Cypriot protestors and demonstrators, in addition to politicians and journalists, increasingly acknowledge that recent developments have been something of a wake-up call about the continuing presence of external actors on the island. The language used by Cypriots is even similar to Kofi Annan’s framing of a ‘Cypriot-led, Cypriot-owned’ peace process. [xii] The peace activist, who also took part in the recent ‘British Bases Out’ protests, describes the British as continuing to ‘occupy’ parts of Cyprus. [xiii]As with other members of Unite Cyprus Now, the activist is unsure whether ongoing issues will help to restart peace negotiations (which requires formal agreement between Cypriot leaders and the UN) but believes they will lead to growing calls for a Cypriot peace settlement. They are committed to a two-state solution and that won’t change while Erdoğan is around, so future proposals will still need to navigate this very familiar issue’.

Source: The Guardian March 24, 2026 19:20 UTC