Mehmet Ali Talat, the former Turkish Cypriot leader will present his views on the Cyprus situation in Melbourne next month.
The event is being organised by the Centre for Dialogue at La Trobe University, in association with the Australian Institute of International Affairs.Deputy Director of the Centre for Dialogue, Dr Michalis Michael told Neos Kosmos: “We’re taking advantage of Mr Talat’s visit to Australia to stage a conversation. It’s a unique opportunity to create a forum to discuss the Cyprus issue.” Talat is visiting Australia in a private capacity.
The public event entitled A conversation with Talat will be chaired by Dr Michael, who will quiz the former Turkish Cypriot leader on negotiations under Talat’s stewardship when he was the chief negotiator for the Turkish Cypriot community between 2005 and 2010.
“I will be asking him what were the stumbling blocks and his main issues of concern for both communities in those years,” said Dr Michael, “and how he reads the Greek Cypriots’ position, and his reaction to the current cycle of negotiations, his take on where they are going, and where he sees the problems.”
Dr Michael says that he will be also asking how Talat views the future unfolding for Cyprus, and what the former Turkish Cypriot leader’s own political designs may be.
Dr Michael, author of the book Resolving the Cyprus Conflict: Negotiating History, published in 2009, describes the work of the Centre for Dialogue as “unofficial track 2 diplomacy.”
“We’re a safe, neutral, comfortable environment for stakeholders in a conflict, in divided communities, to start talking to each other.”
Asked if the platform being provided to Talat might cause concern within Australia’s Greek Cypriot community, Dr Michael said: “By staging a conversation it doesn’t mean you accept or espouse the views of anybody, we are a neutral forum. Isn’t it better to have conversation, and question these people, whoever they are, rather than base ones understanding of a situation on second hand media accounts, this is a public event, it’s not negotiations, it’s not polemics, it’s dialogue, a conversation.”
A conversation with Talat will take place at the Victoria branch headquarters of the Australian Institute of International Affairs, Dyason House, 124 Jolimont Road, East Melbourne at 6.00pm on Thursday November 10.
Those wishing to attend should contact Shelly Baulch by November 3 on (03) 9479 2443 or by email at s.baulch@latrobe.edu.au