Island Talks

In this episode we have had a special guest. Retired Ambassador Selim Kuneralp served in the Turkish foreign ministry for more than 40 years at various high-level positions and in this episode he answered our questions regarding the latest developments in the Cyprus problem, regional & global politics and shared his personal assessments on the relevant topics.

It was a real pleasure to host such a refined diplomat in our podcast and we feel obligated to remind our listeners that, needless to say, Mr.Kuneralp addressed our discussion topics on his personal behalf, and not on behalf of any country or office he held in the past or present. Nicosia Uncut will continue to host various guests in the future in order to enrich the discussion.

Amb (Ret) Selim Kuneralp joined the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a Trainee in November 1973.  Served in the United Nations Department of that Ministry until 1976, Second Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations from 1976 to 1978, Second, later First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations Office in Geneva from 1978 to 1979, First Secretary at the Turkish Embassy in Nicosia (Northern Cyprus) from 1979 to 1981, Head of Section in the Private Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1981 to 1983, Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations Office in Geneva from 1983 to 1986, Counsellor in the GATT Secretariat in Geneva from 1986 to 1993, Head of Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1993 to 1995, Minister-Counsellor and Deputy Permanent Delegate to the European Union from 1995 to 1997, Director-General for the European Union in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1998 to 2000, Ambassador to Sweden from 2000 to 2003, Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (with concurrent accreditation to the DPRK) from 2003 to  2005, Director-General for Policy Planning at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from January 2006 to January 2007. Deputy Undersecretary for Economic and Cultural Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from January 2007 to October 2009.  Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of Turkey to the European Union from November 2009 to December 2011, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Turkey to the World Trade Organisation  (2012-2014)

Chairman of the Energy Charter Conference from April 2010 to December 2013. 

Chairman of the WTO Committee on Trade and the Environment (Special Session) (2012-2014)

Chairman of the Working Party on the Accession of Belarus to the WTO (2012-2014)

Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for and Main Committee I of the WIPO Diplomatic Conference on Visually Impaired Persons (Marrakesh, 2013).

Deputy Secretary-General of the Energy Charter from December 2014 to July 2016.

Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur  (France) (2011)

"Programda hangi konular işlensin" temalı anketin sonuçlarını konuşurken, ekip üyeleri bir anda kendilerini patriyarkiyi tartışırken buldular. Fred'un "kadın ne ister?" sorusu patiyarkal bir toplumda yaşayan erkeğin alaycı bir sorusu mu? "Fallus hasedi" nazar boncuğu gerektirir mi? Empati, aslında bir tahakküm modeli mi? Kurban olmak üzerinden bir ideoloji kurgulanabilir mi? Orta gelir grubundan beyaz erkek kastrasyondan kurtulmak için mi Trump'a oy verdi? Ve Sertaç'ın keçisi samarella oldu mu? Evren İnançoğlu, Kemal Baykallı ve Sertaç Sonan; Garip Zamanlar'ın bu bölümünde derin sularda yüzüyorlar, umarız boğulmazlar!

Uzun zamandır pandemi nedeniyle uzaktan program yapan Evren İnançoğlu, Kemal Baykallı ve Sertaç Sonan, Garip Zamanlar'ın bu bölümünde ayni mekanda buluştular. Ortaya enfes bir bölüm çıktı. Netflix Avrupa'nın birleştirici gücü mü? Murakami mi, Ishigoro mu, hangi Japon (asıllı) yazar Nobel'i hak ediyor? Telif hakkı öldü mü, crowdfunding kaldı mı? Orhan Pamuk'un sevilen romanları ve ekip üyelerine çağrıştırdığı yazarlar. Bir günde paltodan mayoya geçilen bu günleri ünlü yönetmen David Lynch hava durumu sunduğu programında nasıl değerlendirirdi acaba?

Today's episode is special as Nicosia Uncut produers Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykallı are hosting Dr. Sertaç Sonan, one of the academics behind a survey titled: “Politics and Society in North Cyprus” and published by Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The report focused on the differences and similarities between native Turkish Cypriots and Turkish immigrants who came to the island after 1974, on issues such as identity perception, attitudes towards religion, democratic values, relations with Turkey and the Cyprus problem. Particularly the findings on tendencies towards a federal solution, unitary state and annexation sparked a wide range of reactions in both communities. Click here for the full report.

