In the heart of the Turkish quarter of divided Nicosia, just behind the former printing works of the Halkin Sesi newspaper and the Dr. Fazil Küçük Museum, there is a small park.
Is there any reason to remain chained to the utopia of a Cyprus federation if the Greek Cypriots have no intention to share power with their Turkish Cypriot compatriots? Can a federal solution exist without power-sharing, sovereignty-sharing and land-sharing, on an island inhabited by two peoples?
Reviving the Cyprus talks, the stillborn baby of half a century ago, is surely a complicated task.
Northern Cyprus will hold general elections on Jan. 7. Something extraordinary is happening. Is it a time of change, or are Turkish Cypriots succumbing to an oligarchical takeover? There is a claim that while in the past various sectoral mafia-style organizations exerted a strong influence on politics, now oligarchs have mushroomed, thanks to the casino, tourism and construction sectors, with such “advances” mostly imported from Turkey.
Even though autumn has already started, Cyprus is very much experiencing a late spring. With daytime temperatures still hovering at around 25 degrees Celsius and night temperatures between 14 and 18 degrees Celsius, the island remains as tempting as ever.
After a suggestion by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey has started discussing an issue that might have serious impacts on the entire political system of the country.
In the past, it was tradition to call an area’s biggest settlement the “city,” distinguishing it from the rest.
It must be a very difficult job to be a Turkish diplomat anywhere on this planet. Was it any different for other Turkish bureaucrats? Probably not, but could anyone be a better example of the situation “between the devil and the deep blue sea” than the Turkish ambassador to Washington?
Today is the death anniversary of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founding father of Turkey.
