The friend of Northern Cyprus shares its Daily News of Life and Times around the world
By Brenda Plant ……
Do you remember our singalong MAMMA MIA last year? It was such a success that we are inviting you to the 112 sing-along to Universal Studios’ GREASE on Thursday June 29th at Acmenya Restaurant in Alsancak starting at 7.00 p.m.
See the movie and join in with all those songs we love (with on screen lyrics) although we all know the words! Only 65TL per person including a roast chicken (or vegetarian) supper with dessert buffet.
Invitations are available from Lambousa Market on Saturday mornings or you can reserve places by calling me on 0533 840 7834.
Mamma Mia was a complete sell out, so don’t delay!!
Remember – the equipment you help to buy today could SAVE YOUR LIFE TOMORROW
By Margaret Sheard…..
We received news from Horst Gutowski, the Treasurer of The Foreign Residents in the TRNC (TFR) of the sad passing of one of their members – Dorothy Gallop.
Dorothy was an active member of TFR and Chris and I met her and her husband Bill on many occasions at TFR weekly get-togethers and other events but unfortunately we cannot always attend events and so we had not seen Dorothy and Bill for some time, but we do remember that she was always smiling and a very friendly lady.
The funeral will be held at Lapta Cemetery on Monday 30th January at 11.30am. Bill has requested no flowers and instead a donation to Help Those with Cancer Association (Tulips).
Following the funeral there will be a wake at Acmenya Restaurant in Alsancak.
Sincere condolences to Bill and family and close friends.
Dorothy – Rest in Peace
By Brenda Plant……
The famous 112 Christmas Singalong is wearing a new Christmas 
outfit this year!! On Thursday 15th December at 7.00pm the 112 Christmas celebration will take place at Acmenya Restaurant in Alsancak when you can sing along to all your Christmas favourites with guest entertainers plus the cinema classic ‘A White Christmas’ plus a delicious roast dinner (or vegetarian option) and dessert buffet for 55TL per person!
All details are on the poster below.
Invitations are available from Lambousa Saturday market or by calling 0533 840 7834.
Your support is so vital to us and the emergency services and we really appreciate it.
By Margaret Sheard…..
The Friends of the TRNC Emergency Services (the 112s) are holding a Get Happy Night on Tuesday 27th September at the Açmenya Restaurant in Alsancak, starting at 7pm. Hopefully the long hot summer is disappearing and it will now be nice to go out for an evening without suffering the sweltering heat.
You can get happy with the Universal Studio’s Mamma Mia and sing along if you wish or just enjoy the evening. Most people know the words of the songs in this great musical but if you don’t, the lyrics will be shown on the screen.
There will be a roast chicken buffet for 55TL per person and there is also a vegetarian option available. Invitations can be obtained at the Lambousa Saturday Market or call Brenda on 0533 840 7834. The 112s events are always very popular so don’t delay in reserving a place.
By KarsiyakaKaren…..
So this update stays in Alsancak (note to self to broaden my horizons a bit and go a bit further afield for the next update!), and we find ourselves at “Açmenya” to partake of that good old English tradition “The Sunday Dinner”. Now I have to be honest and say I think there is something a little bit wrong about basking in the sunshine and then ambling inside for a huge roast dinner. I think a roast just goes better with rain and clouds but maybe that is just me, because the place was very busy. The roast dinner forms part of the British heritage and it seems we are mad for it wherever in the world we are.
The “Açmenya” comes in two parts there is a patisserie and snack bar (which has a children’s playground area attached). Thinking ahead for when the grandchildren arrive in a few weeks’ time this is definitely going to be on the “places to go list” when I need to pay the kids off to give me half an hour’s peace to regain my sanity! The playground and amusements are not in the same league as Blackpool and are aimed at the younger children with rides and slides and swings etc. There was also a trampoline section which may keep the older kids off their mobile phones for a nanosecond.
Now, (my Turkish teacher will be so proud) “Aç” is the Turkish word for hungry and I am guessing that “menya” has something to do with “menu” so the translation is something like “to the hungry menu”! Açmenya sounds so much more romantic than its translation. It is also a bit ironic because I couldn’t see a menu anywhere when I visited the patisserie…..loads of cakes and a big sign outside proclaiming English breakfast/burgers/pizza….and also a “farm” breakfast. Sounds intriguing, I would like to know more but alas the Açmenya is forever (fondly) renamed in our house “no bloody menu”. Anyway, I plumped for a strawberry milkshake and (at 10TL) it really hit the spot on a sunny morning whilst taking a break from the drudgery of shopping.
