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2 LondraGazete.com/English Londra Gazete, 28 April 2022

‘A blow to London’s Turkish Cypriot Community’

THE Council of Turkish Cypriot London for many years and hosted
Associations, Turkish Community cultural events, activities and po-
Football Federation, Turkish Lan- litical meetings.
guage Culture and Education Con- Last week, Evkaf announced
sortium UK and other non-gov- that, after retaking control of the
ernmental organisations came property in Soho, it has complete-
together on Tuesday, April 26, and ly repaired the five-story building
held a public meeting on the prop- and now leases it for commercial
erty located in D'Arblay Street, use with the aim to use rental in-
Soho. come “to create new accessible
Located in Soho, Central Lon- spaces for UK-based Turkish Cyp- EXCULISIVE
don, the building was purchased riot community groups”.
in 1951 with the contributions of According to the informa-
the Turkish Cypriot community in tion given to Londra Gazete, the adheres to UK health and safety will not even be allowed into the
England and the financial support ground floor was rented to a res- rules, and constitutes an attrac- building.
of then Prime Minster of Turkey taurant and one floor was rented tive central London venue. .” The members of the associa-
Adnan Menderes. The building to the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of After the statement was made, tions who gave information to
was given to the only Turkish Cyp- Commerce operating in Northern the decision caused great discom- our newspaper stated that these
riot organisation at the time the Cyprus. fort among the Turkish Cypriot methods deeply upset them. “Our
Evkaf Administration of Cyprus Evkaf made a statement in which non-governmental organisations exclusion while making decisions
(Evkaf) so that individual names it said “...Having regained control in England. Many stated that the that concern us is to drive us
would not be on the property. of its D’Arblay Street property fol- main purpose of the building was away from our homeland, Cyprus,
Hence, the building was given to lowing years of neglect by those to serve the community living which we love so much. The deci-
the Turkish Cypriot Association entrusted with its care, Evkaf here and people who knew the his- sion, together with the use of the
(Kıbrıs Türk Cemiyeti) to serve the undertook a massive restoration tory of the issue saw this act as ‘as building by our society or the rent-
Turkish Cypriot community living project of the building in 2019- a blow to the community in Lon- al income, could be used to create
in England at the time it was the 2020. Along with essential repairs don’. new community centres that our
only Turkish Cypriot organisation and improvements, Evkaf was also Londra Gazete has learnt that organisations here will use jointly.
group active. The building used obliged to pay considerable debts following unrest, those who plan This can happen not by excluding At the end of the meeting,
by the Turkish Cypriot Associa- accumulated by the former occu- to do so were informally told that us, but by acting together with us. non-governmental organisations
tion, which took over the admin- piers, with the total outlay cost- they will not have a chance to It is our most natural right to ex- announced that they would make
istration of the building, served ing approximately £400,000. The benefit from the income from the pect our administrators in Cyprus a joint press release on this issue
as a centre for Turkish Cypriots in newly restored property now fully building in the future and they to take steps in this regard.” soon.