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Guide to Activism in the northern part of Cyprus to support yourself and each other
1st edition: 13 – 04 – 2023
[Türkçe açıklama devamında yer almaktadır]
Avli, with support of a legal expert, Aslı Murat, conducted preliminary research for those in organising roles in activities, events, protests and activism in general, and for anyone wanting to know more about their rights.
Why? Simply because we want to enable peaceful and non-violent activism to take place in the northern part of Cyprus, by knowing rights to assembly and speech, and being in a position to protect everyone who is taking part of it.
As the tendency to limit and violate fundamental freedoms is gaining more force, specifically in the northern part of Cyprus. The types of problems that have been increasingly experienced/faced include legal texts and interventions against freedom of speech, policing in various civil society activities negatively affecting freedoms of assembly and association, limitations and violation of data protection, etc.
In the recent past, there have been instances that the authoritarian interventions of “the police” have negatively affected our activities and actions including but not limited to demands for personal data during environmental peacebuilding summer camps. Based on these previous experiences, it was crucial to respond if we want to carry on our existing and future actions that take place in the northern part of Cyprus. Thus, we wanted to Know Our Rights in cases of assembly, public speech, and non-violent direct action by drafting a Guide to Activism for the northern part of Cyprus. The guide can be used by any activist and civil society group on the ground, who fights for a peaceful and sustainable island.
Avli and Aslı Murat presents two important documents:
The brief ‘Guide to Activism in the northern part of Cyprus’
This guide aims to help us understand the general aspects of the criminal law system in the northern part of Cyprus during the investigation phase, and the powers and duties of the police in peaceful assemblies and protests in particular. With the “freedom of thought, speech and expression”, the Constitution regulates that everyone has the freedom of thought and the right to express and disseminate their ideas individually or collectively, without censorship, through speech, writing, pictures. It also enumerates the grounds on which the right may be legally restricted. On the other hand, the right to assembly and demonstration also regulates that citizens can take peaceful actions without obtaining prior permission from any authority . Even though the police tried to prevent meetings and demonstrations involving foreigners from time to time , there was generally no intervention to halt the activity.
The Bust Card is a pocket-sized cardboard slip produced by legal supporters which includes phone numbers for a friendly solicitor and legal support, as well as other information useful in situations where there is a risk of arrest.
[TR]
Avli, hukuk uzmanı Aslı Murat’ın da desteğiyle, aktivitelerde, etkinliklerde ve protestolarda organizator rolü olan aktivistler veya toplanma ve ifade özgürlükleri hakkında daha fazla bilgi edinmek isteyenler için ön araştırma yaptı.
Neden? Basitçe, toplanma ve ifade haklarını bilerek kendi ve etrafındakilerin haklarını koruyabilecek bir konumda olup Kıbrıs’ın kuzey kesiminde barışçıl ve şiddet içermeyen aktivizmin gerçekleşmesini sağlamak istediğimiz için!
Temel özgürlükleri sınırlama ve ihlal etme eğilimi, özellikle Kıbrıs’ın kuzey kesiminde daha fazla güç kazanıyor. İfade özgürlüğüne yönelik yasal metinler ve müdahaleler, polisin çeşitli sivil toplum faaliyetlerinde toplanma ve örgütlenme özgürlüklerini olumsuz etkilemesi, veri korumasının sınırlandırılması ve ihlali vb. giderek artan bir şekilde yaşanan/karşılaşılan sorun türleri olmuştur. Yakın geçmişte “polis”in otoriter müdahalelerinin, çevresel barış inşası yaz kampları sırasında kişisel veri talepleri dahil olmak üzere faaliyetlerimizi ve eylemlerimizi olumsuz etkilediği durumlar olmuştur.
Geçmiş deneyimlere dayanarak, Kıbrıs’ın kuzey kesiminde yer alan mevcut ve gelecekteki eylemlerimizi sürdürmek istiyorsak olup bitenlere bir karşılık vermek çok önemliydi. Bu nedenle, hem kendi faaliyetlerimizde ve hem de genel olarak barışçıl ve sürdürülebilir bir ada isteyen aktivistler ve sivil toplum tarafından kullanılabilecek bir rehber oluşturmak amacıyla Kıbrıs’ın kuzeyinde bir Aktivizm Rehberi taslağı hazırlayarak toplanma hakkı ve ifade özgürlüklerini koruma ve savunmanın yasallığı konusundaki Haklarımızı Bilmek istedik.