Now back to the Sunday Dinner which is served in the other part of “Açmenya” a large and airy restaurant and at 25TL for three courses it came up trumps on the value for money stakes. There was a choice of starters (prawn cocktail, soup, pate) and a choice of meat for the main course. A selection of potatoes and vegetables came in a glass dish so everyone could help themselves – a touch I liked. The other part I liked was the self-service desserts laid out on a table so you could help yourself with tea, coffee and brandy also on the table. Although when we approached for our desserts I was almost rugby tackled by him indoors who had spotted the last piece of chocolate gateau winking at him.
The Açmenya can be found by turning up the road at the side of the Golden Lady statue and then taking the first left (signposted Malatya). The restaurant is on the right about 400 yards up this road.
Enjoy!
Margaret Sheard, author of Cyprusscene, the online magazine with daily news and times in Cyprus and member of ‘Foreign Residents in the TRNC have already expressed their delight to have Dr. Sibel Siber in their midst on Friday the 13th of March at the Açmenya Restaurant in Alsançak to learn about the future of Cyprus, a topic all foreign residents take much interest in.
We have listened to the visions the other candidates running for presidency have in mind for an improvement and new views concerning management of the country and we were glad to have the opportunity to listen to the points of programme Dr. Sibel Siber had set up for herself in case of her being elected.
She was kind enough to let me have a copy of her speech:
I would like to thank you very much for coming here and creating the opportunity for expressing ourselves. Your presence and wellbeing in 
Northern Cyprus is very important for us.
As you may all know I am running for the Presidency in April 2015 elections.
My main aim with this candidacy is to bring in a whole new understanding of presidency that can relieve all of us from the misconduct of the past.
We are all fed up with the malfunctioning institutions and political manoeuvring becoming a barrier in front of increasing the quality of our lives.
My motto for this election is “things must change from now on”.
Throughout my political past I have served as a member of parliament, as prime minister and as parliamentary spokesperson. I have always been target oriented.
I always take initiative and implement.
Throughout my days in prime ministry I have taken firm action against corruption and attempts harming democracy and human rights. Furthermore I have always been responsible and took action in implementation of projects related with environmental, social and cultural issues.
As you may also know TRNC constitution does not give executive powers to President. I am aware of that. But this does not mean that President should ignore tangible aspects of life and focus on Cyprus negotiations only.
In 2004 a unique opportunity to break the stalemate on the island finally emerged with the UN comprehensive settlement plan, proposed by the then UN secretary general Kofi Annan.
The Turkish Cypriot people approved the UN plan by 65% while the Greek Cypriot side rejected it by 76%. The referenda proved which side is ready for a solution that encompasses reunification and peace, and which side is not.
Four years after the Referenda in 2008 a new process of negotiations started between the Turkish Cypriot and the Greek Cypriot leaders. Following his election on April 2010 as the new Turkish Cypriot president, current leader stated his commitment to continue the negotiations from where they were left off, however during the past five years we have not seen any real commitment in terms of taking things further.
Following intense discussions and constructive steps taken by the Turkish Cypriot side especially with the efforts of Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Özdil Nami, a joint statement was concluded by the two leaders on 11 February 2014.
The two leaders agreed in the joint statement that their goal is to achieve a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality and that this federation will have a single sovereignty which emanates equally from Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots. The federation will be composed of two constituent states of equal status and neither side will claim authority or jurisdiction over the other.
However, at the eve of an intensified phase of the process, the Greek Cypriot leader abruptly announced his side’s withdrawal from the negotiations on 7 October 2014, citing the disagreements over the hydrocarbon issue.
While the Greek Cypriot side attempts to decouple the issue of natural resources and the comprehensive settlement negotiations, it uses the issue in order to justify its withdrawal from the negotiating table. This is a clear contradiction.
The Turkish Cypriot side had previously called for the joint administration of these resources and had proposed, in 2011 and 2012, the establishment of a joint ad hoc committee to deal with the issue of natural resources around the island. These proposals still stand.
If I am elected as the President ….
…instead of engaging into a blame game for the “other” I will extensively pursue diplomatic contacts and suggest confidence building measures in order to put pressure on my counterpart to restart negotiation.
