Nicosia Uncut

Governing party right-wing DISY flirts with ultra right ELAM but the budget was rejected in the parliament. A fragile minority coalition on the other side of the divide. Turkey and Turkish Cypriots are now back to singing the old two-state solution tune, while UN official Lute is visiting capitals for a possible informal five-party conference. 2020 is almost over and this episode does not portray...

Tension grows before the EU summit where possible sanctions against Turkey is on the agenda. Stormy waters in domestic politics on both sides of the divide. Despite all, the Turkish Cypriot youth continue to be a glimmer of hope for peace in Cyprus. Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykallı discuss the latest local and international developments affecting the divided island of Cyprus. The post Nic...

Turkish Cypriots marched again! This time against the picnic in Varosha..and Turkey's intervention in their affairs. On the other side of the divide, Covid measures created resentment. In a parallel universe, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli, producers of Nicosia Uncut and peace activists at #UniteCyprusNow were hosted by bilingual Μαζί/Birlikte program at CyBC/PIK. You can watch the show...

"Isn't it amazing that you are marching against the corruption and we are marching against Turkey's intervention into Turkish Cypriot politics, in fact, the Cyprus problem is the source of all.." Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykallı continue to bring you the latest update from the divided capital, providing you a Cypriot perspective from the island of Cypriots. The post Nicosia Uncut – Episod...

Right wing nationalist UBP's Ersin Tatar finished the race as winner with 51.7% against 48.3% after a difficult and polarized second round. Pro-federal solution and outgoing leader Mustafa Akinci lost his seat and announced ending his political career after Turkey's open and direct involvement in favour of winning Tatar. In this episode of Nicosia Uncut, Kemal Baykallı and Andromachi Sophocleous p...

It was a very emotional day for many Cypriots, particularly for Famagustians. Allowing access to the coastal part of fenced town Varosha opened old wounds and created mixed reactions. This was done right before the elections in the north. The development further stirred the elections atmosphere which had already been tense due to the interference […] The post Nicosia Uncut – Episode 10: Two...

This week we have a special guest. Dr. Nasia Hadjigeorgiou has carried out an extensive research on the work of the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) in Cyprus and discuss with us her findings and observations regarding the work of the committee and what needs to be done to finally heal an open wound. The post Nicosia Uncut – Episode 9: Discussing peacebuilding through the CMP with Dr. Nasia Hadj...

Podcast from the divided capital of Cyprus. In this episode, Andromachi Sophocleous provides an insight on the latest EU Council Meeting, expectations of the Republic of Cyprus, use of veto to block sanctions against Belarus, reference of the resumption of Cyprus problem talks and how whole saga was reflected on the Greek Cypriot press. First round of elections will take place on the 11th of Octob...

What a mess! Cyprus found itself it the heart of a diplomatic mess in the area of international relations, multiple interests are at stake. Turkish Cypriots experienced panic with the rise of number of new Covid-19 cases eventually cancelling all commercial flights. And how will this affect the elections? Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli are trying to make sense in the middle of a chaotic...

Despite all odds, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykallı continue to discuss the recent political developments from Cyprus. Turkish-Greek relations, tension in Eastern Mediterranean, elections in north and Varosha. Can buffer zone buffer the heat? And the best place to swim on the East. The post Nicosia Uncut – Epiosode 6: Discussing politics in the heat of summer: East Med, elections, Varosha...

In this episode of Nicosia Uncut, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli discuss about bayram celebrations in old Cyprus, interesting developments in elections on both parts of the divide and get into the details regarding the latest attempts of de-escalation of crisis in Greco-Turkish relations. Is Cyprus being sidelined? The post Nicosia Uncut – Episode 5: Is Cyprus being sidelined? (31/7/202...

In this episode of Nicosia Uncut, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli discuss EU Foreign Affairs Minister Josep Borrel's visit to Cyprus and how he had to call Akinci to fix the sour taste after his departure. How could he make this mistake? Had he not been informed properly? Also, in theory, crossings points are open but no, in reality they are not. As a demonstration of the conservative na...

In this episode of Nicosia Uncut, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli discuss the mainstream xenophobic rhetoric in Cyprus within the framework of global movements against extremism. The post Nicosia Uncut – Episode 3: The paradox of Cyprus: Criticising racism internationally, but being xenophobic locally (5/6/2020) first appeared on Island Talks .

In this episode of Nicosia Uncut, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli share their views on perceptions on the island, the Turkish Cypriot economy and the energy sector with a view to the future. The post Nicosia Uncut – Episode 2: The black hole of Cyprus, lira’s downfall and curse of hydrocarbons (13/5/2020) first appeared on Island Talks .

In this first episode of Nicosia Uncut, Andeomachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykalli explain the motivation for this podcast and evaluate the developments on both sides of the divide with a particular emphasis on Varosha and Turkish Cypriot elections. The post Nicosia Uncut – Episode 1: Cold, hard truth from the divided capital (21/2/2020) first appeared on Island Talks .