THE TURKISH INVASION OF CYPRUS

                  

 

 

Today, the 20^th of July is the sad anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, following the Cypriot coup d’état on the 15^th July 1974.

 

The coup had been ordered by the military junta in Greece and staged by the Cypriot National Guard in conjunction with EOKA B.  It displaced the Cypriot  President, Archbishop Makarios III, and installed Nikos Sampson.  The aim of the coup was the union of Cyprus with Greece.

 

On that date, the Turkish forces invaded and captured 3% of the island before a cease-fire was declared. The Greek military junta collapsed and was replaced by a democratic government.   In August 1974, another Turkish invasion resulted in the capture of approximately 36% of the island.

 

The ceasefire line from August 1974 became the United Nations’ Buffer Zone in Cyprus and is commonly known as the Green Line.

 

Around 150.000 people were expelled from the occupied northern part of the island where Greek Cypriots constituted 80% of the population.  In 1975 60.000 Turkish Cypriots were displaced from the south to the north.

 

The Turkish invasion forced  the partition of Cyprus along the UN-monitored Green Line, which still divides Cyprus and the formation of a de facto autonomous Turkish administration in the north.

 

In 1983, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) declared independence, although Turkey is the only country that recognizes it.  The international community considers the TRNC’s territory as Turkish occupied of the Republic of Cyprus.  The occupation is viewed as an illegal occupation of European Union territory since Cyprus became a member.