Politics
Türkiye, TRNC mark anniversary of key op amid Greek Cypriot tensions
Türkiye’s Peace Operation in 1974 brought immense relief to oppressed Turkish Cypriots in divided Cyprus and paved the way for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). As Türkiye and the TRNC prepare to mark its anniversary, the future still remains uncertain for Turkish Cypriots, except for the unwavering support in all venues by the guarantor state, Türkiye.
Little progress has been made since the 1974 operation to end the uncertainty over the status of Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots on the Mediterranean island. The TRNC remains widely unrecognized by the international community while Türkiye is steadfast in protecting them amid a lingering threat from Greek Cypriots, who managed to secure recognition as the so-called Republic of Cyprus that excludes Turkish Cypriots.
Turkish Cypriots’ equal sovereign rights remain an unresolved issue in ongoing talks between the two sides on the island, while Greek Cypriots expand their partnerships, especially with rivals of Türkiye in the Mediterranean.
Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz is expected to represent Türkiye at the events in Lefkoşa (Nicosia) in the TRNC to mark the anniversary, along with a large delegation from the country, including Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler and the military brass. Yılmaz already visited the TRNC on July 10 and attended the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Türkiye and the TRNC for the delivery of natural gas through an undersea pipeline. The Turkish navy will also dispatch a submarine and two vessels to the TRNC for port visits, and they will open to public visits on Monday. Around the same time, a center jointly established by the Turkish Cypriot and Turkish governments to monitor shipping traffic in the eastern Mediterranean will be inaugurated in Gazimağusa (Famagusta).
Ahead of the events, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense announced that Turkish fighter jets carried out a training flight south of the island in international airspace, in an apparent message to the Greek Cypriot administration, which often contests international waters and airspace around the island.
On Saturday, a group of Greek Cypriots converged near the Metehan border crossing for a provocative protest against Türkiye and Turkish Cypriots. The group chanted slogans calling for Türkiye’s expulsion from the island, referring to the Turkish military deployed on the northern side. The group also voiced opposition to the idea of a federation with Turkish Cypriots. The same group also announced that it would hold a parade at the Ledra Palace border crossing on Monday. According to media reports, Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides will also visit the Dherynia border crossing on Aug. 8 for an event to commemorate Tassos Isaac and Solomos Solomou, who died in riots in August 1996 near the border crossing. Isaac died during a confrontation between Greek and Turkish Cypriot protesters. His cousin, Solomou, died a few days later when Turkish troops shot him as he attempted to take down a Turkish flag in the buffer zone.
In the second half of the 20th century, Cyprus was the scene of Greek efforts to erase the Turkish Cypriot existence on the island. Fearing a Greek Cypriot plot to unite with Greece, which would ultimately put Turkish Cypriots under Greek Cypriot dominance, Türkiye launched the Cyprus Peace Operation in the summer of 1974. The operation led to a cease-fire two days later, but ongoing hostilities prompted Türkiye to launch the second stage of the operation on Aug. 14, 1974. The operations cost the lives of 498 Turkish soldiers and 786 Turkish Cypriot “mücahits,” members of paramilitary groups resisting Greek Cypriot attacks. The operation ensured a cessation of attacks by Greek Cypriots, and one year later, Turkish Cypriots declared the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus under the leadership of Rauf Denktaş. The state was renamed the TRNC in 1983.
The TRNC, however, faced major setbacks as it was not recognized globally and faced economic and political embargoes. It also sought to reconcile with Greek Cypriots, and the two sides agreed upon a series of talks in the early 2000s. Yet, after the Greek Cypriot administration was admitted to the European Union in 2004, efforts collapsed. The last round of concrete talks to end the division failed in 2017.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will travel to Cyprus later this month to discuss the future of talks between the two sides. He will meet with representatives of both sides, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said last Thursday, to underline a “strong demonstrated commitment to the Cyprus issue.”
On the anniversary of the operation, Ankara is expected to deliver stern messages regarding moves by Greek Cypriots and their backers to escalate tensions on the island, especially Greek Cypriots’ increasing military cooperation with Europe. France signaled earlier that it would boost its military presence on the island, while Greek Cypriots strengthened their alliance with Israel in defense and security, laying bare a new threat to Türkiye, which is concerned about Israel’s expansionist policies in the region. Türkiye was also angered by a recent report approved by the European Parliament that accused Turkish soldiers participating in the 1974 operation of sexual crimes against Greek Cypriots.
Speaking ahead of the anniversary, Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu said they would never give up Türkiye’s right to intervene in Cyprus.
Drawing attention to the failure of negotiations on the Cyprus issue over the past 60 years, Ertuğruloğlu told Anadolu Agency (AA): “As our founding President Rauf Denktaş also stated, the Cyprus issue is a question of status. While the Greek Cypriot side is viewed as the ruler and sole owner of a Hellenic island, the Turkish Cypriot side seeks to be reduced to minority status. If you sit at the negotiating table without equality, you will leave without equality. The 60-year negotiation process has failed because of this approach.” Ertuğruloğlu pointed out that the United Nations’ granting the Greek Cypriot side the status of the “Republic of Cyprus” was what created the Cyprus issue, and recalled that the European Union made a similar mistake in 2004. “The U.N. made this mistake, and in 2004 the EU repeated the same mistake. Now they expect us to legalize their mistakes. You can wait a very long time,” Ertuğruloğlu said, stressing that the EU could not be impartial on the Cyprus issue.
