T-VINE talks to former Turkish Cypriot Chief Negotiator Ergün Olgun about his memories of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who passed away on 18 August after a short illness aged 80. Annan came closer than any international political figure to resolving the decades-old Cyprus Problem, overseeing a referendum to reunite the island in 2004. One […]
As the British High Commission forecasts “tough choices and compromises ahead” if the UN Talks are to succeed, and Secretary General Guterres fails to mention Greek Cypriot obstruction in his latest report, former TRNC Chief Negotiator Ergün Olgun says more than compromise may be needed for success, and that the UN itself is part […]
Bids by Anastasiades to bin the 1960 Treaties of Guarantee and of Alliance in an effort to dictate the terms of the next round of UN Cyprus talks have been dismissed by a seasoned observer. Former TRNC Chief Negotiator Ergün Olgun says the Greek Cypriot President should actually give thanks for the 1960 Treaty of […]
A community of ethnic Greek Muslims who were exiled from Greece to Syria in 1897 seek to return to their homeland in Crete. Yet despite presenting the deeds for properties seized by the Greek Orthodox Church 120 years ago, they once again find themselves victims of public resentment and institutional discrimination. “Wherever we go, we […]
So Israel has won Eurovision with Netta’s quirky Toy song, which is themed around strong women and features chicken noises. While Netta had been the favourite to win for some time, Cyprus was the unexpected frontrunner after an impressive performance in both the rehearsals and semi-final. For a time it looked like Eurovision was heading to […]
110 years ago, Winston Churchill raged to the Liberal Cabinet about Great Britain’s “detestable oppression” towards Cyprus, claiming that the British Government’s treatment of the island “constituted a blemish upon Imperial policy of a peculiarly discreditable kind.” What did Churchill say about Enosis? What was the “maiming, crippling toll” he accused His Majesty’s Government […]
On Sunday, 29 October, clocks will be going back in various parts of the world as part of Daylight Saving Time (DST). This includes Britain, North and South Cyprus. The decision by the Turkish Cypriot authorities to return DST means there will now be an hour’s difference with Turkey, which decided to end the practice […]
One favourable result of the Brexit trigger seems to have been that Her Majesty’s High Commissioner in Nicosia, Matthew Kidd, has been moved to communicate direct with UK nationals living in the TRNC – a rare event in recent years. In the following video, circulated to media in Cyprus popular with expats, the ambassador […]
On Sunday 26 March, the time on both sides in Cyprus will once again be the same. For the past five months there has been an hour’s difference between the north and south of the island. The time difference came about because the Turkish Cypriot government decided to drop Daylight Saving Time last September. It […]
Senior members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews (BDBJ) met with the TRNC London Representative for the first time yesterday. TRNC ambassador Zehra Başaran and Esra Emin, a TRNC diplomat, hosted BDBJ’s chief executive Gillian Merron and David Walsh, the body’s international relations officer, at the TRNC London office on Thursday morning. […]
