Dec182024

From everyone at the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK, we send our warmest wishes to you and your loved ones for a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2025. We hope that the festive period brings you all moments of joy, peace and rest.

As this year comes to its close, we reflect on the developments that have shaped it. 2024 has been the biggest year for democracy in human history, with half of the world’s population having had the opportunity to vote in elections. In the UK, July’s General Election saw Labour return to Government with Sir Keir Starmer MP as Prime Minister. At the same time, the President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides has undertaken a concerted effort to restart talks to end the Turkish occupation and reunite Cyprus.

Even with all these shifting tides, it is sometimes, however, the lasting past that makes itself most felt. It has now been over 50 years since the illegal invasion and occupation of Cyprus by Turkey; 50 years ago, 200,000 people were driven from their homes and for 50 years people have mourned the loss of their loved ones. My thoughts are with all whose memories of the invasion were brought back by this tragic milestone. Rest assured that, as your Federation, we have worked tirelessly to ensure that this half of century of pain did not go unnoticed. Here’s an overview of our highlights over the last year.

Advocating for a Free, United Cyprus

Sadly, Turkey and their illegal occupation regime have continued pushing for the illegal permanent partition of Cyprus throughout the year. Despite this, the Republic of Cyprus and the international community have stood firmly in favour of reunification. In January, the UN Secretary General appointed María Angela Holguín to search for common ground on the way forward for the Cyprus issue. In April, EU leaders adopted conclusions on Turkey that “expressed its full commitment to the comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem, within the UN framework and in line with EU values”. In October, President Christodoulides attended an informal trilateral meeting with UNSG Antonio Guterres and Turkish Cypriot Leader Ersin Tatar to discuss the path to resume negotiations. As a sign of the strengthening UK-Cyprus relations, President Christodoulides was received by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer MP in October at Downing Street, and earlier this month Sir Keir became the first serving Prime Minister to visit Cyprus on an official bilateral visit since 1971.

At the Federation, we have continued to coordinate our Cypriot community’s campaign for a Free, United Cyprus. In doing so, we have redoubled our engagement with the UK Government, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Opposition Parties, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cyprus, and individual Parliamentarians. This has been all the more important after the UK General Election, which brought changes across the political scene.

Central to our campaign this year has been marking the 50 years since Turkey’s illegal invasion and occupation of Cyprus in July 1974. Over 500 UK-Cypriots joined us outside the Turkish Embassy in London on the 20th July. This sent a strong signal, reported on by national newspapers, that despite the passing of time and generations, our community remains steadfast in its desire for a Free, United Cyprus.

Thousands of emails were also sent to local parliamentary candidates during the UK General Election, as part of our #HandsOffCyprus 2024 e-campaign. These messages stressed the painful memories of the last 50 years and outlined a range of policies to support the restarting of reunification talks. After being contacted by constituents, over 100 candidates signed our Cyprus Pledge Card, and of these, 42 were elected as MPs.

This e-campaign also helped ensure that Labour, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats all provided our community with Cyprus policy statements before the election. Then Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron, Shadow Europe Minister Stephen Doughty and Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Layla Moran provided statements on behalf of the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats respectively. These statements included commitments to support the reunification of Cyprus based on the agreed UN framework, as well as further improve UK-Cyprus relations.

This year was also the 41st dark anniversary of the illegal ‘Unilateral Declaration of Independence” by the Turkish Cypriot Leadership in November 1983. To mark this date, we delivered resolutions to UK Prime Minister and the Turkish Ambassador in London, calling for the reunification of Cyprus based on the agreed UN framework, international law and EU acquis. Resolutions were also sent to the Leader of the Opposition, Leaders of the major UK political parties, the Presidents of the European Parliament, Commission and Council, the Ambassadors of the Permanent Members of the United Nations Security Council, as well as the EU Ambassador in the UK.

In November, we also hosted our Annual Cyprus Parliamentary Meeting with the Cyprus APPG. The Guest Speaker was the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Cyprus, Dr Constantinos Kombos. He was joined by an array of speakers, including Middle East and North Africa Minister Hamish Falconer MP, Former Deputy Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell MP, Cyprus APPG Chair Bambos Charalambous MP and Honorary President Sir Roger Gale MP. We were delighted to be joined by 27 Ministers, Shadow Ministers and Parliamentarians, many of whom were newly elected at the General Election in July.

Throughout the year, we have, as always, been ready to respond to new developments on the Cyprus issue. In January, we coordinated a joint statement signed by Cypriots from all communities, welcoming the appointment of María Angela Holguín as the UN Secretary-General’s personal envoy on Cyprus and reiterated our shared commitment to the agreed UN framework as the only basis for a solution. Our joint statement was co-signed by the Republican Turkish Party UK, the Turkish Cypriot Association for Democracy and Sol Hareket UK. This was followed by a meeting with the FCDO Mediterranean Department in March with the Turkish Cypriot Association for Democracy and the Republican Turkish Party UK.

This year especially, we felt a deep responsibility, to re-double our efforts and raise awareness about the continued illegal ongoing occupation of Cyprus. I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for your active engagement in our campaigns and events – without your support, our achievements would not have been possible.

