The incident at Cyprus Technological University (Tepak), where hooded figures barged into a lecture theatre shouting homophobic slurs during an Accept-LGBTI presentation was widely condemned on Thursday as an assault on free speech.
First to condemn the incident was President-elect Nikos Christodoulides, who said that the attack was unacceptable.
“The police have already started to investigate the matter, and we are awaiting the results,” he said of the Wednesday night incident.
Meanwhile, all the political parties condemned the incident, aside from the far-right Elam party.
The rector of Tepak, Panayiotis Zafeiris said that the incident was an “assault on free movement of ideas and opinions in a university”.
“We will not leave it [THE INCIDENT] like this, and members of the student body already gave testimony to police,” he said.
He added that if the police investigation shows that other students were involved in the incident than the university will deal with them accordingly and they will be punished.
Speaking to CNA about the incident, head of Accept-LGBTI Nicolas Tryfon said that so far it seems that the people that committed the assault are far-right individuals.
He added that a similar incident occurred last September during the pride march in Limassol and another gathering at Tepak.
According to Tryfon, hooded individuals entered the event organised at the university and threw flyers about the ‘traditional nuclear family’.
He asserted that “these are positions and statements from far-right actors and even the church, which lead to such wrong and invalid perceptions of the society we live in or want to live in.”
“The silence and failure to take a position, by some, on the basis of reality, lead to these occurrences,” he said.
He added that the group is working towards the creation of a society where everyone is accepted.
“However, some people believe that, in a democracy, they can and should impose their beliefs on others,” he said.
In the video of the incident, a person is seen setting off a fire extinguisher while others are heard shouting.
Accept said that a person was hit, and items were also thrown. The group further claimed that homophobic slurs were shouted out and as the masked intruders left, they destroyed property on their way.
Accept Cyprus called on the police and the ombudsman to act.
“Society’s silent acceptance and indifference to homophobic hate speech from both public and ordinary individuals has emboldened fools who now feel they can act without consequences,” the group wrote on social media.
The group further claimed that the presidential election period saw heightened rhetoric against the LGBTQI+ community – despite laws being in place to protect their rights.
“We are not afraid of you and we will not be silenced,” the group said, adding that they have more evidence of the incident but called others to come forward to help identify the alleged attackers.
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Mail
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