The London Greek Film Festival

http://www.londongreekfilmfestival.com/index.htm

TUC Diploma in occupational health

Apply today for the TUC Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety online.

http://www.tuc.org.uk/workplace/tuc-18988-f0.cfm

Brighton conference

Baroness Kinnock pledges UK support for Cyprus settlementMinister for Europe, Baroness Glenys Kinnock, last night told UK Cypriots at the Labour party’s annual party conference that Cyprus remains high on the Government’s foreign policy agenda. At a fringe reception in Brighton, organised under the auspices of the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK by the Greek Cypriot Brotherhood, the Labour Cypriot Society, AKEL in Britain and EDEK UK, the Minister said that she will make an official visit to Cyprus next month, and pledged the British Government’s support to the direct negotiations currently under way between President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mr Mehmet Ali Talat.Baroness Kinnock spoke of her understanding of the sensitivities surrounding the current negotiations and of her understanding of the EU perspective, having served as an MEP for some years, saying:"The British Government supports a comprehensive settlement by the Cypriots for the Cypriots. A reunited Cyprus would bring huge benefits to the island and all interested parties."In his address to welcome attendees to the reception, Mr Peter Droussiotis, President of the Federation, said:"We support wholeheartedly current efforts to reunite Cyprus but we have no doubt that Turkey's role is critical to the success of the current negotiations. We call upon the British government to use its influence with Ankara so that Turkey accepts the need for a solution based on principles and European and international law."Haris Sophoclides, President of the Greek Cypriot Brotherhood, called upon the British media to readdress its perspective on the Cyprus problem, reminding attendees of the grave seriousness and personal suffering of the victims of the division of the island. The gathering was also addressed by Andros Kyprianou, General Secretary of AKEL, who conveyed his party's commitment to a solution which will serve the interests of both the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities and emphasised AKEL's strong support to President's Christofias efforts to deliver a just and lasting settlement.Apart from Baroness Kinnock, the event attracted a large number of Labour people including Lord Neil Kinnock, former Leader of the Labour Party, Ray Collins, General Secretary of the Labour Party, Caroline Flint MP, former Minister for Europe, Mike Gapes MP, Chair of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Richard Caborn MP, Andrew Dismore MP, Joan Ryan MP, Andy Love MP, Siobhan McDonagh MP, David Lepper MP, Jim Sheridan MP, Mary Honeyball MEP, former Labour Party General Secretary Lady Margaret McDonagh, Lord Toby Harris, Claire Kober, Leader of Haringey Council, as well numerous Labour councillors including Enfield Cypriot Cllr Bambos Charalambous. The reception was also attended by the Cyprus High Commissioner to the UK, Mr Alexandros Zenon, and his deputy, Mr Demetris Hatziargyrou. ENDS

For more information, please call Tony Sophoclides on 07887 935 335.

Newpaper letter from Peter Droussiotis

Sir,

Unfortunately, your editorials have become all too predictable in relation to Cyprus (“Engaging Turkey”, 8 September 2009). The Cyprus problem has been reduced to a caricature in which the Greek Cypriots are invariably portrayed as the “ugly bunch”. The next step will be to depict Turkey as the ‘Dove of Peace’ in Cyprus and the re-writing of history will be complete.

Turkey’s role in Cyprus cannot so easily be airbrushed out of the picture though. For more than 35 years, Turkey has defied the will of the international community with impunity in relation to Cyprus. This country has continued to act in breach of numerous United Nations resolutions and the UN Charter and has, similarly, continued to disregard numerous judicial rulings by international courts.

The facts on the ground in Cyprus cannot be swept under the carpet so that Turkey’s European aspirations can advance: for more than 35 years, more than 40,000 Turkish troops have continued to occupy the northern part of the island, a country with a total population of less than a million people. During this period, Turkey has created, in the occupied area, an illegal regime which no one in the world other than Turkey recognises. What is more, the Turkish army has presided over a deliberate policy of colonisation in the area it occupies in order to change the demography of the island. Turkish nationals transferred from Asia Minor to settle land belonging to the legal inhabitants of the island now significantly outnumber indigenous Turkish Cypriots living in the occupied area. During the same period, Cypriot properties in the occupied north have been usurped and are exploited for economic gain, while the cultural and religious heritage of the island in those areas is being actively desecrated and destroyed. Additionally, to his day, Turkey refuses to investigate hundreds of cases of people who went missing during its military invasion, contrary to rulings of the European Court of Human Rights which Turkey blatantly disregards.

