lpappas

Here are just some links to a few articles I found on Turkey and Cyprus.

CNN article about the current issue with Turkey and the Kurds -  http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/10/23/turkey.kurds/index.html

Website dealing with Turkey's violations of Human Rights in Cyprus. Might be useful becuase it has links to some UN resolutions - http://www.kypros.org/Cyprus_Problem/human_rights.html

This might be a useful resource in the future, we'll see - http://www.hri.org/news/special/EUexpansion.html

2005 article on how Turkey needs to resolve the Cyprus issue to join the EU - http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2005-09/2005-09-01-voa37.cfm?CFID=145479967&CFTOKEN=95897772

Turkish Embassy website - http://www.turkishembassy.org/

Cypriot Embassy website - http://www.cyprusembassy.net/home/

 That's all I have for now. I will update this list as I find more resources.

On Friday I asked Mrs. Aldrow about when to inform Ambassador Kakouris about my obligation to invite the Turkish Ambassador. She told me she wasn't sure and that I would need to consult either my Dad or Aris. My Dad wasn't sure how to handle it either, so, I asked Aris Chronis.  

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This morning I talked with Aris about my senior exhibit. Our conversation was extremely enlightening. The first thing we talked about was my fax to the Cypriot Ambassador. Since I sent it last Friday, he told me not to expect a reply before this Friday. Since the Embassy is usually busy (and running on Greek-time), they tend to take a week to respond to requests like mine. We also talked about when to inform the Cypriot Ambassador about my obligation to invite the Turkish Ambassador. His advice was solid. I should send a request to the Turkish Ambassador now, so I don't seem like I am setting up the event so that he is unable to attend. I also need to be upfront with the Ambassador Kakouris (Cypriot) about the possibility of the Turkish Ambassador attending. When Ambassador Kakouris replies to my fax, I need to let him know about the Turkish Ambassador. Aris told me that if I really want to make this presentation significant (and more than just a school project), I have to show that the Turkish Ambassador couldn't attend because he refused to participate, not because of an arbitrary factor like the time and date of the presentation. I need to make a great faith effort to schedule the event around three schedules: FA, the Cypriot Ambassador and the Turkish Ambassador. Today, I am going to send a fax to the Turkish Ambassador and invite him to participate.

While we were talking about the Turkish Ambassador, he informed me of the recent political occurences in Turkey. I had known that the Turkish president had received permission from his Congress to invade the Kurds. However, Aris imformed me that the Kurds, in a preemptive strike, invaded Turkey. Shortly after, the United States Congress declared the situation between Turkey and Armenia was a genocide, thus holding Turkey responsible for (what is now known as) the Armenian Genocide. Ever since the Armenian occupation bugun, Turkery has denied its status as a genocide since it began. Now that it has been offically reported as such, their government is under pressure to qualify their actions. Now Turkey will come under renewed questioning for all their actions: the Kurds, Armenia and Cyprus. As a result of Congress's vote, the Turkish government recalled their Ambassador to Turkey until the situation in the United States calmed down. Whether or not he has returned to Turkey, I am not sure. However, I find this interesting because the Turkey-Cyprus issue might be prominent in current events by the time March (when I would like the Ambassadors to come speak) rolls around. These recent occurrences make this project even more interesting to me. I am now really anxious to see how things turn out, both for my project and for International politics. Now, I am not sure if the Turkish Ambassador will accept my invitation.

Later:

I faxed the letter to the Turkish Ambassador. Now I just have to wait for a reply from the Embassy. If he has returned to Turkey, it might take a couple of weeks (or a month). Either way, I am sure my request is not the highest thing on his list of priorities right now!

Last week Aris Chronis (my AHEPAcademy mentor and contact to the Cypriot Embassy) sent me the telephone number of the Cypriot Embassy and informed me that he had mentioned my project to them and that they would be expecting my call. I needed wait until I was able to get the school's (FA's) schedule before I could call the Embassy. After meeting with Mrs. Clark-Evans on Wednesday, I determined that the first two weeks of March would be ideal for his presentation.

Instead of calling, I wrote a fax memo to the Embassy and sent it this morning. It invited him to the school and expressed which topic I would like him to address. I didn't mention anything about having to invite the Turkish Ambassador because I am still not sure when I should tell him. I still need to ask Aris how to breech that subject. I'm eager to see what his reply will be. I also don't know how long it will take for him to reply, so I need to call Aris and find out. Now that the plan is finally underway, I'm excited to get the speech schedule finalized.

This past week I thought really hard about my application and talked it over with my Dad. It helped to hear my ideas and to receive my Dad's input. He is always helpful. After our long conversation, I decided to adjust my application. Instead of writing a research paper, which would have been difficult, I am going to put a together a PowerPoint presentation on the history of Cyprus. The presentation will include a brief history of the Turkish invasion and will concentrate on the treaties proposed by the UN and others. It will detail some of the terms and show why the treaties didn't pass. At the end of the presentation, I will suggest my own solution based on what worked (and what didn't work) in the past. I believe that it will be a better way to engage the topic. I even wrote an official proposal which I presented to Mrs. Aldrow, Mrs. Clark-Evans and Mr. Durso.

I feel really good about the new direction my project is taking. The PowerPoint will be interactive and I can ‘get more involved' with the material by analyzing it and offering a solution. At this point, I am super excited about doing my project!

I am still requesting that the Ambassador speak at FA. However, I made a plan (in my proposal) for his presentation. I would like to schedule it in March because the presentation has to be either before or after Greek Easter (which will take place in late March or early April). I don't have time to do it after Easter, so March would be the ideal month. Following his presentation, I will hold a reception for the Ambassador, the senior government students, and selected faculty. The entire affair is going to be really neat. Planning this event will take a lot of time, but I think it will be really fun.

Overall, my exhibit is coming together. Now all I need to do is get cracking!

When I talked to Aris last week, he told me that he was talking to the Ambassador's secretary and that he would e-mail me the number of the Embassy so that I could make my arrangements. I was really excited when he called because it gives my plan substance. It is actually starting to become reality. However, I am a little apprehensive about writing a research paper on Cyprus. It will be long and I'm not sure I can make it interesting to someone who doesn't know about Cyprus.

This week I researched the Cypriot Embassy website and talked to Aris again. He let me know that the Ambassador is willing to come speak at FA, all I need to do is schedule it. However, he did not give me a number to call . Even so, I still think this project is starting to come together.

After previous problems logging onto the blog, I wrote my journals in microsoft word. I subsequently forgot about posting them on the weblog due to other matters. Now that I have finally remembered, here are my journals from the past month. Sorry for the delay.