Embargoed Newsletter July/August 2024

We received a copy of the July/August 2024 Embargoed Newsletter and decided to share this here with our CyprusScene worldwide readers and followers to help promote the cause of the Turkish Cypriots who demanding justice and equality for the Turkish Republic Of Northern Cyprus..

Newsletter July/August 2024

Dear Members & Friends of Embargoed!

Please find the August Newsletter for you all.

This is a late July/early August edition because, as you will see below, we’ve had a very busy month or so. We will now take a few weeks for a summer recess – although work will continue in the background.

The last month of course marked the 50th anniversaries of the Greece-led coup d’etat, which took place on 15th July 1974, and the subsequent Turkish intervention, which followed on 20th July. It also included the Turkish Cypriot Cultural Festival in London and several other events.

•       CTCA UK – 7th Turkish Cypriot Cultural Festival

Embargoed! was present at the recent Turkish Cypriot Cultural Festival, organized by our umbrella group, the Council of Turkish Cypriot Associations (CTCA) UK. Whilst wet and windy weather dampened things in a literal sense, the event was another huge success, attracting both Turkish Cypriots and the wider community.

Embargoed! had a busy day explaining about who we are and what we do to lobby for change. Amongst our many visitors was Turkish Cypriot celebrity chef, Big Has. If you don’t already know him, find him on YouTube, where he often appears alongside his father, Kamil, who is simply every Turkish Cypriot father you’ve ever met. If you don’t already know him, check the photos below. It’s fair to say that he lives up to his name.

More importantly, we also met with some existing Embargoed! Members and gained some new ones too. Welcome to you all.

New Members / Volunteers

Embargoed! is always on the lookout for volunteers to help us carry out our work. If you can spare some time and enthusiasm for our cause, we’d love to hear from you.

•       Reception- Freedom & Fairness for North Cyprus

Embargoed! attended a Reception held by the Freedom & Fairness for North Cyprus group in Westminster on 1st July. The event was attended by TRNC President, Ersin Tatar, who was in the UK to attend the Festival. It also gave us a chance to meet with longtime Member and supporter of Embargoed, Alp Mehmet.

•       Commemoration – 15th July Greece-Greek Cypriot Coup in Cyprus

Embargoed! joined the British Turkish Cypriot Association (BTCA) on Sunday 14th July at the Greek Embassy to mark the Greece-led coup d’etat which took place on the island on 15th July 1974, with the express aim of Enosis (the union of Cyprus with Greece). A small group gathered to commemorate the day – ahead of the ‘main event’, which took place the following week.

 

·        Embargoed Chalk Walk

Following on from the commemoration at the Greek Embassy, Embargoed! led a group of volunteers to Holland Park to create a ‘Chalk Walk’, leaving artwork on the pavements in a repeat of last year’s imaginative protest.

•       Reception in celebration of 50 years of peace

Embargoed! was invited to the Turkish Embassy in Belgrave Square on 19th July, to mark 50 years since the Turkish intervention in Cyprus.

There, they met the Turkish Ambassador, Koray Ertas and the Turkish Cypriot London Representative, Çimen Keskin.

•       Celebration of 50 years since the Turkish Intervention in Cyprus

First considered as a counter-protest to the Greek Cypriot protest which was planned for 20th July at the Turkish Embassy, it was decided that it would be more fitting to treat the day as thanks to Turkiye a celebration of 50 years of peace.

It was in this spirit that Embargoed! joined other groups such BTCA, the Young Turkish Cypriots (YTC), CTCA UK, Turkish Cypriots Exist (TCE) and many others from the Turkish Cypriot community in the UK to celebrate outside the Turkish Embassy, ignoring the Greek Cypriot protest which was taking place opposite.

The celebrations and thanks – accompanied by music and dance – on the Turkish Cypriot side of the road, was in stark contrast to the grim faces and racist rhetoric coming from the Greek Cypriot side.

We saw banners proclaiming that “Cyprus is Greek”, shouts of “Enosis” and “Turks out” and one man with what we assume to be a specially purchased TRNC flag, which he brought along specifically to throw in the middle of the road and kick around. No doubt done in the hope of a violent reaction which could be used against the Turkish Cypriot crowd. None of it had the desired effect. The goading and the hatred only elicited greater celebration.

•        Waltham Forest Council – Flag Vigil

The sun finally shone again at Waltham Forest Council for the ongoing vigil. No doubt there is still a dark angry cloud hanging over Council Leader Grace Williams.

