Artists’ Union Boycotts Presidential Complex World Art Day Event

In its statement, the union said: “Our journalists are being prosecuted, the social media accounts of politicians, newspapers and our people are being systematically shut down, and our intellectuals have been declared ‘terrorists’ by Turkey since 2020 under N-82 and G-82 codes on the grounds that they threaten Turkey’s national security.”

The union further claimed that academic and artist Senih Çavuşoğlu is among Turkish Cypriots declared persona non grata by Turkey due to his political views. It also alleged that 80-year-old intellectual Turgut Afşaroğlu has been unable to receive treatment due to the collapse of the healthcare system in the north, and that he asked Turkey’s appointed governor Ali Murat Başçeri whether he was on a “list of traitors.”

The statement added: “A major humanitarian crisis and shame is being experienced.”

The union also alleged that Turkey is deepening “colonial policies” in northern Cyprus, claiming that institutions are being dismantled one by one, that a “dramatic population increase” is leading to the disappearance of Turkish Cypriots, and that political parties are being interfered with internally. It further stated that cultural values are disappearing under the weight of the “transferred population.”

It also claimed that mountains are being blasted with dynamite and seas are being polluted by casino waste, and that institutions “from the complex to schools” are being Turkified.

The union said: “As Turkish Cypriot artists and intellectuals, we will not allow our geography to be plundered within the framework of Turkey’s colonial policies. An artist must be able to speak the truth against power. An artist must maintain distance from politicians and power structures that are part of the destruction of a society, or that remain silent in the face of such destruction. Artists must defend peace, justice, democracy, and human rights and freedoms both in their own geography and in the world.”

It noted that World Art Day will be celebrated at the Presidential Complex on Thursday, April 30, 2026.

The statement continued: “At a time when Turkish Cypriots are being gradually eradicated and human rights and freedoms are under serious attack, it is not possible for us, as artists and intellectuals, to be part of such an organisation.”

The union also said Turkish Cypriot community leader Tufan Erhürman should take responsibility to defend the people against Turkey’s “attacks.”

It concluded by calling on both its members and non-members to boycott the World Art Day event.