in the 7th International Assembly of the largest global formation of anti-imperialist organizations, the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS), on June 21-24, 2024, in Penang, Malaysia. The assembly hosted 535 participants, consisting of 432 delegates from 192 ILPS member organizations and 103 observers.
The delegation of the Union of Cypriots consisted of the President of the movement, Oz Karahan, and International Coordination Committee member, Alexandros Toufexis.
During the assembly, elections were held for the members of the main organ of the ILPS, the International Coordinating Committee (ICC), as well as for ILPS officers. From the Union of Cypriots, Oz Karahan was elected as ILPS Vice Chair for Europe and a member of the ICC by delegates from around the world. Oz Karahan became the first Cypriot to be elected to both positions in the history of the ILPS.
The international assembly brought together revolutionaries from around the world to cooperate and coordinate the common struggle against imperialism. Renowned Palestinian freedom fighter from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Leila Khaled, spoke on the Palestinian people’s struggle against US-Zionist aggression and occupation and emphasized the importance of international solidarity in the fight against imperialism. In her speech, Khaled said, “We can only fight when we are together. This is an important conference because freedom fighters are here and we can plan for the future.”
ILPS Chairperson Len Cooper gave his report on the current world system, the crisis of imperialism and the work of the ILPS. Cooper stated in his report, “Given the state of the imperialist-dominated globe, the importance of the ILPS, its activities, and its growth are more important than ever.”
In his solidarity speech, International Coordination Committee member of the Union of Cypriots, Alexandros Toufexis, underlined the interconnection between peoples’ movements around the world, by saying “The colonizer has, through consistent violence, disregard for human life or mutual benefit, and imprisonment to capital and profit, developed and solidified his own inherent inhumanity… Contrary to the colonizer, we are human. We are Cypriot, we are Palestinian, we are Filipino, we are Sudanese, we are united, and we are not going to let them tell us who we are and what we own.”
Among the important resolutions about the positions of the ILPS regarding peoples’ struggles around the world, the “Resolution on Support for the National Unity of Cypriots Against the Turkish Occupation and the Presence of NATO on Cyprus” was passed in the assembly. The resolution emphasized that since the NATO-planned Turkish occupation 50 years ago, Cyprus has been used as an unsinkable aircraft carrier by the imperialists and highlighted the importance of the liberation of Cyprus and the territorial and social integrity of a unitary Cyprus for Cypriots and the peoples of the region.
Resolution on Support for the National Unity of Cypriots Against the Turkish Occupation and the Presence of NATO on Cyprus
2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the NATO-planned Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974. Since then, imperialist occupation and settler colonialism have persisted in Cyprus, with colonial policies that continue to oppress Turkish-speaking Cypriots, prevent Greek-speaking Cypriots, who were forcibly displaced during the Turkish invasion, from returning to their homes, and promote ethnically-based segregation among the Cypriot people through plans such as the “bi-zonal bi-communal federation” to protect foreign military presence on the island.
Currently, five NATO militaries—Turkey, the United Kingdom, Greece, the United States, and France—utilize air and naval bases on the island, strategically located at the crossroads of three continents. This is a consequence of treaties that placed approximately 3 percent of the island under the control of the United Kingdom when Cyprus gained its independence from British colonialism in 1960 as a non-aligned republic, as well as a result of the invasion of 1974. The United Kingdom and NATO have used these territories to perpetuate their imperialist actions throughout the Middle East. This situation became evident again with the recent use of these bases against the Palestinian and Yemeni people.
We categorically reject any so-called solution that includes partition, two states, or any other arrangement with geographical separation based on ethnic origin in Cyprus. We reject Cyprus being used as an ‘unsinkable aircraft carrier’ to facilitate the imperialists’ parasitic greed. We believe that the liberation of Cyprus is crucial to a free West Asia and North Africa. We support the national, democratic, and class unity of Cypriots, as well as the territorial and social integrity of a unitary Cyprus without foreign military presence.
