The announcement of upcoming youth camps by the training academy of the Spanish football club Barcelona in the Turkish-occupied northern part of the island of Cyprus has triggered outrage in the local community.
The training camps, scheduled for two different dates in September, are known as “Lefkosa Camp” on the official website of FC Barcelona, after the local name of the island’s divided capital city Nicosia, or Lefkosia in Greek. Critisism has also pointed to the location of the camp being referred to as “Northern Cyprus,” the self-proclaimed name of the breakaway pseudo-state and a term that the legitime government of the Republic of Cyprus and the international community do not accept as a recognized state.
Cyprus nationalists condemn international events on occupied territory
Cyprus nationalist party ELAM issued a statement on the matter to condemn the holding of sports activities in the north by foreign organizations, “let alone a club with a major football academy from an EU member-state.”
“We point out again to the organizers that the pseudo-state is the result of the barbaric Turkish invasion and the ongoing occupation of our territories and is not a recognized state,” the statement reads. The party calls on the Spanish government to intervene and cancel the training camp, while it also urges the Cypriot foreign ministry to take action and cancel the event.
In the same announcement, ELAM also turns against ZAMNA international music festival scheduled for October, stressing that it is “a shame” that international events are planned on the island’s occupied territories. Following pressure by ELAM, another international music festival, NEXUS, was canceled this summer by its organizers.
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