Cyprus marked 52 years since the morning of July 20, 1974, when Turkish forces divided the island by force of arms, defying international law.
Still living with the consequences of that day, the people of Cyprus condemned the invasion and honoured the fallen. Sirens sounded across the island today at 5:30am, marking the exact hour Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974 in violation of the UN Charter.
The invading Turkish forces bombed, destroyed, looted, raped, and vandalised churches and monasteries, forcing 200,000 Greek Cypriots to flee their ancestral homes. 37% of Cyprus’s territory remains under occupation to this day.
Memorial events honouring the fallen and prayers for the missing of the invasion are being held in cities across the Republic of Cyprus. Political parties and civic organisations have issued statements condemning the Turkish invasion and are holding their own commemorative events.
On this day in 1974, Turkish soldiers landed on the shores of northern Cyprus in what was code-named a “peacekeeping operation”, dubbed “Attila.” Turkish transport planes dropped paratroopers between 5:15am and 5:20am over the Turkish enclave of Nicosia-Agios Hilarion. As the paratroopers descended en masse, Turkish infantry landed on the beaches of Kyrenia. At 5:20am, Turkish forces began landing at Pente Mile, advancing toward Kyrenia.
Under the codename “Ayşe goes on vacation”, Turkey invaded the island, and the coup government of Nikos Sampson resigned under the weight of events on July 23, 1974.
In New York, the UN Security Council convened on the afternoon of July 20 and adopted Resolution 353, calling for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of foreign troops from Cyprus, an end to all foreign military intervention, and talks between Cyprus’s three Guarantor Powers to restore peace and constitutional government on the island. In Brussels, NATO’s Council of Permanent Representatives convened but avoided taking a substantive position.
In Geneva, intensive talks began in search of a peaceful solution under the auspices of British Foreign Secretary James Callaghan. The Greek Cypriot side, represented by Glafkos Clerides, demanded for the first time since 1963 the implementation of the Zurich-London Treaties and the Cyprus Constitution. Turkey refused and pressed its longstanding demand for the island’s geographic division.
Turkish Foreign Minister Turan Güneş countered with a plan under which the Republic of Cyprus would become a bi-communal federal state of multiple cantons, with Turkish forces controlling roughly 34% of the island. Clerides requested a 36- or 48-hour adjournment to consult the Council of Ministers. The Turkish side rejected his request and withdrew its delegation at 3:30am on August 14, 1974. Less than an hour and a half later, at 4:35am the same day, Turkey launched a second wave of invasion, codenamed “Attila 2,” seizing Morphou, Famagusta and Karpasia.
Thousands of Greek Cypriots were arrested and held in concentration camps in Cyprus, while more than 2,000 prisoners of war were illegally transferred and held in prisons in Turkey. The fate of a significant number of missing persons has still not been established to this day.
CNA