50 Years Since the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus
The world’s last divided capital is gasping for a breath of hope, while the Cyprus question remains unanswered
Every year on the 20th of July at 05:30 a.m. sirens sound throughout Cyprus, just like they did in 1974.
This is followed by an echo of the outlining devastating numbers of the Cyprus tragedy, sounding throughout Cypriot media.
- 36% of the internationally recognised territory of Cyprus occupied.
- 200,000 Cypriots refugees in their own country.
- 1,619 listed as missing persons (some of whom have been identified through DNA testing of their remains).
- 20,000 people enclaved in the occupied territories (this number has been drastically reduced to 445 as of 2014 through ethnic cleansing).
- 160,000 or more settlers brought from Turkey to inhabit the occupied territory (as of 2011).
- The occupying regime unilaterally declaring the so-called “TRNC” in 1983.
“I do not forget”
I can still remember the title on the notebooks given to us in school which read “Δεν ξεχνώ” in Greek, which translates to “I do not forget”.
They also had a big picture from one of the beautiful sights from the occupied regions of Kyrenia, or Ammochostos, or Rizokarpaso.
Before knowing how to read, or do basic calculus (which I still don’t know to this day), I knew how gorgeous these lands that they took from us are, and that we can only visit them as tourists now.
I can still remember the vague lectures we had in school history classes, about how the events unfolded prior to and after the invasion, and not being able to connect the dots so as to “understand” what caused this.
I can still remember the feelings of anguish, injustice, anger, betrayal, confusion, and sadness being stirred in the boiling pot that was my adolescent brain, for lands I have never seen with my own eyes, gravel I have never touched with my own hands, and people I have never personally met.
I’ve grown up now, but I can easily say that these feelings are still present.
An open wound
Whenever I go back home I take a look at my dad’s library.
There is a huge section with history books on the Cyprus tragedy from various authors and angles. Multiple theories, trying to explain the sequence of events, and the reasoning behind each party’s actions.
Like many others, my dad was a teenager when it happened, and this event marked a traumatic experience in his upbringing.
And as with many others, this question is still an open wound for him. Maybe he’s trying to heal by searching for an answer that he will probably never be able to find.
Everyone has heard several stories from parents, grandparents, people who fled their homes and left bedsheets on their mattresses, crops on their trees, and food in their shelves, thinking that they would be returning in a week or a few days. Stories about atrocities and violations of human rights, committed on both sides, on a competition to find who has suffered the most.
The truth is, that this is an incredibly nuanced issue, and depending on who you ask, the interpretation of these events will be different.
50 years
It has now been half of a century.
50 years of occupation without a reconciliation to the Cypriot dispute.
For the past 50 years, whenever it’s time for elections we hear multifaceted action plans, decisive negotiation strategies, and comprehensive analyses of recommended solutions from politicians about the national problem.
Phrases such as “withdrawal of the Turkish troops”, “two-state solution”, “bizonal bicommunal federation”, “permanent division”, “table of negotiations” and “Turkish intransigence” are being shouted and thrown around like confetti in television studios by people who may or may not understand them. The same happens with blame and shame for the embarrassing fact that there has been no solution to this dispute for 50 years.
Yes, this is to say that Cypriot political leaders are to blame, and they should be ashamed of themselves.
For driving Cyprus to a dead end in the talks to find a solution, for the weakened position that Cyprus has on the negotiation table, for all the times negotiations have collapsed in the course of the dispute, for capitalising on the dreams and hopes of people who want to return to their homes and people who desperately want to see their country reunified, for generously giving unrealistic and unfulfillable promises for this dispute, and for normalising this never ending cycle of trauma and pain.
For doing all these things, with the aim of gaining votes, building careers, and safeguarding their interests, Cypriot political leaders should be blamed and ashamed.
Where are we now
Efforts are being made to resume discussions, and subsequently negotiations between the two sides for a reconciliation to the Cyprus problem.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has demonstrated a real intention to mediate and reach an agreement. The appointment of María Ángela Holguín as his personal envoy on Cyprus this year proved to be a positive step.
However, the disparity between the two sides’ positions on the problem is still very vast, and it does not currently seem that there is any light at the end of the tunnel.