Avli ve Aslı Murat iki belge sunar:
Kısaca ‘Kıbrıs’ın kuzey kesiminde Aktivizm Rehberi’
Bu kılavuz, genel olarak Kıbrıs’ın kuzeyindeki ceza hukuku sisteminin soruşturma aşamasındaki genel hatlarını, özelde ise barışçıl toplantı ve protestolarda polisin yetki ve görevlerini kavramamıza yardımcı olmayı hedeflemektedir. Anayasa “düşünce, söz ve anlatım özgürlüğü” ile, herkesin düşünce özgürlüğüne sahip olduğunu ve fikirlerini, sansürsüz bir şekilde söz, yazı, resim aracılığıyla tek başına veya toplu olarak açıklama ve yayma hakkını düzenler. Ayrıca hakkın yasal olarak sınırlanabileceği gerekçeleri de sayar. Diğer yandan toplantı ve gösteri yürüyüşü hakkı da, yurttaşlara önceden herhangi bir makamdan izin almaksızın barışçıl eylem yapabileceklerini düzenler. Zaman zaman yabancıların dâhil olduğu toplantı ve eylemleri polis engellemeye çalışmış olsa bile, genellikle etkinliği durdurucu bir müdahale ile karşılaşılmamıştır.
‘Kıbrıs’ın kuzeyindeki barışçıl protesto ve diğer ilgili olaylarda haklarınızı bilin’ bustcard
Bustcard, yasal destekçiler tarafından üretilen, yasal destek için ulaşılabilecek cana yakın avukat ve telefon numaralarının yanı sıra tutuklanma riskinin olduğu durumlarda yararlı olabilecek diğer bilgileri içeren cep boyutunda bir karton sliptir.
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Credits: Aslı Murat, legal expert
Author/Συντάκτης/Yazar: Josef Boraei
Çevirmenler/Μεταφραστές/Translators: Kemal Çufoğlu, Vijdan Şengör
Συντάκτες/Editors/Editörler: Vijdan Şengör, Myrto Skouroupathi
The post Know Your Rights (EN, TR) first appeared on AVLI.Türkçe
This page will be continuously updated with first-hand accounts of the police terror at the ΩΣ ΔΑΜΕ anti-corruption protest on 13.2.2021. If you would like to submit an account of your experience during the events of 13.2.2021 and would like to report it, please email us at info@avli.org.
Ελληνικά
Τι γίνεται γύρω σου; Μια κυβέρνηση αυταρχική και διεφθαρμένη στέλνει εκατοντάδες αστυνομικούς με πλήρη εξοπλισμό να καταστείλουν μια ειρηνική πορεία. Εσύ ανοίγεις το πανό σου με τον ήλιο, τη θάλασσα και τα δάση αυτού του τόπου που τόσο αγαπάς και θέλεις να προστατέψεις. Βλέπεις να σε περικυκλώνουν καθώς προσπαθείς να ξεκινήσεις την πορεία. Βλέπεις το κανόνι του νερού να πλησιάζει, τους αστυνομικούς να βάζουν το χέρι στα γκλοπ, αλλά σκέφτεσαι ότι είναι απλά σε περίπτωση που ξεσπάσει βία από πλευράς σου. Ξεκινάς να περπατάς τραγουδώντας με εκατοντάδες άλλους και ξαφνικά ακούς φωνές. “Τρέξτε, πίσω!” Τρομαγμένα πρόσωπα, χάος, τα γκλοπ στον αέρα, τα σώματα στη γη. Τρέχεις κι εσύ πίσω, ψάχνεις απεγνωσμένα να βρεις τους φίλους σου. Δυσκολεύεσαι να αναπνεύσεις, ο λαιμός σου φλέγεται. “Έριξαν δακρυγόνα” ακούς. Έτσι εξηγείται. Οι αστυνομικοί σέρνουν κάποιους προς την κλούβα, σκέφτεσαι καλύτερα να πάω προς τα πίσω. Περιμένεις να δεις τι γίνεται και ξαφνικά η αστυνομία επιτίθεται χωρίς αιτία. Γιατί έτσι, γιατί μπορούν. Το κανόνι νερού σπάζει το πλήθος αλλά οι φωνές μένουν δυνατές: “Δεν θα περάσει ο φασισμός”. Φεύγεις, χωρίς να μπορείς να πιστέψεις ακόμη τι έζησες και έρχεται στο μυαλό σου η εικόνα του προέδρου στο διάγγελμα να λέει: “Μένουμε σπίτι. Θα τα καταφέρουμε.” Αν τους αφήσουμε, θα τα καταφέρουν.