I am pragmatic enough to know that geostrategic and economic interests colour your judgment in this matter, but the truth is that the Cyprus problem could relatively easily be resolved on the basis of European and international law provided that Turkey changes its intransigent and anachronistic position. A reunited and democratic homeland without armies of occupation and lines of division, in which all Cypriots can live as free European citizens without the fear of foreign military intervention by an aggressive neighbour, is the only sensible way forward and the best incentive that can be offered to both communities on the island.

I have always been supportive of Turkey’s eventual membership of the European Union as have the governments of the UK, Greece and Cyprus but this cannot happen for as long as Turkey does not abide by its obligations to the Union. The reunification of Cyprus and Turkey’s acceptance of a truly independent and reunited Cyprus are prerequisites to Turkish entry and would do more to facilitate this than any other single factor. The benefits which would flow from this scenario would be huge for all interested parties and for the entire region.

Peter Droussiotis
Federation President
Britannia Road, London N12 9RU
www.cypriotfederation.org.uk

Cyprus conference

The latest news to come from Nicosia is that the the annual conference of Cypriots from the diaspora has gone as well as expected with the usual speeches and long discussions at the Akropolis Hilton. The local press has shown a bit more interest this year with the national newspapers and key journalists commenting on the fact that those of us who are based abroad, (and there are as many of us as there as there are living in Cyprus) are anything but a homogeneous group. What surprises Byzantinos is that fact that very little has been said or done to achieve greater integration and no effort has been made to address the issues and grievances Cypriots returning back to Cyprus have with the state. It will appear that the government in Cyprus sees the gathering of Cypriots from the diaspora as an annual party with no clear political aims or objectives and no follow up in other words wasting a brilliant opportunity. Byzantinos is hoping to have a presence there next year which will follow the operation Greek vote initiative which is key project for those of us here in Britain.

Can we learn from history?

The reality is that history tends to repeat itself and trends come and go. The world keeps changing and man evolves and learns from previous experience. We as a nation of Hellenes have found ourselves in difficult situations when we allowed ourselves to become more focused on material gain. Another one of our problems comes from polarising and losing unity.

The Hellenes are not and never have been a homogeneous race. We have always been a good and diverse mixture of people who have a number of cultural individualities in common. We were best united during the Byzantine times and what brought us together was our culture, our religion and our language. We somehow allowed ourselves to lose that unity and faced occupation for 3 centuries and have been trying to define who we are since independence in 1825. But that should not be a great task as the elements that brought us together before as Greeks from Crete, Macedonia, Thrace, Cyprus or anywhere else are still there. We should all be proud of our specific differences but should also celebrate what unites us. We are modern Hellenes sons and daugthers of Byzantium and we must never allowe disunity to bring us down again.

Na tin valoume ti sklava pli sto throni, na tin proskinisi o kosmos rigisa trani...

Operation Greek Vote

This is an initiative that needs to be developed and the work has to start to ensure that a coordinated campaign around the municipal elections (London region) in May 2010 and the general election take place. The initiative has to start around November 2009 to ensure that we are able to get Greek voters to vote tactically in the coming elections. Byzantinos will prioritise this in the next few weeks and those who have given their support will be asked to do more. There is still time to get the right people put in the right constituencies so activists like Peter Droussiotis, John Kazantis or our own Nick Venedi must be targeted and encouraged to stand.

Maria Arvanitaki

Protecting our identity

There are fundamentally two issues that concern those of us interested in preserving our Hellenic identities. The first is whether we as a community are able to pass on our history and culture to the generations that follow us and the second is whether we are able to defend the historical image we have inherited in a country where we as a group of people are part of a small minority.

