The establishment of an institutional structure to address meeting the expectations and demands of members of the other community, is proposed by a research project entitled ‘Alleviating the daily negative effects of the conditions of non-settlement on ordinary citizens on both sides of the divide in Cyprus: expectations, needs and demands from the other side’, prepared by the Association of Social Research and Cyprus Academic Dialogue.
Noting that cross communal dialogue between political actors and grassroots would be a useful arrangement compatible with the federal model envisioned for Cyprus, the study proposes, ‘as the first step towards meeting the expectations and demands of members of the other community’, the establishment of an institutional structure to address this issue.
The report is the result of a bi-communal research project aimed at identifying the daily challenges faced by citizens on both sides of the divide in Cyprus. ‘To achieve this objective, the project was designed to collect data that would enable the identification of individual expectations and demands requiring a response in the form of action or policy from the ‘other side”, it said.
The starting point of the project, it said, was the idea that understanding the daily challenges and short-term demands and expectations of citizens could help to recommend a range of policies and actions to be submitted to the relevant political actors to mitigate or smooth out the negative effects of non-settlement at the grassroot level in Cyprus.
It argues that public awareness of citizens’ daily problems and demands can add a new layer to the inter-communal interaction and build new relationships.
A total of 66 different individuals participated either in the mono-communal or bi-communal focus group meetings, the report said, noting that all mono communal and bicommunal focus group meetings were held in the first three months of 2026.
Turkish Cypriot expectations and demands towards the Greek Cypriot side
Some of the demands concern the inclusion of Turkish Cypriots in the social security system of the Republic of Cyprus with access to healthcare services provided they make contributions, to recruit Turkish Cypriots in public offices including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to allow Turkish Cypriots to open accounts in banks in the south.
The participants also ask, among other things, to accept the validity of vehicle insurance issued in the north in the south, to grant the right to work in the south to the children born in Turkish Cypriot mixed marriages, and to give priority to Turkish Cypriots living in the south in the leasing of Turkish Cypriot properties left behind in the south.
Demands and expectations regarding peacebuilding and intercommunal cooperation include, among other things, “the removal of all derogatory statements about Turkish Cypriots from Greek Cypriot school textbooks and ensuring Turkish Cypriots are not portrayed as enemies”, and “acknowledging the fact that Turkish Cypriots have also suffered due to past events”.
They also ask to take the necessary steps to persecute alleged war criminals and impose penalties, including moral ones and to appoint Turkish Cypriots as one of the advisors and spokespersons of the President of the Republic of Cyprus.
Moreover, they ask for the CyBC (Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation) to broadcast more in the Turkish language and to establish a common museum to reflect common /shared history.
T/Cs also ask to ensure access to the ERASMUS programme for Turkish Cypriot students and including the universities in the north into the accreditation system of the Republic of Cyprus, to prepare joint Cyprus history textbooks and to speed up crossings by implementing unmanned automated control systems at crossings points.
Additionally, they ask to grant citizenship rights to children born from mixed marriages, to grant Turkish Cypriots the right to vote and stand for election in the south to elect their representatives and to avoid entering into military agreements with foreign states and granting them bases in Cyprus.
Greek Cypriot expectations and demands
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Expectations and demands of Greek Cypriots regarding peace building and bicommunal cooperation, include the removal of the illuminated flag on the Pentadaktylos mountain range and its replacement with the map of a Unified Cyprus. They also ask to give more support to the work of the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) and granting permits for excavations in currently restricted areas, and for exchange visits between schools and joint student field trips.
In education, language and culture, Greek Cypriots ask for incentives for Turkish Cypriots to learn Greek, to include (on maps and on the ground) of Greek toponyms / place names of villages and regions, to repair/reopen monasteries and give more frequent permits for church services and to facilitate education and professional rehabilitation for enclaved Maronites and residents of the Karpas peninsula.
Regarding crossing points, they ask to facilitate free movement throughout the island for Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots without restrictions, to offer friendlier conduct by police at the crossing points, to open crossing points unilaterally (by the T/C side) and to interconnect mobile telephony systems.
Greek Cypriots also ask to encourage joint businesses/companies and mixed employment, to allow Greek Cypriot farmers to cultivate privately-owned land within the Buffer Zone and to end the taxation of farmers who transport fruits and vegetables from Pyrgos to their children via the Zodeia/Astromeritis crossing point.
Constitutional rights and human rights related demands and expectations include the transfer of Varosha to UN administration for resettlement, to facilitate the return of Greek Cypriots, Maronites, and others to their villages, to maintain and repair of Greek Cypriot cemeteries, to return their management to the representatives of the respective community, and to agree on the resettlement of legal owners in their houses in the buffer zone.
Substantial reduction of the number of Turkish troops is the G/Cs security demand.
Responses to demands and expectations
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In the bicommunal focus group meetings, participants reviewed the list containing all the demands and expectations expressed by participants from the other community.
Almost all Greek Cypriot participants found a significant portion of the demands put forward by Turkish Cypriots acceptable, although they rejected some, like the demand for ‘priority in leasing properties left behind by Turkish Cypriots in the south should be given to Turkish Cypriots living in the south’ arguing instead that this priority should be given to Greek Cypriot displaced persons.
With a few exceptions, almost all of the demands and expectations expressed by the Greek Cypriot participants were unanimously accepted by the Turkish Cypriot participants.