Εμπειρίες από μέλος της Αυλής σήμερα στην διαδήλωση στην Λευκωσία
Στην Κύπρο τους τελευταίους 3 μήνες απαγορεύεται να διαδηλώσεις. Συλλήφθηκα γιατί έλαβα μέρος στην «παράνομη» ειρηνική πορεία η οποία αντιμετωπίστηκε με «νόμιμη» βία. Αφού οι διοργανωτές ανακοίνωσαν το τέλος της πορείας, μοίραζα αυτήν την πληροφορία με όσους δεν την είχαν ακούσει. Ξαφνικά, χωρίς να καταλάβω ούτε το πώς, ούτε το γιατί βλέπω δύο αστυνομικούς να τρέχουν καταπάνω μου. Με συλλαμβάνουν. Όταν επανειλημμένα ζητούσα τον λόγο σύλληψης μου εν έπιανα απάντηση, μέχρι που έπια ένα «εννα μάθεις μετά»Δεν αντιστάθηκα σωματικά. Τελικά κατηγορήθηκα για:
1. Παραβίαση του νόμου λοιμοκάθαρσης, ενώ στην μεταφορά μου από το τμήμα Αστυνομίας στο ΤΑΕ, έβαλαν 9 συλληφθέντες σε ένα κλουβο-βαν. Άσε που ο υπαστυνόμος που μας παρέλαβε στο ΤΑΕ δεν έβαλε την μάσκα του ούτε για ένα δευτερόλεπτο, παρόλο που ήμασταν σε ένα δωμάτιο γύρω στα 20 άτομα, αστυνομικοί και συλληφθέντες. Όταν του ζητήθηκε να την φορέσει, αρνήθηκε ειρωνικά.
2. Ανυπακοή στην προκήρυξη του αστυνομικού «εσσιετε 15 λεπτά να το διαλύσετε αλλιως θα σας διαλύσουμε» ενώ του Συλλούρη εδωκαν του 15 μερες για να γίνει το ένταλμα τζαι επήραν του τζαι προστασία.
3. Αντίσταση τζαι σπρώξιμο προς τον αστυνομικό, ευτυχώς καταγράφηκε υλικό που το διαψεύδει.
Τέλος, θέλω να εκφράσω αλληλεγγύη στους τραυματίες τζαι να ευχαριστήσω ούλλες τες ψυσσιές που με στηρίξαν την ώρα της σύλληψης, την νομική υποστήριξη στο τμήμα, τζαι όσους εξέφρασαν υποστήριξη έστω τζαι αν δεν ήταν τζιαμέ.Αναστασία, σου εύχομαι να αναρρώσεις γρήγορα τζαι σου υπόσχομαι πως ο χορός τωρά ξεκινά! Δείτε το βίντεο! Ζητώ από τον κόσμο να παραμείνει σε εγρήγορση για την επόμενη διαμαρτυρία. Το ότι υπάρχει πανδημία εν σημαίνει ότι εν θα ασκούμε κριτική στην κυβέρνηση! Κάθε τρεις μέρες φκαίνει στην φόρα τζ’άλλο σκάνδαλο, γιατί να έχουμε το στόμα μας κλειστό? Φορούμε μάσκες, κρατούμε αποστάσεις, τζαι διεκδικούμε τα αυτονόητα!