But as some of us have observed there have been a number of obstacles in the way and the most dangerous one is the image promoted by those of the host country showing us as people of certain habits and characteristics that simply fit in to their own stereotypes. In some instances this is to do with an attempt to attack the confidence of those of us in the Hellenic community who may feel weakened by this attack. The notion or the obsession of certain parts of the media to associate a Greek with a kebab shop is an example of this negativity.

And of course the reason we are raising this as an issue is to question as to whether we as a community and our leaders have been able or capable of identifying these problems and doing anything about them? The Greek community in the U.K has a number of distinguished people amongst its own ranks and they are the ones we should be projecting but who in the community is doing this job and do we have a good PR machine to deal with these fundamental problems?

Questions need to be asked.

Helen Nicholas

Return the Parthenon Marbles

We need to start a campaign to coincide with the Olympic ceremony in London in 2012 to put pressure on the British museum and the government here to return the Parthenon Marbles to where they belong. There is no longer an excuse to keep the Marbles in London and we must do more as a community to ensure that these go back to Greece. This was the decision taken by Byzantinos at its board meeting last night. We therefore invite all organisations to contribute to this major objective of such great importance.

Helen Nicholas

The need to review

The reality is that we need to review and appraise where we are and where we can get to as a Greek community. We are constantly marginalised and regarded as a minority within a plethora of other minorities. That was the message Nick Venedi, Chair of the Greek TU wing of B send out to those on the editorial board and to Trade Unionists who believe in the rights of ethnic and other minorities to be treated fairly and on equal terms. The review of our structures and how we work to achieve equality should become our priority in the next few months.

Helen Nicholas

Demonstration led by Peter Droussiotis

The Greek community in London came together today to demonstrate their anger at the 35 year dispute. People turned up in the centre of London once again to show their support and politicians from different parties in Britain showed their usual bipolar support ensuring that prospective voters who were present would hopefully remember them and spare them a vote. In the meantime the people of Cyprus are suffering the affects of occupation whilst the international community play their two faced approach to the issue. Another year another story but well done to the Federation and Peter Droussiotis who organised the event.

Andreas Christou

Preparations for demonstration

Greeks all over the country and friends of freedom and the rule of international law are preparing to demonstrate outside the Turkish embassy on the35th anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The island remains divided and whichever way politicians all over the world are trying to present the case the fact remains that a crime under international law was committed. Efforts to find a just solution to the problem are going rather slowly with continuous provocations from the Turkish military.

Andreas Crhistou

The struggle to unite Cyprus

Here is a press release from the Cyprus Federation of U.K (Should read July 2009)

THE STRUGGLE FOR A UNITED CYPRUS CONTINUES – SHOW YOUR SUPPORT, STAND UP, BE HEARD

The President of the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK, Peter Droussiotis, today urged all UK Cypriots and friends of Cyprus to show their support for a reunited Cyprus and their opposition to Turkey’s continuing military occupation of the northern part of Cyprus, by joining the UK Cypriot community’s annual ‘Rally for Cyprus’ in London on Sunday 19th July 2008.
The rally, organised each year by the Federation in order to mark and condemn the invasion of the northern part of Cyprus by the Turkish army in July 1974, is the biggest opportunity for the UK Cypriot community and its supporters to call for the termination of Turkey’s continuing military occupation and to highlight the injustices which continue to be suffered by the Cypriot people as a result of that occupation.
Mr. Droussiotis emphasised the importance of making the rally successful again this year:
“It is now more important than ever that we demonstrate our opposition to the illegal Turkish military occupation of Cyprus’s northern part, as well as our support for the ongoing negotiations between the leaders of the two communities on the island, which aim at a comprehensive and equitable settlement that will serve the interests of both communities.
“The dialogue between the two leaders is encouraging and has brought us closer to a solution that will restore Cyprus to unity, but a settlement cannot be achieved unless the Turkish Government changes its stance. For too long, Turkey has stood in the way of justice and has adopted positions which are inconsistent with a free, truly reunited and independent Cyprus.
“The United Kingdom, a close ally of Turkey, with historic responsibilities to Cyprus, needs to use its influence over Turkey proactively, so that the latter takes the practical steps necessary to help bring about the true unity of the island: a federal state with a single sovereignty, international personality and a single citizenship which are the agreed principles guiding the ongoing negotiations. This clear message must be heard in the British capital and that message starts with us, the Cypriot community in the UK.”
The rally will begin with picketing outside the Turkish Embassy in Belgrave Square at 2.45pm on Sunday 29 July 2009 and will continue with a march through central London which will lead to Trafalgar Square where the main event will take place at approximately 4.15pm. The main speaker at the Rally will be Mr Neoklis Sylikiotis, Cyprus Minister of the Interior, who will be in London especially for this event. Other speakers will include British Parliamentarians from all three of the main UK political parties.
Before the rally in Trafalgar Square, Mr Droussiotis will lead a Federation delegation which will hand deliver petitions to the Turkish Ambassador in the UK and to Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street.
ENDS

