A Half-Century of Loss: The 1974 Turkish Invasion of Cyprus

The day of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, July 20, 1974, was the day time stopped for Cyprus, a day of infamy when the course of the nation’s history changed forever.

For Cypriots, the ongoing crime of the Turkish occupation of their beloved country seems as fresh at each anniversary as it was then.

It was a day that no Cypriot and no Greek will indeed ever forget. The eerie sound of sirens broke the warm stillness of that July day in both countries, signaling the end of an era.

But only Cyprus felt the horror of the invading Turkish troops and the mayhem they unleashed on the unsuspecting people—mostly women, children, and the elderly.

It was 5:30 in the morning when the war sirens signified the descent of hell upon the beautiful country of Cyprus.

The Turkish invasion of Cyprus

It was only five days after the inexplicable coup d’état of the country by Greece’s dictatorial forces, which served to give the Turks an excuse to invade and occupy the northern part of the island.

Approximately 40,000 Turkish troops raided the island under the code name “Operation Attila,” an apt name for the barbaric attack against innocent civilians, which clearly violated the Charter of the United Nations Security Council.

Cyprus’ cerulean summer skies turned black after Turkish warplanes bombarded the area  from Kyrenia to Nicosia, killing hundreds of civilians before their ground troops completed the massacre.

The pretext for the Turkish invasion was the protection of Turkish Cypriots, who made up about 18 percent of the island’s population, an argument that was as weak then as it is now.

The brutal invasion was dubbed by Turkey a “peaceful intervention,” aimed at restoring constitutional order in Cyprus, which had been disturbed by the coup against Makarios just five days earlier on July 15th.

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 July 22nd, the Turkish forces were in command of a narrow path between Kyrenia and Nicosia, 3 percent 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 percent of Cyprus.

Missing persons

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.

During and after the Turkish invasion, thousands of Greek-Cypriots were arrested and held in concentration camps in Cyprus by Turkish soldiers and paramilitaries, operating under the Turkish army. Also, more than 2,000 prisoners of war had been illegally transferred and held in prisons in Turkey. Some of them are still missing today.

Hundreds of other Greek- Cypriots, both soldiers and civilians (including seniors, women, and children) have disappeared in Turkish-occupied areas and their fate is still unknown.

In all these cases there are well-documented testimonies that the missing persons were last seen alive at the hands of the Turkish army or paramilitary groups, acting under the direction and responsibility of the Turkish occupying forces.

As a result of the Turkish military invasion and occupation, 162,000 Greek-Cypriots fled their homes becoming refugees in their own country.

To this day the occupying forces impede the return of refugees to their homes and property. By the end of 1975, the vast majority of Turkish-Cypriots living in areas controlled by the legitimate government were forced to leave their homes and move, owing to Turkey’s coercive policy, to the Turkish-occupied territory of the Republic of Cyprus.

20,000 Greek-Cypriots and Maronites chose not to leave their homes despite the Turkish occupation. Most of those who remained, mainly on the Karpasia Peninsula, were gradually forced to abandon the area. The number of Greek-Cypriots and Maronites currently living in the area has plummeted to 300 persons.

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 settle in occupied Cyprus

Turkey then encouraged people from its country, who had no relationship or connection to the island whatsoever, to settle there in exchange for 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 documented this issue for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in 1992 and 2003.

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.

In full accordance with Turkey’s stated goal of partition and national segregation on the island, on 15 November 1983, the occupying regime unilaterally declared the so-called “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”, an act which was condemned by the international community as legally invalid.

In particular, in Resolution 541 (1983), the United Nations Security Council rebuked this declaration, declared it legally invalid, and called for its reversal. The Security Council called on all states to respect the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and non-alignment of the Republic of Cyprus and not to recognize any Cypriot state other than the Republic of Cyprus.

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