Sevgul Uludag has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for her very valuable work on missing persons , as well as using her journalistic skills for the solution of problems of the Cypriot communities.in democratic ways and creating mutual understanding among our two communities on this sensitive issue.

Her efforts and active struggle for peace and reconciliation in Cyprus for almost half a century has also been honoured with this nomination.

Sevgul Uludag has been nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize to the Norwegian Nobel Committee by Anna Agathangelou, Associate  Professor in Political Science at Canada’s York University.

Born in Nicosia, Cyprus in 1958 Sevgul Uludag has been working as an active investigative journalist for the past 39 years and she has devoted her past 18 years of her life in journalism focusing on the sensitive issue of missing persons, trying to locate their possible burial sites , investigating and writing their painful and tragic stories , mobilising her readers from both communities for them to show possible burial sites and helping them to contribute voluntarily and in a humanitarian way on this sensitive humanitarian problem.

In a joint statement, Cenk Mutluyakali, chief editor of the Turkish-Cypriot newspaper Yeni Duzen and Cenk Mutluyakali, Editor of the Greek-language Politis welcomed the nomination of  Uludağ — who writes for both.

They also praised her work as a journalist to help build mutual understanding between the two communities on this issue. “This candidacy also honours her work and efforts for peace and conciliation in Cyprus,” they said.

Both herself and the newspapers she works for have had serious threats made to them many times but Sevgul defended with universal human values with her patriotic stand against these threats.

For the past thirteen years Sevgul Uludag has formed voluntarily a hot line with her mobile phones for her readers from both communities. Though this hot line her readers can call her anonymously to give information. Some of this information is published in the newspapers , while several others are passed onto the Cyprus missing persons committee, thus breaking many years of gulty silence and opening the way of humanitarian cooperation for our communities.

Sevgul Uludag has brought together the relatives of “missing persons” from both communities, helping them to set up a bi-communal association of relatives of missing persons and victims of war called “Together We Can” and has pioneered so that they could hold joint activities in order to show that the suffering of relatives is a common pain.

Taking up the “taboo” issue of missing persons in the most humanitarian way through her articles and investigations, she has been instrumental in the progress on the issue of “missing persons”. She has helped the CMP in a humanitarian and voluntary way and has gained the confidence and praise of both our communities by finding many of the burial sites of “missing persons” and helping for the return of the remains of missing persons to their relatives for proper burials.

Both YENIDUZEN and POLITIS newspapers feel honoured offering full professional support to the investigations of Sevgul Uludag.

Uludag’s investigative articles are published every day in Turkish in YENIDUZEN under the title “Cyprus: The Untold Stories”, once a week in Greek in POLITIS under the title “Underground Notes” and in English in her own blog. She has received various international awards for her work like “International Courage in Journalism Award”, “European Parliament Citizen of Europe Prize”, “Press Freedom Award of RSF” and has been honoured by civil society from both communities for her work.

In conclusion, the honour given to journalist Sevgul Uludag with the nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize is also an honour for us too.