Embargoed June 2025 Newsletter
Introduction by Chris Elliott….
Having received a copy of the June 2025 Embargoed Newsletter, I decided to share this with CyprusScene worldwide readers as the Cyprob Issue rumbles on after years of false promises with those in the spotlight of the day Talking the Talk and failing to Walk the Walk which has allowed the Greek-controlled Republic of Cyprus ‘Government’ to gain EU membership and be acknowledged as representing the whole of Cyprus and for the Turkish Cypriots future to be embargoed.
So what’s the latest News from Embargoed?
Newsletter June 25
Warm and long overdue greetings to all Embargoed! members.
Huge apologies for the radio silence in terms of Newsletters. However, this does not mean that the team at Embargoed! haven’t continued working to highlight the struggle of the Turkish Cypriot community against the embargoes. Unfortunately, some background issues took precedence over the updates. We’re now back on track…
Since we last spoke…
Throughout the year, Embargoed! has continued the vigil at Waltham Forest Council. That protest, led by Nejla and James Clements, is now into it’s 4th year!
In November, Embargoed! attended ‘60 Years of the Cyprus Issue’, an event hosted by the Rt. Hon. The Lord Taylor of Holbeach CBE, at the Palace of Westminster, organised by Freedom & Fairness for Northern Cyprus.
Still in November, Embargoed! attended an evening at the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Representative Office in London to commemorate the 41st anniversary of the proclamation of the republic.
In December, Embargoed! was outside the Greek Cypriot embassy, joining other members of the Turkish Cypriot community, lobby groups and the local Imam, to commemorate the horrific events of Bloody Christmas 1963, when Turkish Cypriots were subjected to the violent onslaught of the Greek Cypriot neighbours as they sought to subjugate the Turkish Cypriot people and take control of the Republic of Cyprus Government.
The vigil included a bloodstained bathtub; the graphic scene having become a symbol of the horror lived by the Turkish Cypriots. In this instance, the infamous ‘Bathtub murders’ in which the 3 young children and wife of Dr Nihat Ilhan had attempted to hide away from their killers, only to be slaughtered where they hid.
Still in December, Embargoed wrote to the UK Prime Minister and the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office to protest the visit of Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, to Cyprus in which he totally neglected to make time to visit the Turkish Cypriot President, Ersin Tatar
In February, Embargoed! hand-delivered a letter to Waltham Forest Council Leader, Grace Williams. This was a response to a communication from Cllr. Williams who, in our opinion, had written to us to simply tick a box and show that she was not totally ignoring the initial protest and the ongoing vigil. In summary, Cllr. Williams feigned interested – and took the opportunity to absolve herself and the council of any blame in treating the Turkish Cypriot community so despicably.
In March, Embargoed! hand-delivered letters to the UK Prime Minister and United Nations offices in Whitehall to protest UN Resolution 186; the UN Resolution which erroneously recognises the Greek Cypriot Administration as the ‘Republic of Cyprus’
Still in March, Embargoed! responded to a communication from the National Federation of [Greek] Cypriots UK (NFCUK), the Cyprus Turkish Party UK (CTPUK) and Turkish Cypriot Association for Democracy UK (TCADUK). You may recall that the former (NFCUK) is a rabidly anti-Turkish organisation while the latter two (CTPUK and TCADUK) – even when combined – represent a miniscule number of the Turkish Cypriot diaspora in the UK. Nevertheless, the three groups had no shame in purporting to speak on behalf of all UK based Cypriots, disingenuously asking for a Bi-Zonal, Bi-Communal solution in Cyprus – which would also be based on ‘EU aquis’.
On the surface, this sounds perfectly fair. But in reality ‘EU aquis’ means something very different from a Bi-Zonal, Bi-Communal state. It would mean total freedom of movement on the island ie the freedom for the economically stronger Greek Cypriots in the south of the island to move to the north of the island en masse, to buy property, business and land – therefore making any concessions to the Turkish Cypriot community null and void. In short, a ruse to turn the Turkish Cypriots into a minority in a Greek state. The CPTUK and TCADUK are either incredibly naïve or complicit in this game.
The full Embargoed! response can be found by clicking here
And still in March, Embargoed! attended a Ramadan fast-breaking Iftar dinner with groups and individuals from Turkish Cypriot community in London.
In April, Embargoed! responded to everyone’s favourite cheeky racist chappy, Nigel Farage, using his own brand of light-hearted brand of insults, after he slurred the Turkish Cypriot barber community, using a few bad examples to tar an entire group – and yet forgetting how he and his own group were guilty of far greater fraud.
The full letter can be read here
Also in April, Embargoed! attended ‘Cyprus at a Crossroad – The Geopolitical Case for a Two State Solution’. An online event discussing the current status and possible outcome of the Cyprus problem. The event was organised by Young Turkish Cypriots and hosted by Dr Hasan Ünal, a full professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Başkent University in Türkiye.
And still in April, Embargoed sent a protest letter to Turkish Cypriot celebrity chef, Meliz Berg. We were disappointed to learn that Meliz had decided to accept sponsorship from the Greek Cypriot company Cypressa Foods. Embargoed! has no issue with their ethnicity of Cypressa foods. However, we cannot accept the claims on their website which state that Hellim [halloumi], alongside olives, olive oil and tahini are all ‘Greek specialities’. We will always fight back against the cultural appropriation of our culture.
In May, Embargoed! attended a celebration of Turkish Cypriot poet, Osman Türkay, hosted by The Rt. Hon. The Lord Balfe, organised by The Council of Turkish Cypriot Associations UK, the umbrella organisation of UK based Turkish Cypriot groups.
Also in May, Embargoed! attended the AGM of CTCA UK
In late June, Embargoed! will have a stand at the CTCA UK Turkish Cypriot Festival. This year will be a Two Day Event, celebrating Turkish Cypriot culture, music, food and more. Please come and join us, say hello to some of the team, and simply support the festival. Embargoed! would love to see you there and to meet some of our members in person.
And very soon,
Embargoed! will celebrate its 2025 Annual General Meeting (AGM).We will be in touch very shortly to provide full details. If possible, the AGM will be a hybrid (in person/remote)
Support Embargoed!
Join
If you are not already a member of Embargoed!, please consider joining us. Membership is only £10 per year and helps us immensely. If you are a Member, why not urge family or friends to sign up too?
Embargoed! prides itself on having no set ideology. Whatever your view on a potential solution for the Cyprus problem, if you agree that the Turkish Cypriot community should not be isolated, then you have a place among us.
Promote or Donate
If you are already a Member, thank you!
We are extremely grateful to all of our Members and are very excited to see our numbers growing in the last year. We would really like to see that trend continue, so please spread the word with family and friends. Change will only come with action. And that action is easier with greater numbers – and funds.
While the work undertaken by our team is entirely voluntary, we do require funds to work effectively. Among other things, we need to create and print material, run our website and attend events to ensure that our voice is heard. Your membership fee and any donations make up 100% of our income. If you can spare any more, please consider donating.
All monies in and out of Embargoed! can be scrutinised in our accounts. Embargoed! is a strictly not-for-profit organisation with no salaried staff.
Volunteer
We always need more volunteers to spread the workload. Taking action is not all about marching in the streets (although we have been known to do that sometimes too). It can take many forms. So, if you have some time or expertise to offer, please consider volunteering.
You can give us as much or as little time as you feel able and you can be based anywhere in the world.
In addition to our website (now live, albeit pending some refinement) you can also find us on Facebook and Twitter. Please give us a Follow and use the Comments sections to speak up for Turkish Cypriot equality.
For more information go to www.embargoed.org
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