Press Releases

North Cyprus First Lady Oya Talat and artist Ayhatun Ateşin continue their “Silent Walk” with trip to London - 10 May 2006

London, 10 May 2006: Human rights group Embargoed! today announced that Oya Talat, the wife of North Cyprus President Mehmet Ali Talat, and artist Ayhatun Ateşin will be visiting London between 18-21 May. The visit, inspired by Ms. Ateşin’s recent artwork titled The Silent Walk where female shoes “walk” for peace, aims to build bridges between Turkish Cypriot women living in London and those in North Cyprus. Embargoed! is co-ordinating the trip with a programme that includes a public seminar in North London and opportunities to meet with a diverse range of women and human rights activists within London’s Turkish Cypriot community.

In the invite notes to the opening of The Silent Walk, Ms. Ateşin talks about starting an action that is both personal and female orientated. She argues that women, due to their genetic make-up, are best placed to knock down the obstacles to freedom and symbolises this in her artwork of 50 pairs of ceramic shoes of all colours, types and sizes, which are placed on streets around old Nicosia North, all silently walking towards peace and kinship.

Ms. Atesin said, “I hope ‘The Silent Walk’ can have the same appeal in London, encouraging fellow Turkish Cypriot women to take up the challenge to break down the barriers affecting North Cyprus’ isolation and at the same time, help sweep away the hate and enmity that is prevalent across Cyprus”.

The two women have a busy schedule including visiting Ali Riza Degirmencioglu Turkish School, Southwark Turkish Cypriot Community Centre, a dinner with the newly elected Turkish Cypriot councillors (organised by the Democracy Association) and on Saturday 20 May, a public seminar The Silent Walk: Turkish Cypriot women and the campaign to end North Cyprus' isolation will be held at the Turkish Cypriot Community Centre, 628-630 Green Lanes, Harringay, from 2pm-5pm. For further details or to reserve your place at the seminar, please contact Embargoed! on 020 8279 8561 or email mail@embargoed.org.
-Ends-

Notes to editors

1. The photo shown is of Oya Talat and her husband Mehmet Ali Talat, President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

2. Pictures from Ayhatun Ateşin's The Silent Walk are available upon request.

3. Full details of the forthcoming visit of Oya Talat and Ayhatun Ateşin will be available from Monday 15 May.

About Embargoed! – www.embargoed.org

Embargoed! is an independent human rights group campaigning for the immediate and unconditional end to all embargoes against North Cyprus. The group was launched on 4 March 2005 and aims to play an active role in raising awareness about the isolation of North Cyprus and lobbying world leaders and institutions to restore the fundamental political, economic and social rights of Turkish Cypriots.

Contact Embargoed!:

• Telephone/fax: + 44 (0)20 8279 8561
• Email: mail@embargoed.org;
• Post: Embargoed! Suite 205, 14 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 1JY

Press Enquiries:

Ms. İpek Özerim T: +44 (0)777 623 0466 / E: campaigns@embargoed.org



Back to press releases