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08.11.2025 – The Union of Cypriots has presented the 2025 Ihsan Ali Honorary Award to Niki Katsaouni, saluting her lifelong commitment to justice, truth, and the preservation of collective memory in Cyprus.
The award is named after Dr. Ihsan Ali, one of the most principled and influential leaders in Cypriot history. Born in 1904 in Paphos during British colonial rule, Ihsan Ali became a central figure in the island’s anti-colonial and democratic struggle. Educated in Geneva, he returned to Cyprus in 1934 and spent the rest of his life serving the people not only as a physician, but as a community organizer, journalist, and political voice for liberation.
Throughout British colonial rule and the turbulent decades that followed, Ihsan Ali opposed all forms of separatism and resisted the colonial “divide and rule” system, apartheid-style segregation, and the neo-colonial Guarantee System established through the Zürich–London Agreements. He warned against foreign interference by Britain, Turkey, the United States, and NATO more broadly, and defended an independent, unitary Cyprus based on civic equality and constitutional citizenship. His clear, principled stance made him the defining figure of a third path: anti-imperialist, patriotic, and committed to the full sovereignty of Cyprus
It is this legacy of courage and moral clarity that the Union of Cypriots seeks to honor each year
Niki Katsaouni has long been a defiant and influential force in Cyprus, guided by her unwavering commitment to truth and justice. Her work and literary voice have consistently confronted injustice, upheld human rights, and protected the stories that define Cyprus’s collective memory
Katsaouni’s impact is equally evident in her essential role in Women Walk Home, one of the earliest and most impactful return movements. The movement transformed the act of walking toward one’s home into a declaration of rightful claim, a peaceful and courageous response to occupation and forced displacement. Its influence extended beyond Cyprus, inspiring other movements of return and reclamation, including in Palestine
By awarding Niki Katsaouni in 2025, the Union of Cypriots celebrates a woman whose voice aligns profoundly with the values Dr. İhsan Ali championed: justice, equality, resistance, and the right of all Cypriots to determine their own future. Her work remains vital to the island’s ongoing struggle for dignity, liberation, and historical truth
The award ceremony took place on 8 November, the anniversary of the day Dr. Ihsan Ali left us, and was co-organized by the Union of Cypriots and the Green Party of Cyprus.
