The “presidency” of the breakaway regime is moving to suspend the participation of Turkish Cypriots in the ‘Imagine’ bicommunal education and peace programme, Cyprus News Agency reported on Thursday.
The rationale behind the decision is laid out in a letter by the “presidency” to the “education ministry,” Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen writes.
The “presidency” said that ‘Imagine’ “promotes elements that may be in conflict with our policy, which is based on sovereign equality.”
Yeni Duzen commented that the decision is another step towards the isolation of Turkish Cypriots from the international community.
‘Imagine’ is an educational programme on anti-racism education for a culture of peace launched in October 2017. It is implemented by the Association for Historical Dialogue and Research (AHDR) and the Home for Cooperation under the auspices of the Bicommunal Technical Committee on Education.
According to the AHDR, as of 2022, 6117 students, accompanied by 714 teachers were trained in the ‘Imagine’ project. Another 518 teachers were trained in peace education both mono-communally and bi-communally.
‘Imagine’ is funded by the Federal Foreign Office of the Republic of Germany and is supported by the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) and the UN Office of the Special Advisor (OASG).