Lambros Asvestas
English
The post Exposing Police Brutality and Misconduct: First-Hand Accounts from ΩΣ ΔΑΜΕ Protests first appeared on AVLI.In Cyprus for the last 3 months there has been a ban on demonstrations. I was arrested for participating in an “illegal” peaceful demonstration which was faced with “legal” violence. As organisers had announced the end of the demonstration, I spread this information with those that had not heard it. Suddenly, without having realized how or why, I see two policemen coming right at me. When I repeatedly asked for the reason for my arrest, I received no answer, until they eventually said “You’ll find out later.” I did not resist physically. Finally, I am charged with:
1. Violating covid measures meanwhile the police saw no flaw in transporting 9 of the detained protestors in a cage-like van. Not to mention that the police officer/lieutenant who received us at the CID (Central Intelligence Division) did not even for a second wear his mask, despite being indoors with 20 people. When he was asked to wear his mask, he refused and laughed.
2. Defying the police announcement that we had “15 minutes left to disperse or else we will use any means to destroy the protest”, whereas for the corrupted Syllouris it took 15 days for the warrant to get ready.
3. Resistance, “pushing” the police officer at the time of the arrest. Luckily my arrest was recorded and disproves this.
Lastly, I want to express solidarity to the injured protesters, and I want to thank all the souls that supported me at the time of the arrest, for the legal advice at the police station, and everyone who expressed their support even though they were not present at the protest. Anastasia I wish you a quick recovery and I promise you that the dance has only begun now! Check the video on this link. I ask from the people to stay alert for the next demonstration. The fact that there is a pandemic right now does not mean we cannot criticize the government. Every three days another scandal is exposed, why should we stay quiet? Wearing masks, keeping distance, let’s protest for our self-evident rights!
Lambros Asvestas
By ALLEN J. SCHABEN / LOS ANGELES TIMES Amid fog, Mark Massara surfs in front of shark’s tooth rock at Martins Beach. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The California Coastal Act for decades has scaled back mega-hotels, protected wetlands and, above all, declared that access to the beach was a fundamental right guaranteed to everyone.
But that very principle could be dismantled in the latest chapter of an all-out legal battle that began as a local dispute over a locked gate.
On one side, property owner and Silicon Valley billionaire Vinod Khosla wants Martins Beach, a secluded crescent-shaped stretch of sand and bluffs, to himself. On the other, generations of beachgoers demand continued access to a path long used by the public. The squabble has spurred a spate of lawsuits that now focus on whether Khosla needs state permission to gate off the road — and a string of California courts has said he does.
Unwilling to back down, Khosla is now appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court over his right to shut out the public. His latest argument not only challenges the constitutionality of the Coastal Act — if taken up by the nation’s highest court, it would put into question long-established land use procedures and any state’s power to regulate development anywhere.
“It’s bold, it’s arrogant, it wants to strike at the core of our society,” said Joe Cotchett, lead attorney for the Surfrider Foundation, which sued Khosla in its fight for public coastal access. “This is so much bigger than a little beach in San Mateo County. It’s a steppingstone to every coastline in the United States.”
Khosla, not short on money nor shy on tactics, has tapped a new lawyer uniquely suited to overcome the longshot odds of bringing this argument before the nation’s nine top justices. Now leading his legal team is Paul Clement, who served as U.S. solicitor general under President George W. Bush, has clerked for the late Justice Antonin Scalia and “argued more Supreme Court cases since 2000 than any lawyer in or out of government,” according to his professional bio at Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
He has defended a number of conservative positions, such as arguing against same-sex marriage and leading the legal challenge against President Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
In his 151-page petition to the Supreme Court, Clement described California’s coastal policies as “Orwellian” and made the case that private property should not be taken for public use without just compensation: “the Coastal Act cannot constitutionally be applied to compel uncompensated physical invasions of private property.”
Clement and Khosla’s team of Bay Area lawyers did not respond to requests for comment. Khosla declined to comment for this article.
The Supreme Court will probably decide in the next three months whether to take up the case. Chances are slim: Of the thousands of appeals filed each year, only about 100 are granted review. But with conservative interpretations of property rights gaining prominence and President Trump’s recent appointment of Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, having the right lawyer and a well-crafted argument might just be enough to win the four Supreme Court votes needed for the case to move forward, legal experts said.