For more information, please call Tony Sophoclides on 07887 935 335.
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Notes to editors

- Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish military forces invaded the northern part of the island and thereafter occupied approximately 38% of its territory.
- The National Federation of Cypriots in the United Kingdom was founded shortly after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 and has since represented the largest community of Cypriots outside of the island itself.
- The Federation is an umbrella organisation of the Cypriot community associations across the UK and seeks to coordinate the activities of more than 300,000 Britons of Cypriot origin.

Anniversary of the invasion of Cyprus 19 July 2009 Peter Droussiotis to lead the march

Another year and another march towards the centre of London to mark the illegal invasion and subsequent occupation of the Republic of Cyprus a member state of the European Union and whilst we are told that our 'leaders' are preparing us for a possible solution (we heard that one before) no one is holding their breath. We have somehow failed to reverse what clearly is an illegal act by a country that professes to be European in culture and outlook.

I understand that the Cyprus Federation with Peter Droussiotis will be heading the march and the presentations in Trafalgar square on the 19th. We must mobilise and support the event as we have done in previous years as individuals. But we must also look at whether the framework we have operated within for 34 years is adequate and examine other ways to highlight our just cause but more of that after the 19th. Lets just see how many people under 30 will be at the march and that would tell us whether the current system we have is capable of supporting any real efforts...

Helen Nicholas

Greek wine festival 26/7 June 2009

This is a London wide event organised by the left wing Parykiaki Haravgi newspaper which attracts a good number of exhibitors and ordinary people who come to meet and take part in whatever is going on. Only criticism is that it is low on politics and has not, in the past, been used to organise the community.

Byzantinos editorial board members will be making arrangements for a stall and we will be there for 2010. The strategy for this year is to start advertising and publicise what we are, who we are and what we do in the press. Our campaign will start in September and the student and Trade Union wing of Byzantinos will be putting together the adverts soon.

In the mean time we hope the wine festival goes well.

Helen Nicholas

Peter Droussiotis and the Cypriot Federation

There is no doubt that the Cypriot Federation of Great Britain has a role to play but it also needs to modernise and look at new ways of reaching second and third generation British citizens of Greek origin living and working in the UK. The language of 'today' must be adopted and used and old ideas and theories should be put where they belong.

The decision to re elect Peter Droussiotis to the position of General Secretary sends a good message out and the signal could be a positive one. Peter Drousiotis wants to move the organisation towards the right direction and move away from ideas and thoughts that dominated the previous generation. That does not mean that there is no role for those who help build what we have today and the first generations contribution must never be forgotten but times have changed.

On the other hand it is clear that the majority of Brits of Greek origin who are under 50 have no idea of what the Federation does or what aspirations or objectives it tries to promote. I was amazed, for example, to find that of the 6 members of the editorial board of Byzantinos, the only member that had any contact with the Federation was Nick Venedi and even he had some serious doubts about how integrated the Federation or its ideas are within the London Greek community. Roulla and Christos who are also prominent members of the Trade Union movement in Britain had no contact with the Federation at all. But I will quote Nick Venedi, who is possibly the most prominent member of the editorial board, who said that the Federation and its work will become meanigful if more effort was made to reach out the second and third generation before its members lost interest in anything Greek. Nick feels that Peter Drousiotis is the right man to do this but also thinks that concentrating simply on electing the first Greek MP (even though that Lord Adonis had already done that years ago) will not, in itself achieve much.

We wish the Federation the best of luck and welcome the fact that its board now has more women members than before. that is a positive step.

