PRESS RELEASE

REUNION MEETINGS OF GREEK CYPRIOT AND TURKISH CYPRIOT VILLAGERS: 
PERGAMOS PARK, SATURDAY, 1ST OF JULY 2000 AT 5:00pm


The idea: to bring the older generation together

     Most of the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots who used to live in 
mixed villages or towns have not been able to meet since 1974 and in 
many cases since 1963. Despite the violence and the pain there is a 
treasure of good experiences that these people shared together. This 
treasure has been 'buried' for many years in the hearts of all these 
people and the desire to see their old friends is still strong. A joined 
effort by Greek and Turkish Cypriots is currently being undertaken to 
arrange reunion meetings of such people from many villages and towns. 


The organisers: the younger generation

     Four teenage youth groups and a number of older citizens who have 
been active in bi-communal work are working together to organise this 
purely Cypriot event: 

· Youth Encounters for Peace (YEP) - its 300 members in Cyprus and 
abroad communicate mainly via the internet.
· Seeds of Peace (SOP) - its members first met at camps in the US during 
the summers of 1998 and 1999.
· Youth Promoting Peace (YPP) - a recently formed very active 
bi-communal group. 
· Cyprus Youth for Peace (CYP) - the student club of the American 
Academy of Larnaca.

      These four youth groups organised in March 26, 2000, the first 
bi-communal teenagers festival. Details of this March event can be found 
in the web site: 

http://agrino.org/pyla2000/pergamos/

What will happen on the 1st of July, 2000

     Starting at 5:00pm Turkish and Greek Cypriots will come from both 
sides to meet at the park outside Pergamos village (Dhekelia base area). 
Inside the park there will be several big signs with the names of many 
towns and villages that had mixed population. These signs will be placed 
'geographically' in such a way that it will seem as if the park is a big 
map of Cyprus and as one walks around looking for a specific place it 
will be easy to find. The area around each sign will be the meeting 
place for 
the people who used to live in that village or town. People are invited 
to bring their own food and drink and enjoy a quiet dinner together 
before they leave.

Who is invited

· The meeting is not only for the older people. We are encouraging them 
to come along with their children and grandchildren. 
· All peace loving Cypriots of all ages have a place in a day like this. 
· We are inviting Cypriots who did not live in mixed towns or villages, 
but who have friends from the other community they want to find again. 
They will just have to walk to that part of the Pergamos park 'map' 
where their friends used to live and ask the people there for 
information. They may even find their friend there.
· Local and international media are invited to attend.
· Foreign diplomats are welcome to experience first hand another reality 
of Cyprus.

We do not forget the little ones

     Just like in our March youth festival we have not forgotten the 
children of Cyprus suffering from leukemia: Kemal Saracoglu (still 
waiting in a London hospital), Andreas Vasiliou (who is progressing well 
after his operation but still needs a donor) and all the other children. 
They are still in desperate need for a matching donor for the bone 
marrow transplant. During the 1st of July gathering of hope Turkish 
Cypriots and Greek Cypriots will be asked to give blood samples in the 
hope that young lives will be saved.

Contact us - we will find your old friends

     If you come from a mixed town or village and you wish to meet your 
old friends again on the 1st of July, please contact us as soon as 
possible and give us the relevant information. We will then send a 
message to our friends in the other community who will search for your 
friends and pass on your message. We have been working like this for a 
number of weeks and many contacts from many villages have already been 
made and many messages have been exchanged. There are cases where people 
are taking photographs of their village and of specific houses to bring 
to their old friends. 

· If you live in the north you can telephone at 3832038 or 3667827.

· In the south the contact telephone number is 09-498531 or fax at 
04-530924.

· You may also reach us via our common e-mail address: 

                                    villagersmeeting@europe.com