Podcasting from both sides of the divide in Nicosia-Cyprus, Andromachi Sophocleous & Kemal Baykallı are producing the popular politics podcast - Nicosia Uncut. In this episode, they discuss the conclusions of the latest EU Council meeting and provide a background in the global and regional framework with a particular focus on Turkey. While the new US Administration is trying to restore the American foreign policy around containing Russia, Turkish-American relations are likely to face various tests including the one in the East Med. Europeans are still lacking a coherent and unified foreign policy, a gap that might be filled by post-Trump USA. Cyprus, however, is still a chip in the bigger game. As the date for the informal 5+1 summit on Cyprus is fast approaching, Nicosia Uncut producers discuss various scenarios for the meeting that will take place between 27-29 April in Geneva.

"...evrenin ezilmiş kedileridir Aşk." Charles Bukowski.

Evren İnançoğlu, Kemal Baykallı ve Sertaç Sonan; Garip Zamanlar'ın bu bölümünde köpekler, kediler ve keçiler; Bukowski, Pamuk, Ferrante ve Fitzgerald gibi yazarlar; Norveç'te opera ve tiyatro; modern çağ pandemileri ve onların insanlığa etkileri üzerine hasbihal ettiler. Sinema sadece sinema mıdır? Ve sahi, gerçekten de Astor ne ister?

Μέσα από αυτή τη συζήτηση μοιράζεται μαζί μας τη πορεία της στη δημιουργία μιας άλλης διάστασης μέσα από τη μουσική και τις ιστορίες της. Ξεδιπλώνει το πώς οι εμπειρίες της σχημάτισαν τη τέχνη της και το πώς το μονοπάτι της την οδηγεί στο να βοηθήσει με ένα μοναδικό τρόπο την ευρύτερη κοινωνία.

“My name is Anastasia Demetriadou and I’m 25. I am based in Nicosia and I am a singer/ songwriter. I studied at the University of Cyprus, in the department of English Studies and Translation. My greatest passion in life, is music and storytelling. I also have my personal musical project, called Nama Dama. The project was created back in 2019, when I first began sharing my musical stories with the world. The main purpose of the project, is to create an artistic world that can bring literature, poetry, acting and music together. I named this world, The World Above the Ceiling: A creative space that aims to enrich the senses and liberate the mind. My songs are therefore poems or short narrations, accompanied by music and vocal expressivity. 

My music is an experimental amalgam of classical, folk, rock and soul. I have recently published my first concept EP, Confessions to my Songbird, which combines both storytelling and music. Additionally, I write short stories and take music therapy courses in my free time. What I wish the most, is to reach to a certain point, where I am able to heal myself and the people around me through music, storytelling, movement, or any other artistic media that improves both our mental and physical health. For me, music is the purest form of magic, as it has healing and spiritual properties. That is what I also try to incorporate in my own music, by creating ambient, experimental sounds that can take the listener to another world and dimension, where he/she can experience something entirely different and learn something new. In the future, I would also love to narrate my short stories to the public, as well as write music for them.”

Share your thoughts with Anastasia: [email protected]

In this slightly extended and longer version of Nicosia Uncut, Andromachi Sophocleous and Kemal Baykallı explain how the internationals are now in the driving seat of the Cyprus solution process. Strategic power games in the Eastern Mediterranean as well as corruption scandals, mass protests, mismanagement and decreasing legitimacy of administrations on both sides of the divide are unfolding in parallel with the attempts to put the Cyprus solution process back on its track with the upcoming 5+1 conference that will take place in Geneva between 27-29 April 2021.

In the meantime, #UniteCyprusNow produced 10 suggestions for the virus cooperation and the resumption of crossings across the division line in Cyprus.

Evren İnançoğlu, Kemal Baykallı ve Sertaç Sonan'ın hazırlayıp sunduğu Garip Zamanlar'da bu haftaki mevzu eski zamanlar ve yeni hayatlar! Virüsün sosyolojik travmaları, filmi endüstrisine yansımaları, otoriterleşen dünyada otoritenin kaybı, Almanya ve dünyadaki popülizmin elitizm temalı komplo teorileri, bilimin reddi ve gelecek hayalleri bu haftaki Garip Zamanlar'da.

Cypriot journalists Esra Aygın and Yiorgos Kakouris, living and working in Lisbon and Brussels respectively, are bringing you dispatches from the alternate Cypriot universe.

This week they are helping you to understand the latest street protests against the government and police brutality to the south of the division line and how power struggles within the leading right-wing Turkish Cypriot political party are affecting the domestic politics, leading to changes in the cabinet in the north.