Cyprus - Island Talks

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 47: Age of apolitical & discussion on unilateral CBMs in CY (30/4/2023)

Nicos Christodoulides met with Menelaos Menelaou and members of the technical committees to discuss possible initiatives.

It has been 20 years since the crossings across the division line in Cyprus started. It is clear that the existing crossings are not enough. Should we expect unilareral initiatives by the Greek Cypriot side on this? While the elections in Turkey are underway, is it possible to talk about a new era for the Cyprus problem? Depolitization of political parties, critical look to the political scene on the island, by-elections in the north, first diplomatic test of the new DISY leader and new developments in the saga of natural resources around Cyprus. Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli discuss…

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 46: Turkish opposition chooses the candidate to challenge Erdoğan (19/3/2023)

Election in Cyprus is over as Turkey is now on the eve of the historical election that will take place on 14 May 2023. In this episode of Nicosia Uncut, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykallı discuss the cabinet of the newly elected Greek Cypriot president. Turkish opposition finally agreed on their candidate: CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu will be challenging Erdoğan. The mayors of Istanbul and Ankara will support his campaign together with the other opposition leaders. Back in Cyprus, DISY has elected Annita Demetriou, speaker of the House of Representatives, as the new party leader.

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 43: Sleepwalking towards destruction – civil society is resisting (17/11/2022)

Turkish Cypriots marching against 'külliye' (campus with the new palace, assembly buildings and a mosque). The banners read: No külliye but hospital and no külliye but school.

In this episode of Nicosia Uncut, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykallı criticize the political establishments on both sides of the divide and highlight the efforts of the civil society to resist partition. Political establishments on the both sides of the divide fail to address the division of the country while the forces of status quo are deepening the divide. Civil society and citizen initiatives are working tirelessly, albeit in limited capacity, to work to bring people together across the divide. The Turkish Cypriot leadership, now fully aligned with the Turkish government, is unpleasantly consistent in their rhetoric and actions…

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 42: Presidential race with no politics (3/10/2022)

In this episode of Nicosia Uncut, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli shed a critical light on the presidential race in Republic of Cyprus: seems like the political programs are not the main pillars of this elections. A rather superficial race on slogans, characters and personalities, the candidates, save for exceptions, do not offer tangible political programs to the voters. The US has lifted the arms embargo on Cyprus and this created further tensions in the area which is witnessing harsh exchanges between the politicians in Turkey and Greece. Turkey continues to exert pressure to design politics in the Turkish Cypriot political life and this creates further reactions among the opposition circles.

Decode Cyprus – Episode 5: Decoding the presidential campaign (2/10/2022)

Cypriot journalists Lefteris Adilinis and Esra Aygın provide an informative analysis on candidates and their strategies in the presidential elections of Republic of Cyprus, 2023. While former Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides continues to lead the polls; Andreas Mavrogiannis and Averof Neofithou, of AKEL and DISY respectively, trail behind. Other independent candidates are searching ways to unite their forces under a single candidate. We are fast approaching toward the end of 2022 and there seems to be a general belief that no candidate will secure enough votes to pull the plug in the first round.

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 41: Battle over the records of failed talks (14/8/2022)

It is now crystal clear that solution of the Cyprus problem was actually within the reach during 2016 and 2017 summits, it took five years for the Greek Cypriot politics to question the Greek Cypriot leadership's share of responsibility in the failure. While the establishment is fighting the last ditch battle to save Anastasiades and his team from any responsibility by throwing leaked minutes one after another to support their line of interpretation, every new statement from the negotiation team members, every leaked document prove otherwise. In this episode of Nicosia Uncut, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykallı question how the leading mainstream media organ is acting like a mouthpiece and a shield instead of carrying out their journalistic duties. While the battle over the records of failed talks is far from over, no presidential candidate seem to offer a realistic strategy on how to resume the talks to solve the Cyprus problem. On the other side of the divide Tatar is under fire, once more, for attending the ceremony of the fifth Islamic Games, taking place in Turkey, while the Turkish Cypriot athletes were not allowed to compete.

Nicosia Uncut – Episode 40: Presidential race gearing up; yet another UN representative under attack (26/7/2022)

After a summer brake, Nicosia Uncut is back with the latest political developments in Cyprus. Three leading presidential candidates participated in the first debate on PIK, Cyprus state channel, discussing their perspectives on the Cyprus problem. All three candidates, namely DISY leader Averof Neofytou, AKEL's candidate former negotiator Andreas Mavroyiannis and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Christodoulides, have been the main figures in current President Anastasides' administration. On the other hand, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres have sent out his 6-monthly report on UNFICYP and UN Good Offices in Cyprus to the UN Security Council. The content triggered attacks on Colin Stewart, UN chief in Cyprus, by pro-government media. Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli discuss the political developments on both sides of the divide on the island.

Sesta – Episode 6: Sesta Pride Special with Erman Dolmacı and Diego Aparicio (16/6/2022)

Sesta-embracing the colours of culture! In this sixth episode of Sesta, Meltem Burak talks to Erman Dolmacı (they/them/theirs) and Diego Aparicio (he/him/his). Erman is a PhD candidate on Gender Studies, and a project coordinator at the Human Rights Platform. Diego is the founder and artistic director of the Queer Wave Film Festival. Throughout the podcast, Erman elaborates on the importance of intersectionality. Erman underpins the significance of hearing the margins and constructing peace with a rights based approach in Cyprus. Diego explains the role of Queer Wave in bridging the gap between north and south while encouraging community engagement. The sixth episode of Sesta is a Pride Special episode celebrating the Pride Month ahead of the first Intercommunal Pride in Cyprus. The first Intercommunal Pride will take place on 18 June at 18.00. The march will begin at Kuğulu Park in north Nicosia and at Eleftheria Square in south Nicosia and the two groups will eventually meet at Ledra Palace. The Intercommunal Pride is organised by Queer Collective CY and Queer Cyprus Association, and co-hosted by LGBT-PILIPINAS, LGBT Africa and LGBTQIA+ & Allies Students Club of University of Cyprus.

Figure It – Episode 9: Mustafa Besim unpacks Turkey’s economic protocol with the Turkish Cypriots (10/6/2022)

In this episode of Figure It, Sapienta Economics Director Fiona Mullen talks to Dr Mustafa Besim, Professor of Economics at Eastern Mediterranean University and Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics, about the economy of northern Cyprus, in particular the latest economic and financial protocol worth around 240 million euro signed between the Turkish Cypriot administration and Turkey. What are the protocol’s strengths, what are its weaknesses and what should be the priority for Turkish Cypriot economic policy?

Sesta – Episode 5: On The Crescent Moon Fox with Metin Murat (24/5/2022)

Sesta-embracing the colours of culture! In this fifth episode of Sesta, Meltem Burak talks to Dr Metin Murat who is the author of the recently published novel The Crescent Moon Fox. Throughout the podcast, Metin elaborates on his compassionate, heart-breaking, brutal and humorous debut novel which is a gesture towards peace, and towards the Turkish-speaking community of Cyprus. He explains how literature, among the other forms of arts and culture, manages to unite people who disagree with each other, and serves as an instrument which helps people show their fears and their suffering. The Crescent Moon Fox`s book launch and signing…