Khosla’s arguments, while ambitious, are “artfully drafted in an effort to capture the attention of at least four justices,” said Richard Frank, director of the California Environmental Law and Policy Center at UC Davis. “This petition is targeted directly at the conservative wing of the United States Supreme Court, and it certainly is plausible that the court could grant review in this case given the quality of representation and the issues involved.”
The issues date back to 2008, when Khosla, a co-founder of Sun Microsystems, bought the 89-acre property south of Half Moon Bay for $32.5 million.
The Deeney family that sold Martins Beach had, for almost a century, maintained a public bathroom, parking lot, even a general store. Surfers, fishermen and picnickers paid 25 cents to enter. The fee eventually went up to $10.
Khosla, in legal filings, said he “was willing to give the business a go, and continued to allow members of the public to access the property upon payment of a fee. But [he] soon faced the same problem the Deeneys had faced: The business was operating at a considerable loss, as the costs of keeping the beach, the parking lot and other facilities in operable and safe condition significantly exceeded the fees the business generated.”
So he shut the gate, hired security and posted “do not enter” signs.
A number of public interest groups have since sued Khosla. He, in turn, has sued the California Coastal Commission, the State Lands Commission and San Mateo County, over what he considered an interference of his property rights.
A San Mateo County Superior Court judge, however, dismissed his case, stating that he had to go through the commission’s permit process or enforcement proceedings before he could resort to a lawsuit.
The case that could be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court began when Surfrider sued Khoslaon the grounds that he failed to apply for the development permit required to change public access to the coastline. A local court sided with Surfrider and a state appeals court upheld that decision, ordering Khosla to unlock the gate while the dispute continues. Khosla appealed again to the state Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case.
Nowadays, the gate is sometimes open, sometimes closed. Sheriff’s officials have said it would not arrest members of the public for trespassing. The Coastal Commission last fall began the formal process of notifying Khosla of public access violations, which could amount to fines of as much as $11,250 per day per violation.
The commission, not an official party to the Surfrider suit, said it is reviewing Khosla’s appeal to the Supreme Court. The state attorney general’s office said it was aware of the petition and provided no additional comment.
Khosla is not the first wealthy landowner to challenge coastal regulations. Many still recall the 22-year fight with music producer David Geffen to unlock his Malibu gate. (Geffen eventually handed over the keys).
But not all fights have ended in public victory. When the Coastal Commission demanded in the 1980s that James and Marilyn Nollan allow the public to walk on their beachfront in Ventura in exchange for obtaining a building permit to enlarge their house, the Supreme Court ruled the agency had gone too far.
In handing down the 1987 Nollan vs. California Coastal Commission decision, Scalia compared the commission’s tactics to “an out-and-out plan of extortion.” The first of a number of rulings in which the court tilted the law toward protection of property rights, it dramatically scaled back the commission’s power to require public access ways to the coast.
“Nollan had a catalytic effect, and I expect any decision in the Martins Beach case … would have a similar sweeping and catalytic effect on public access law and property rights more generally,” Frank said. “It’s one of those landmark foundational cases that is cited all the time throughout the nation and has prompted more litigation.”
Ralph Faust, who was the commission’s general counsel from 1986 to 2006, said a striking difference between the Nollan case and Martins Beach is that Khosla is challenging the Coastal Act “as written, not as it’s applied.”
Nollan applied for a permit but didn’t like the stipulations the commission required, so he challenged them, Faust said. Khosla is skipping that step altogether and arguing that the requirement to seek a permit — as well as the state court injunction to maintain the status quo of keeping the gate open while the matter is being decided — violates his rights as a property owner.
“That’s a pretty stunningly broad attack on state government,” Faust said. “If he were to win on that and just get a declaration that the Coastal Act could not possibly be constitutionally interpreted to require a permit for that kind of development — that would be just huge.”
The Nollan case unfolded in unexpected ways and to this day affects the way access rights are argued and how land should be set aside for the public, Faust said. Should the Supreme Court take up Khosla’s appeal, the implications are beyond imaginable.
“Just because you think you know what the situation is when you’re talking about a case, doesn’t mean that’s how it’s going to look if the Supreme Court actually decides something,” he said.
“These things take on a life of their own.”
Interested in coastal issues? Follow @RosannaXia on Twitter.
UPDATES:
2:25 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details of the history of the legal dispute involving Martins Beach.
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