On the 16th of January 2018, the Centre for Turkey Studies (CEFTUS) will be holding a Westminster Debate with James Ker-Lindsay, Professor of Politics and Policy at St Mary’s University, Twickenham and Ilker Kilich, former Republican Turkish Party (CTP) UK President.
This event will be kindly hosted by Faisal Rashid, Labour MP for Warrington South and chaired by Ipek Ozerim, editor of T-VINE Magazine.
Please see speaker biographies below.
The event will take place between 7-8:30 PM on Tuesday, 16 January 2018 in Committee Room 6, House of Commons.
Please note that security checks are required to enter House of Commons, we kindly ask you to arrive at 6:30 PM, allowing the event to start and end promptly on time.
North Cyprus’ General Election was held on 7th January 2018. The National Unity Party (UBP) returned as the largest party, but without enough seats to form a majority. The Republican Turkish Party (CTP) came second, and like the Democratic Party (DP) lost seats; while the right-wing People’s Party (HP) and the New Birth Party (YDP) both gained a place in the parliament for the first time, winning 9 seats and 2 seats respectively. It remains to be seen with who the nationalist UBP will seek to form a government after several parties immediately ruled themselves out of joining a coalition. The election was primarily dominated by Turkish Cypriots’ domestic concerns, as it is President Mustafa Akinci, who is not up for reelection until 2020, that takes the lead when it comes to Cyprus reunification talks.
In the meantime, the south of the island is set to hold its own significant vote, with the first round of presidential elections scheduled to take place in the Republic of Cyprus on the 28th January, expected to be followed by a second round runoff on the 4th of February.
Our expert speakers Mr Kilich will analyse the election results in North Cyprus and Dr Ker-Lindsay will focus on the forthcoming Greek Cypriot elections and what they mean for the future of Cyprus talks.
Please register to attend this event.
The views of our speakers do not necessarily represent the views of the Centre for Turkey Studies.
Speaker Biographies
Dr James Ker-Lindsay is Professor of Politics and Policy at St Mary’s University and Senior Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He has published numerous books on Cyprus, including Resolving Cyprus: New Approaches to Conflict Resolution (I.B. Taurus), The Cyprus Problem: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press), The Government and Politics of Cyprus (Peter Lang, co-edited with Hubert Faustmann), and EU Accession and UN Peacemaking in Cyprus (Palgrave Macmillan).
Ilker Kilich is a Turkish Cypriot born under the British Colonial Rule. Having lived through the 1963/64 troubles, he has dedicated a substantial part of his life to promoting peace and unification of Cyprus as well as promoting socialist values. A graduate from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, he was one of the leaders of Turkish Cypriot University Students. Following 1971 Military Coup, he left Turkey for Cyprus, where he joined Ahmet Mithat Berberoglu in building the newly born Republican Turkish Party (RTP). Kilich was entrusted with the RTP’s campaign in the 1973 Vice-Presidential elections, during which the RTP Candidate was put in house arrest and forced to step down. Together with Berberoglu and Naci Talat he was arrested and given a suspended prison sentence of 2 years, forcing him to leave Cyprus for London. Together with his friends in the UK he has helped to provide political, financial and moral support to his party in Cyprus. He has chaired various organisations and was the president of the CTP-UK from 1994 to 2012. His numerous articles on the Cyprus Problem has been published in London and in Cyprus. He was the recipient of CEFTUS Lifetime Achievement Award 2015. Kilich is still an activist and political opinion former on Cyprus. He is an RIBA Chartered Architect.
Ipek Ozerim is the editor of T-VINE Magazine, an English consumer publication for British Turks. She is also the co-founder of Embargoed!, a UK-based Turkish Cypriot human rights group.
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