•       Barnet Council Deputation

The Leader of Barnet Council, Barry Rawlings, angrily rejected accusations of racism against the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot community of Barnet, following the council’s decision to receive a delegation of Greek Cypriots who claim to represent the town of Morphou/Guzelyurt. As previously reported, the town is located in the Turkish Cypriot Republic of Cyprus and has been in Turkish Cypriot control since the ceasefire and subsequent population exchange in 1974.

The delegation – which includes a man purporting to be the Mayor – has not resided in the town since that time and has not been even on the ballot since 1974, much less voted in as Councilors or Mayor. Their faux-titles are simply used for political purposes.

Embargoed!, alongside BTCA, supported Barnet resident Seyyare Beyzade, who presented a deputation on behalf of 20 Turkish Cypriot residents of the Borough on 9th July. While the council unsurprisingly rejected the claims, the action taken will have served its purpose to alert the council to the fact that the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot community will no longer sit quietly and tolerate their bias.

NEXT MONTH

•       Revival of the Sporting Embargoes Project

Long standing members of Embargoed! (who also possess a good memory) may recall the action taken by our group back in 2012 ahead of the London Olympic Games.

Embargoed! lobbied the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to overturn the sporting embargoes on Turkish Cypriots and asked them to allow two talented Turkish Cypriot Taekwondo champions to enter the games as ‘Individuals’, competing under the Olympic Flag. The IOC, whose Olympic Charter proclaims “Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on ground of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.” did not even give the courtesy of a formal reply. They then indirectly informed the two athletes that they had two choices:

- To compete as part of the Greek Cypriot ‘Republic of Cyprus’ *

- To compete for the Turkiye

*The Republic of Cyprus does not grant citizenship to anyone born in Cyprus who has one or more parents from Turkiye. Turkish Cypriot born Buse Savaskan reached the final of the High Jump in the Paris Olympics. For the reasons stated above, she is representing Turkiye. Buse, like her mother, was born in Cyprus. But as her father was born in Turkiye she would find herself illegible for Republic of Cyprus citizenship. She is classed as a ‘settler’.

 Meanwhile, the Republic of Cyprus were also represented in the same final. With no apparent sense of irony, the Republic of Cyprus team colours will be worn by Elena Kulichenko. Elena was born in Russia, to Russian parents and had already represented Russia at youth level. With Russia unable to compete in Paris it was ‘fortunate’ for her that neither of her parents were Turkish. The double-standards and, let’s be clear, racism, are too obvious to ignore.

Even if any Turkish Cypriot athletes (with parents from Turkiye) were willing to renounce their Turkish Cypriot citizenship and take up Republic of Cyprus citizenship (a perquisite to be considered), they would then need to overcome the prejudice which countless Turkish Cypriot athletes have encountered when trying to participate in sports either for the Greek Cypriot led ‘Republic of Cyprus’ or within it. There have been several cases of Turkish Cypriot sportsmen and women transferring to clubs in the South of the island, usualy due to better salaries. In general, the experiments have not ended well.

Representing Turkiye is simply seen as the ‘easier’ option because most Turkish Cypriots feel ethnically Turkish and of course speak the language and share the culture. However, that choice then means that they first need to compete against a pool of athletes from a country of 80million people (rather than 400,000) in order to make the team. And if they are successful, they know that they would take the place of a resident of Turkiye. Finally, they would be required to spend long periods of time in Turkiye to participate in the training camps.

Most importantly, with either of the 2 choices given, they would not have the joy and the pride of representing their homeland, where they were born and reside.

When we consider that other divided and/or unrecognised nations are able to compete, we see the power and vindictiveness of the Greek lobbies, who will do everything to deny our existence and keep the Turkish Cypriots

isolated and hidden from view. Kosovo and Bosnia & Herzegovina are just 2 examples of disputed countries who came into existence in similar circumstances many years after the TRNC. By contrast, their athletes are able to compete.

Embargoed! has spent the last few months contacting Turkish Cypriot athletes past and present, in order to bring this important project back to life. While we all know that the embargoes are all-encompassing, the sporting embargoes are perhaps the most cruel and difficult to understand.

Watch this space for further developments in this project.

•          Embargoed! 20 years fighting for Turkish Cypriots equality

Embargoed! will ‘celebrate’ 20 years in September. A decision is yet to be made as to whether the anniversay will be marked and, if so, how. In an ideal world, we would have lost our reason for existance long ago.

Support Embargoed!

To read more of Embargoed and perhaps lend you support by becoming a member and help fight for Justice and Equality of the Turkish Cypriots, please click here.

To read more reviews and Readers Mail click here
https://cyprusscene.com/2024/08/22/embargoed-newsletter-july-august-2024/