Cypriots from all walks of life gathered at the Yenidüzen newspaper offices on the outskirts of north Nicosia, in a dust-filled industrial zone, yesterday to mark the life of a remarkable individual that never gave up the struggle for truth, and in a sense, healing.
Hundreds of people – relatives of missing persons, politicians from both communities, journalists and more – mourned the loss of investigative journalist Sevgül Uludağ, who passed away on Sunday – the “voice” that united the island through her tireless effort to establish the fate of missing persons regardless of ethnicity.
Buses were organised to take the many Greek Cypriots eager to pay their respects and bid a final farewell, first at Yenidüzen and then the cemetery.
The ceremony at Yenidüzen to honour her life began with a song in Greek and Turkish, written by Neşe Yaşın and composed by Marios Tokas – ‘My Country Has Been Split in Half, Which Half Must I Love?’
Yaşın, who could not attend, said in a message read out for her that while Sevgül always worked to unite the island, “We are united more by pain now… The whole island cries for you.”
Former Yenidüzen chief editor Cenk Mutluyakalı fought back tears to state unequivocally that Sevgül Uludağ showed the world that with a pen she can unite the island.
“Sevgül is the homeland, the homeland is Sevgül,” he said.
A Greek Cypriot relative of missing persons also stood up to speak, noting that Sevgül dedicated her life to the missing, never distinguishing between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.
“She always said the pain of the others is the same as ours and that the missing have no political identity.”
Through the bicommunal organisation for relatives of the missing, Together We Can, Sevgül brought families together. She made great sacrifices to establish the fate of all the missing, without ever abandoning her commitment to truth, said the relative.
She added that without Sevgül, her father and brother would never have been found and buried after 42 years of being missing.
Christos Efthymiou, who co-founded Together We Can with Sevgül, said she was the person who represented the daily struggle for the relatives of the missing, their daily hope.
Politis director Dionysis Dionysiou, who worked with Sevgül for decades, said in his eulogy: “Today we bid farewell to a woman who honoured journalism, truth and humanity. A woman who did not distinguish between languages, religions and races, but saw only the pain of people.”
He added: “Sevgül Uludağ was something far greater than a remarkable journalist. She was our conscience. […] She was one of those rare voices that reminded us that Cyprus cannot be healed by forgetting, nor by half-truths, nor by national certainties. It can only be healed when it finds the courage to mourn all its dead.”
Sevgül’s husband, Zeki Erkut had a simple message for the large crowd of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot mourners: “The road Sevgül left us is filled with peace, let us go on the road together.”
Joining the Republican Turkish Party members, AKEL senior figures, including leader Stefanos Stefanou, also attended while President Nicos Christodoulides sent a wreath with his negotiator Menelaos Menelaou.