Proudly Representing and Advancing our Community

Our UK Cypriot community is always at the forefront of our work as we seek to advance our community’s position now and for generations to come.

Throughout the year, we have taken every opportunity to represent our diaspora to the Government of Cyprus. This month alone, we met with Foreign Minister Dr Constantinos Kombos to discuss UK-Cyprus relations and developments in the Eastern Mediterranean & Cyprus issue, as well as Deputy Culture Minister Vasiliki Kassianidou to discuss how to promote Cypriot culture in the UK. Over this year, we also met with Education Minister Athena Michaelidou, to discuss community Greek language schools; Deputy Tourism Minister Kostas Koumis, to discuss efforts to further promote Cyprus as a tourist destination in the UK and; Deputy Shipping Minister Marina Hadjimanolis to discuss promotion of Cypriot shipping in the UK.

The 2024 POMAK/PSEKA Central Council Meeting and NEPOMAK World Conference in Cyprus was an additional opportunity to engage with other ministers, officials and our global diaspora. Representatives received briefings from President Christodoulides at the Presidential Palace, as well as Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas, among others.

We also continue engage closely with the Diplomatic Missions of Cyprus and the UK. In March, we hosted a farewell dinner in honour of the outgoing Cyprus High Commissioner Andreas Kakouris to thank him for four and half years of tireless service in the role. In April, we met with the new High Commissioner Kyriacos Kouros to welcome him and exchange views on both developments in the UK and Cyprus. This year, we also bid farewell to the UK High Commissioner to Cyprus Irfan Siddiq, at our annual POMAK/PSEKA conference in Cyprus, and welcomed Michael Tatham who we had the opportunity to engage with at our annual Cyprus Parliamentary Reception in November and on his visits to London.

Cyprus High Commissioner, Kyriacos Kouros, was the Main Speaker at our Doxology to commemorate the National Days at St Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church in April. The Doxology was officiated by Archbishop Nikitas, who we would like to thank for all his support this year.

It was also important to us that our diaspora had the opportunity to mark, mourn and reflect on the tragic milestone of 50 years of Turkish occupation, as a community. With the Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain, we organised a memorial service at St Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral. The service was held in memory of those who lost their lives defending Cyprus in 1974 and those who are still missing. We also hosted the musical theatre performance Letters to Mother at the Millfield Theatre in London. The sold-out performance covered Cypriot history from the independence struggle of EOKA 1955-59 to the Turkish invasion of 1974, as told by the poet Costas Montis.

Many of you may have noticed olive trees being planted in your local areas over the last year, accompanied by plaques reaffirming our continued commitment to peace and reunification of Cyprus. It has been through the efforts of the Greek Cypriot Brotherhood, NEPOMAK UK, the Eptakomi Association, the Association of Rizokarpasso in Great Britain, the Midlands Greek and Cypriot Association, Action for Cyprus, Morphou Association, Greek Cypriot Association of Wales, Greek & Cypriot Association of Glasgow, Twelve Apostles Church and many others that we have planted so many olive trees already. You can now find these trees across the UK from Glasgow, Cardiff, Barnet, Enfield, Manchester, Birmingham, Bewdley, Coventry, Stoke-on-Trent, Camden Town to Great Yarmouth.

In addition to engagement within our community, we have also continued our exchanges with Armenian, Jewish and Kurdish diaspora representatives this year. In addition, I was invited to share our story with the Cambridge Union in a panel on partition and colonialism internationally. I had the opportunity to talk with students about the history of Cyprus under the British Empire as well as Turkey’s illegal invasion and occupation that began fourteen years after independence.

As it is often said, the mark of a society is how it treats those who are most vulnerable. Therefore, I am particularly proud of the charitable initiatives taken by our community at this time of year. The Rizokarpasso Association in the UK sent a generous Christmas present to every enclaved child in Rizokarpasso. The Cypriot Community Centre, as always, provides vital community services and facilities to the public. These include its Day Care, Advice and Advocacy Services, Meals on Wheels and Luncheon Club. NEPOMAK UK, our youth branch, has also run its Santa Shoebox campaign with the support of our community Greek Schools. The Santa Shoebox campaign coordinates the sending of presents from UK Cypriots to enclaved children in occupied Rizokarpasso as well as Ukrainian refugees in the UK.

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These have been just a small selection of our activities this year. In doing so, we remain honoured to represent our diaspora and to lead the campaign for a Free, United Cyprus. This year’s tragic 50th anniversary of the illegal Turkish invasion and ongoing occupation of Cyprus has driven us to work even harder. It is important that we do not let this momentum fade, but instead build on it and intensify our efforts to do even more in 2025.

As the world appears to increasingly change, we should all reflect on we can achieve as individuals and as part of our community. From talking to your local MP about Cyprus, participating in the Federation’s campaigns and initiatives, to engaging with the political party that you support, there are concrete steps that each of us can take today for a better tomorrow.

Once again, thank you all for your incredible collective support.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year for 2025,

Christos Karaolis,
President, National Federation of Cypriots in the UK