Accept calls for police investigation after Queer Wave banners vandalised in Kaimakli

Nicosia, Cyprus. LGBT rights organisation Accept LGBTI has called on police to investigate the vandalism of banners promoting the Queer Wave film festival in Kaimakli. Organisers said the banners were torn down on Wednesday night.

Call for investigation

Accept described the incident as an attack on queer visibility in public space and said it went beyond damage to physical material.

In a social media post, the organisation said the act targeted the right of organisers to promote an event and the right of a community to declare its presence publicly.

“Vandalism is not an opinion,” Accept said, adding that those opposed to the festival were free to express their views openly rather than remove banners “under cover of darkness”.

Public space and rights

The organisation said the incident raised questions about whether public space in Cyprus is “truly open to all”.

It called on the Nicosia municipality and the Kaimakli community to state publicly that “the neighbourhood belongs to everyone who lives there”.

Accept referred to protections for freedom of expression and assembly, saying these apply to all members of the public and not only the majority. It said the state has a duty to actively protect such rights rather than simply tolerate them.

Support for organisers

Accept called on police to treat the case with the seriousness due to an act directed at a group because of its identity.

The organisation said it stood by Queer Wave and others producing cultural events under what it described as “intimidating” conditions.