I am aware of the fact that this is a priority issue for people living on this island. But I am also aware that increasing quality of life in the island is important as well.
To this extent I and my team have developed 5 main areas where we will establish working groups composed of people representing a wide spectrum of the society.
Cyprus Working Group– will be composed of several initiatives. Among them negotiation process and energy initiative are key
Secure Life Working Group– Socially destructive issues like drug use and combat against drug use, traffic will be the subject matter of various initiatives under this working group.
Economic Development Working Group: This working group will have initiatives on Socio-Economic Development, Environment, Culture and Arts.
Youth Working Group
Women Working Group which will have initiatives on gender mainstreaming and women empowerment.
I am well aware that you have concerns regarding increasing prices especially in electricity, environment and residence permits.
On environment as I have previously stated I am very conscious and will take it a primary issue to be dealt with as part of Economic Development Working Group.
As for the rising prices. This is a concern for all of us. Regarding electricity current government has come up with a new modality where discounts have been provided up to 30% depending on the level of electricity use.
In terms of residency permits. I am aware of the fact that you are experiencing problems. But these are the rules applied to every non-citizen living of the island. Under the new white identity card we are hoping to overcome most of these issues in the near future. And if I am elected as President I will be very sensitive in following the completion of the law making process and its implementation.
Thank you very much for listening.
Many of us know Dr. Sibel Siber as a doctor, many foreign residents have received her good advice; we also know and have heard and read in the local press that ‘she has achieved more in the short time as Prime Minister than many others in their term’, so we may rest assured that she would attack the situations that cry for a change and improvement, should she be elected as President in April.
It will now depend on the free will of the people of Cyprus to elect the President of their Choice, to whom they give their trust to lead them into the right direction. All presidential candidates we have listened to so far have made very strong points and their aims sound credible without raising false hopes.
By Margaret Sheard….
As members of the Foreign Residents in the TRNC (TFR), we were delighted to hear that arrangements had been made for 
Dr Sibel Siber to attend the weekly get-together at Açmenya Restaurant in Alsancak to give a talk to the members.
Dr Siber was born in Nicosia in 1960 and studied at the Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, graduating in 1983, becoming an internal 
specialist in Sisli Eftal Hospital. In 1989 Dr Siber studied Diabetics and Endocrinology at the University of Virginia in the USA and in 2000 she studied rheumatism illnesses at the University of Rush, Chicago.
In 2009 Dr Siber was elected as an MP for Nicosia from CTP-BG and in 2013 she was appointed as interim Prime Minister and asked to form a government by President Eroğlu. She was re-elected as an MP from CTP-BG on 28th July 2013. During Dr Siber’s time as interim Prime Minister many expatriates were very impressed with what she achieved in this short period and would welcome her having a further opportunity of expanding her plans for the future.
Dr Sibel Siber was elected as Speaker of the TRNC Parliament on 4th September 2014 and is currently standing as a candidate for the TRNC Presidential elections in April 2015, therefore it is so much appreciated that she was able to give some of her valuable time to talk to the members of TFR.
There was a very good attendance by the TFR members with many expressing their hope that Dr Siber is successful and will be elected President. Dr Siber arrived accompanied by her team and her husband and also Ahmet Muratoğlu – Private Secretary to the President of the Legislative Assembly.
Heinz Nauroth, the Chairman of TFR welcomed 
Dr Siber and her team and advised her about TFR which was registered in 1998 and now has 300 members from 22 different nationalities. He then handed the meeting over to Sibel Siber, who spoke in English about the issues in the country since 2004 when there had been an ideal opportunity for a solution but unfortunately this was not achieved.
Dr Siber stated that in the role of President she would like to bring in a new understanding and her motto is ‘things must change from now on’ with emphasis on democracy, human rights, the environment and cultural issues. She would intend to set up working groups covering these areas.
There then followed a question and answer time and some members raised concerns which were dealt with by Dr Siber, including, residency and citizenship, expertise available from
retired expatriates who have a wealth of knowledge which could be utilised, title deeds, mortgages, banks etc. There was also a question about the number of civil servants in the government and another about the length of time expatriates can be out of the country without affecting their residency. Dr Siber answered all of the questions and stated that the main problem is being an unrecognised country and she will be fighting against the isolations and embargoes.
Heinz Nauroth, Chairman of The Foreign Residents in the TRNC (TFR) thanked Dr Siber on behalf of the members for her time and wished her every success in the forthcoming Presidential election.
