On Wednesday 24th March,2010 a panel discussion on “Solution and Peace”will be organized at the new building of Gonyeli Municipality in the Conference Hall.
Speakers:
1. Kate Clerides
2. Fatma Azgin
3. Themos Demetriou
4. Dr Sibel Siber
Wednesday 24th March,2010 at 8:00pm
Those in need of transport please call: Soteres Vlachos:99487523 Christos Efthymiou:99439185
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Where exactly is this new building of Gonyeli Municipality? Can you give directions as we drive into Gonyeli from Ayios Dometios?
i don’t know exactly where it is to give directions but it is a new big building logically situated in the centre of Gonyeli.
Didn’t manage to get there on time. Can someone fill us in on the deliberations?
i have a summing up in turkish
i am waiting for the english translation. it should be up later on today or tomorrow
@Gregoris:Thanks
25.3.2010
Press Release
Greek Cypriot Audience suggested at the Panel:
WE SHOULD FILL THE ARENAS FOR PEACE.
United Cyprus Bi-communal Peace Initiative organized a bicommunal panel last Wednesday at Gonyeli Municipality Conference building and the panels main themes were Peace and Solution. Salih Oztoprak was the chairman of the panel and the speakers were Keti Klerides,Temos Dimitriu,Fatma Azgın ve Dr. Sibel Siber.
Ahmet Benli,the Mayor of Gonyeli,made a short speech at the beginning of the panel stating his honor of hosting such an event on behalf of Gonyeli Municipality. He also expressed that he has been struggling for peace in Cyprus for many years.
The first panelist,Cate Clerides stated that she made a point of the dialogue between two communities and approximately for 20 years she has been actively working on bicommunal relations. She also highlighted her wishes that the negotiation process would end up with a solution however,neither people in the north nor south make a pressure on the leaders in terms of this matter. “The reason for this is;in both sides,people see the federation as a second option. The moajority support federation because it is not a possible solution. The leaders should apologize from each other because of the occurences happened until today. They should apologize and state their empathy towards each other” said Clerides. She also underlined that the one of the most important things that hurts both communities is the matter of the missing persons and that the Turkish side had not helped for this issue for many years and the Greek side approached this issue as political,not humanistic point of view.
Dr. Sibel Siber said that she also wishes that the negotiations would end up with success but solution and peace are two different elements. “At the end of the negotiations,we can agree upon a solution,I believe this is possible and we should not miss this moment. However,having peace will take a longer period of time. In this terms,Greek side will have a bigger task. They should explain the sufferings of the Turkish Cypriots between 1963-1974,and should make changes in textbooks in schools. The behaviour of the Greek Cypriot students in the south openly shows this need.” Said Mrs. Siber and added that the politicians expressions effect the relationships and we urgently need positive and optimistic speeches.”
Themos Dimitriou,a peace activist prepared a book with Sotiris Vlachos,named “İhanete Ugramıs Ayaklanma” which was also translated in Turkish,was affected by the struggle of the Turkish Cypriots during the Annan Plan. He stated that he was honored to be invited to such an event and to see the women as masjority among participants is a wishful influence on struggles for the solution. “Destroying the barricades is amazing;racist barricades,gender,religious and every means of barricades…The annan plan was such an opportunity and chance which should not have been missed. The biggest reason for the South to say no was the strategy of the nationalistic Papadopulos. “ Don’t praise Annan Plan in order not to decrease the bargaining power” he said and he defamed the plan. “And AKEL became the slave of this policy in order to prevent the change of the government. The 3 years after the tragic end of the referandum,were a great loss for peace process. However after three years,Greek side made its revolution and Papadopulos became the last in the elections. Now,the effects can be still seen because of the loss of that chance. However,we should do anything we can in order to achieve success in the negotiation process.
Fatma Azgin told that there has been no conditions before the Annan Plan,and after the membership of the south to the EU,it will be only a dream to think about the solution models we have in mind. “No matter what,EU will impose a solution. As you can see,it comes up that the courts will deal with the property problems. We should give support to Talat and Christofias as much as we can.”
The Greek Cypriot participants in the hall who were listening to the panel said that these were true but they were not told what to do in anyway and restated a suggestion of a Greek Cypriot who were in a Panel in Lokmaci the previous week. “We,as Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots should fill the arenas with our wish for peace. That way,Peace will be inevitable.” They said.
Salih Öztoprak