Andreas Cristou

Cypriot Federation elects new Secretariat

The member organisations of the National Federation of Cypriots in the UK last Thursday held the Federation’s biennial elections for its Secretariat.

The incumbent Federation President, Peter Droussiotis, was returned to the post unopposed for a second two year term. Similarly, the three Vice Presidents, Christodoulos Stylianou, Andreas Papaevripides and Michael Kashis and the incumbent Treasurer, Ninos Koumettou, were re-elected unanimously. Mr Bambos Charalambous was newly elected unanimously as General Secretary of the Federation.

The elections also returned a higher representation of women onto the Federation’s expanded 37-strong Secretariat than ever before.

In statements made to the media following his re-election, Mr Droussiotis expressed his gratitude to Federation members for their continuing support saying that he was humbled by the unanimous support that he had received from the membership of the Federation and pledging to work even harder in the future.

“Our efforts to renew the Federation and upgrade its work over the last two years have meant that it is now the acknowledged voice of the UK Cypriot community, able to reach politicians and policy-makers across the whole political spectrum in this country.

The Cyprus problem is at a critical point in its long history with ongoing negotiations between President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mr Mehmet Ali Talat aimed at reuniting the island accelerating. In these circumstances, we will intensify our programme of work in this critically influential country in order to support the process of the island’s reunification.

“Stability and continuity are absolutely vital during this crucial period. I am, therefore, grateful to our members for returning me to the role of President for a second term, and give my sincerest assurance that I will continue to commit my efforts wholeheartedly. In Andreas, Christodoulos, Michael and Ninos, and our new General Secretary, Bambos Charalambous, I have a very capable team to support me and our Secretariat’s endeavours, and I look forward to getting back to business with them all.”

Newly elected General Secretary, Bambos Charalambous, said:

“I am honoured to serve in this important position and the Federation’s members can be assured that I will give my all in the post. We have a robust forward strategy and actions that will help to enhance the goals of the Federation and our community’s presence in Britain, as well as its contribution both to the cause of Cyprus and to the national life of this country. I am delighted to be given this opportunity to play a part.”

A full list of the newly elected members of the Federation’s Secretariat will be posted on the Federation’s website.

Return the Parthenon Marbles...

The new museum underneath the Acropolis build to house the complete set of the Parthenon Marbles has just been completed. The President of the European Union is in fact attending the ceremony together with other major international guests. The notable exception is the British Prime Minister who has in the recent past been soliciting the support of the British Greek community.

It makes me angry to see that the curators of the British museum are continuing to ignore the legitimate requests of the Greek government to return the marbles to their home ground. The entire incident makes a total non sense of the notion that the two countries, Greece and Britain are allies both within Europe and in NATO. More should be done by the Greek community in Britain to exert pressure on Gordon Brown and others and a fresh campaign must be started.

Nick Venedi

The struggle to organise starts

The London Greek community has shown evidence that it can mobilise and support politicians who have declared their interest in serving the community. The election of Marina as a London MEP proves this.

Byzantinos will be meeting with those interested in the debate to make decisions as to where, how and who to try and promote. The message is clear that the Greek community can mobilise.

Andreas Synodinou

Marina Yannakoudakis

Well done to Marina but lets also start the debate about who else we can promote, as a Greek community, to serve in Parliament. We must lobby now to ensure that those who can do it are supported by the major political party's here in London. Nick Venedi, well known in the Greek community of London, Peter Drousiotis, also well known should be selected. It makes sense for the Labour party to make this wise move.

Helen Nicholas

Marinas victory signals a new start

Marinas decisive victory for the MEP position in London has started the debate on whether other Greek born British citizens should be selected by the major party's to fight winnable seats especially in the North London area.

The top names for this are Peter Drousiotis, President of the Cypriot Federation of GB, Nick Venedi, well known Trade Union activist and long standing Union Secretary of the largest Trades Union in the U.K Unison and Bambos Charalambou who has been already selected to fight the Southgate constituency by Labour.

More should be done by the relevant party's to make this happen. We have the people with the profile lets make it happen!

Helen Nicholas

Marina wins the Euro seat...

