The Haunting Tragedy of the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus

The “Attila” invasion involved heavily armed troops landing shortly before dawn at Kyrenia (Girne) on the northern coast meeting resistance from Greek and Greek Cypriot forces.

By the time the UN Security Council was able to obtain a ceasefire on 22 July the Turkish forces were in command of a narrow path between Kyrenia and Nicosia, 3% of the territory of Cyprus, which they succeeded in widening, violating the ceasefire demanded in Resolution 353.

This was only the first part of the Cyprus tragedy, however. On August 14, 1974, the tragedy was compounded by the occupation of the beautiful seaside city of Famagusta and the Karpas Peninsula.

On that day Turkey launched its “Second Peace Operation”, which eventually resulted in the Turkish occupation of 37% of Cyprus.

Britain’s then foreign secretary (later prime minister) James Callaghan later disclosed that U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger “vetoed” at least one British military action to pre-empt the Turkish landing.

An estimated 5,000 people were killed during the invasion and 1,619 were reported missing, but many historians believe the true toll of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus could be much higher.

As many as 200,000 Cypriots were forcefully driven away from their homes and became refugees in their own homeland as Turkey split the island in two, occupying around 35% of the island.

This sudden disruption of the population created chaos and economic disaster.

The Turkish invasion and occupation of Cyprus brought economic collapse to the northern part of Cyprus, with the army taking over one third of the country.

Turkey urges its people to illegally settle occupied Cyprus

Turkey then encouraged people from its country, who had no relationship or connection to the island whatsoever, to settle there, offering land and money.

This illegal, systematic resettlement by Turkey of its own people on Cyprus forced many Cypriots to emigrate to Europe and elsewhere.

The settlers today outnumber the native Turkish Cypriots by a ratio of about two to one.

Independent observers have documented this issue for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in 1992 and 2003 respectively.

In violation of international law and UN resolutions, Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot regime continue to systematically eradicate the Greek cultural heritage of the occupied areas of Cyprus.

Cities and villages have been given Turkish names, while archaeological sites, churches and cemeteries have been desecrated, destroyed or transformed for other types of use.

Today, more than 43,000 armed soldiers from Turkey remain in the occupied areas of the island.

(This commentary originally appeared in the Greek Reporter on July 21.)