Anti-fascist movement Antifa and far-right political party Elam are to stage simultaneous protests in Limassol on Friday.

Antifa announced that their gathering would begin at 7pm on the Molos coastal promenade, while Elam will gather at the same time on the nearby Anexartisias avenue.

In its announcement, Antifa made direct reference to Elam’s plans, saying, “we believe it is very important to declare our opposition to this provocation”.

“In a country in which officers of the state can kill a migrant and the police can get away with not even giving an explanation and make manoeuvres to cover things up, in a city where racist attacks on migrant workers have become a daily occurrence, Elam has come to town to give political legitimacy to and to support this violence,” they began.

They added that Elam’s protest, which has as its stated aim opposition to illegal migration, is in fact “a show of support for crimes committed against migrants”.

“Fascist propaganda plays so much with the mind of public discourse that they say they are staging a protest against crime while their actual goal is to legalise their own crimes in the eyes of the public,” they said.

They said the crimes Elam “aims to legalise” when they are committed against migrants include assault, theft, and even the killing of migrant workers.

“If this protest is allowed to go ahead without opposition or resistance, things will get even worse for both foreign workers and for people with different sexual orientations, women, and other people groups which Elam does not hesitate to bully,” they added.

They went on to say that they will protest on Friday “to protect our streets and our people, breaking the fascist monologue and fascist violence, creating modern, strong communities and societies”.

“The enemies of society come in limousines, not in small boats. They wear expensive clothes and ties, they are not delivery drivers,” they added.

Elam’s announcement of their own protest was somewhat shorter, saying that Limassol, “like the rest of our cities, is facing a problem of organised crime due to the actions of illegal immigrants who have ghettoised areas of the city”.

“The almost daily incidents of violence and criminal acts affect people’s quality of life and increase their feeling of insecurity. Our society cannot and will not accept these new realities.

“We demand that the right messages be sent in all directions by implementing a stricter immigration policy, by strengthening the police’s presence and by having increased security in our neighbourhoods. Our homeland’s security is everyone’s business,” they said.