Well done to Marina the first Greek born female politician to have succeeded in an election contest of immense importance here in the U.K She now becomes an MEP for Britain.

Speculation now is whether the other party's will be wise enough to select Greek born British citizens to fight seats in North London. Names mentioned for this are Peter Drousiotis, Nick Venedi and of course Bambos Charalambou who has already been selected to fight the Southgate seat for Labour. Will the Labour party be wise enough to do this?

Andreas Synodinou

Support Marina Yannakoudakis in the Euro poll on the 4th

The first Brit of Greek origin, Marina Yannakoudakis, is standing for election on Thursday to become an MEP. The community should actively support Marina on the basis that she has good and sound policies that will be supportive of our community.

Helen Nicholas

Cyprus wine festival

A reminder that the Cyprus wine festival is coming up this month. Its a fun event with many people from the Greek community attending and having fun. A very Greek thing to do. The festival is on the 27th at Alexandra palace and it is organised by Parikiaki.

LGR

London Greek Radio is important to the London Greek community for a number of good reasons. It is a medium through which those of us who live and work in the city can keep in touch, it helps the first, second and now third generation of British citizens of Greek origin be kept informed about issues and events that affect us all and third it is a focus point for a community that is, in many other ways, ignored or forgotten. So the message from Vizantinos is to make every effort to ensure that the station survives and thrives. It is fortunate that LGR now has people like John Kyriakides to help sort out its finances and we hope that his plan to streamline succeed.

Helen Nicholas

Meeting with the PM

I attended a gathering of Cypriot community leaders on Wednesday the 6th of May where Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Europe Minister Caroline Flint were the hosts. The event took place in the splendid Locarno Hall at the foreign Office.

It was interesting to hear the PM speak on the Cyprus problem and assure us of his profound commitment for a peaceful settlement. Lets just hope that action follow the words but the cynic in me thinks that this was a pre election photo opportunity more than a real initiative.

You can locate the moment via youtube all you have to do is google Cypriot federation then hit the various links on the site. Some good publicity there but for whom?

Nick Venedi

How are we organised?

Byzantinos has conducted a survey to identify how the Greek community receives information and is kept up to date in the Greater London area. The results show that we interact with each other in the following ways:

1. Church gatherings;

2. Social events; (mainly weddings, christenings or attending musicals)

3. Restaurants;

4. Schools where there are high concentrations of those of us of Greek origins;

5. Other family occasions.

We are also influenced and keep in touch through the following:

1. London Greek Radio (103.3 F.M.)

2. The two papers Parykiaki or the NEA

3. Through Apokrisi (soon to stop)

4. The Internet (face book twittering etc)

The survey shows that those of us under the age of 25 keep in touch via the Internet or L.G.R the findings support the idea that all age groups either listen to L.G.R some time or most of the time. Those over the age of 55 are more likely to keep up to date via the Greek papers produced here in London (Parykiaki or NEA)

The survey was based on a brief questionnaire of 60 people randomly selected from the phone book (because of their Greek sounding surnames) People were asked where they meet or socialise with other fellow Greeks and how they keep in touch with community events. The annual summer wine festival was the one single event that most people were aware of and L.G.R the most popular way to keep in touch with information and events.

Byzantinos will use this information to make proposals on how to organise the community more effectively.

Operation Greek Vote

The 2001 census shows that there are about 300,000 British citizens of Greek origin living and working in the Greater London area. These people are to be found in north and central London (Bayswater, Kensington, Southgate, Enfield, Haringey, Cambden, Islington)

Operation Greek Vote is an initiative through which people of Greek origin in London are encouraged to register to vote and take part in the elections coming up soon (European election 4 June)

There is still time to register and the 19th of May is the deadline for that. Nikos Venedi will be talking about this on London Greek Radio ( 103.03 F.M) the date will be announced here soon. So get everyone you know to go out and register. Every vote counts!!

You can also contact us via email : neobyzantinos@aol.com

Roulla

Return the Parthenon Marbles

Everyone is urged to make time and attend the demonstration organised by a group of secondary school students outside the British Museum on the 3rd of May from 3.30 p.m. The marbles belong to the Parthenon. The Greek community and our supporters are asked to show solidarity with this just cause.