17 March 2001

The organisation of a two-day Cyprus Conflict Resolution Workshop - the first of its kind in Australia - on 15-16 April 2000 was announced today by co-convenors Dr Michalis Michael and Mr Tümer Mimi. The "La Trobe" Project, is organised by the Department of Politics at La Trobe University under the supervision of Professor Joseph Camilleri.

The "La Trobe" Project will aim to foster and examine the prospects of rapprochement between Greek and Turkish Cypriots in Australia. The initiative is consistent with the principles of rapprochement that are currently taking place between elements of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities not only in Cyprus but also globally. Co-convenor, Dr Michael who recently completed a doctorate on the Cyprus Conflict, believes rapprochement is an essential precondition for a long-term peaceful symbiotic settlement of the Cyprus conflict.

The idea to conduct a Cyprus Conflict Resolution Workshop (CCRW) emerged from the contacts between Greek-Cypriots and the (Turkish) Cypriot Graduates Association of Australia (CGAA). It is considered as one method through which bicommunal communication could be advanced. The "La Trobe" Project coincides with other recent bicommunal happenings in Cambridge, Berlin, the US and Cyprus.

"The main purpose of the "La Trobe" Project is to bring together Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot intellectuals and activists by establishing communication between the two groups, and essentially contributing to the overall promotion of bicommunal rapprochement, at this stage it is a purely academic enterprise that sets modest expectations in achieving its prime objectives", said Dr Michael.

"It is envisaged that the "La Trobe" Project will be the first of a series of such workshops on Cyprus and it is hoped that, if nothing else, it will be useful in identifying issues that are of concern to both communities", added Mr Mimi who is doing a research on Turkish Cypriots at RMIT University.



For more information:

Contact
Dr Michalis S. Michael (tel. 03/9347 9533, fax. 03/9347 7192, e-mail: Michalis.Michael@aph.gov.au)
or
Tümer Mimi (CGAA) (tel.:0414396128, e-mail: cgaa@adcom.com.au)