The Leader of Barnet Council Barry Rawlings has rejected accusations from local residents of Turkish and Turkish Cypriot descent that the local authority is “racist”, calling them “unsubstantiated claims” at a recent council meeting. Councillor Rawlings’ comments prompted an angry exchange with a group of residents present in the public gallery. The council leader was […]
Conservative politician Sir Iain Duncan Smith has landed himself in hot water with British Turks after it emerged he supported the introduction of a new bill calling for the First World War massacres of Armenians in Anatolia to be recognised as a “genocide”. Ayşe Osman, head of the UK’s Turkish Cypriot umbrella body CTCA, has […]
Community leaders and British Turkish Cypriot politicians have hit out at the British High Commission in Nicosia for failing to include Turkish Cypriots in the Queen’s Baton Relay, which will be touring southern Cyprus this weekend to promote the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece, Councillor Kay Isa, and Ayşe Osman, President of […]
A press release issued by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) to remind Britain’s Turkish speaking communities to complete the Census has infuriated Turkish Cypriots after they were omitted. Turkish Cypriots make up the largest and oldest of the UK’s diverse Turkish speaking communities. Yet neither the community, nor its Islamic faith – also the […]
An important channel of communication has opened up between senior members of the Labour Party and the British Turkish Cypriot community. Representatives from the Council of Turkish Cypriot Associations UK – the UK’s largest umbrella group for Turkish Cypriots – have met with Fabian Hamilton, the Shadow Minister for Peace & Disarmament, and Catherine West […]
The world premiere of the documentary ‘A Thousand Words; The Voice Behind the Image’ about Nevcihan Oluşum and her iconic photo took place online on Sunday, 20 December. The screening of the film by the British Turkish Cypriot Association (BTCA) occurred on the 57th anniversary of ‘Bloody Christmas’ – the start of the decade-long assault and […]
Arsenal Football Club has revised its communications policy after a leading community group accused the club of “double standards”. The complaint was made by the Council of Turkish Cypriot Associations in an open letter sent to the board of the North London club last month. Penned by CTCA chair Ertuğrul Mehmet, the powerfully worded letter […]
British expatriates who have approved residency status have the chance to return to the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC) next week, alongside TRNC citizens who are permanently resident in the country. Cyprus Paradise – the largest tour operator to North Cyprus – is laying on a repatriation charter flight for Tuesday, 23 June, from […]
A correspondence campaign regarding the Pegasus security clamp-down for flights from Ercan Airport to Britain is starting to bear fruit. The campaign was launched by the British Turkish Cypriot Association (BTCA), Embargoed! and T-VINE Magazine. One of the first to get active was Barnet resident and advertising consultant Sonya Karafistan. Her template letter to MPs […]