Emphasizing that the EU would remain detached from reality as long as it approached the Cyprus issue as though there were a Turkish occupation on the island, Ertuğruloğlu said there could be no solution unless Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots were granted equal status in Cyprus.
Sovereign and equal
Ertuğruloğlu explained that the foreign policy of the TRNC would not abandon its policy of two sovereign and equal states with equal international status, saying: “We have our own state, we have our motherland, and we have our army. Let no one come here hoping to deceive us.”
Minister Ertuğruloğlu also addressed the issue of the “guarantor powers” in Cyprus, saying: “Britain and Greece have not fulfilled their responsibilities as guarantors throughout history. The only country that has fulfilled its responsibility as a guarantor is the Republic of Türkiye.”
Underlining that the Cyprus issue stemmed from Greek Cypriot aggression that began in 1963 and the denial of the political equality of the two partners, Ertuğruloğlu said: “We will not give up Türkiye’s right to intervene in Cyprus. Türkiye’s right of unilateral intervention is indispensable for Turkish Cypriots. We will never give that up either.”
Ertuğruloğlu said the Cyprus issue began in 1963 and that approaches portraying Türkiye as having intervened in Cyprus on July 20, 1974, “for no reason,” without acknowledging this fact, were entirely incompatible with historical realities. “The Cyprus Peace Operation was not the beginning of the problem; in a sense, it was the solution,” he said.
Recalling that the intervention of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in Cyprus on July 20, 1974, saved the Turkish people on the island from genocide and enabled them to rebuild their lives, Ertuğruloğlu said that 52 years ago, the island was prevented from becoming a Hellenic island through the shoulder-to-shoulder struggle of Turkish soldiers and Turkish Cypriot fighters.
Pointing out that the Turkish army was a deterrent, rather than an aggressive force, Ertuğruloğlu stressed that Türkiye’s strength was evident in every field.
Ertuğruloğlu concluded by saying that they commemorated with mercy those who were martyred and with gratitude those who became veterans during the Cyprus Peace Operation, adding that as long as Türkiye exists, the Turkish Cypriot people will never again experience the painful days of the past.
A renewed push in the case into the death of nationalist politician Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu may finally bring closure to his family and his Great Union Party (BBP), which has long claimed the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) may have played a role in the helicopter crash that killed him in 2009.
Yazıcıoğlu, his aides and a journalist were traveling in the southern province of Kahramanmaraş on March 25, 2009, when their helicopter crashed in a mountainous area. Search-and-rescue efforts were stalled due to bad weather, but an earlier investigation into the crash had suggested that the efforts could have been deliberately delayed. Still, no substantial progress was made in the case, except for findings that indirectly pointed to the involvement of people linked to FETÖ in delaying the search efforts. Earlier this month, authorities detained new suspects in the case, including a military pilot with alleged ties to the terrorist group, whose leader had “hailed” the death of Yazıcıoğlu, a staunch critic of the group.
BBP Deputy Chair Ekrem Alfatlı told Ihlas News Agency (IHA) on Tuesday that they had been waiting for “justice” for 17 years and for “the truth to be revealed.” “Now, there is a new process,” he said, lauding the course of the investigation. He noted that the case was transferred to Ankara from Kahramanmaraş, which meant a new in-depth investigation focusing on “deliberate manslaughter.”
“This was not an accident,” Alfatlı said, emphasizing that it was an “assassination.”
“BBP awaits the truth to be revealed. Transferring the case from Kahramanmaraş to Ankara is an important development, especially in terms of the legal aspect of the case. Previously, the case was handled mostly as allegations of theft and negligence,” he said, referring to allegations that GPS devices had been removed from the crashed helicopter, reportedly as part of a cover-up.
Alfatlı noted that many questions remained unanswered. “We expect answers on why the helicopter’s location could not be determined quickly, why high levels of carbon monoxide were found in the blood of those who lost their lives, why radar systems went offline for 4.5 minutes at the exact moment of the crash and failed to capture any images, why the helicopter was searched for in a different area despite claims that its location had been identified two hours after the incident, why the bodies were found by villagers three days later, and why certain equipment on the helicopter had been removed,” he said.
Kemal Yavuz, the lawyer for Yazıcıoğlu’s family, said aerial activity in the area at the time of the crash was crucial to the case. Yavuz said they had access to findings showing that hard drives containing radar records that may confirm the presence of three military jets near the crash site before the incident, and which reportedly caused the crash, were destroyed. Yavuz said this was the most important evidence indicating that the crash was not simply an accident. He said they obtained this data during an investigation in 2014 but later found that the findings recorded by military experts had subsequently been destroyed, according to official documents dating back to 2025. “We believe that the evidence was covered up,” he underlined.
Yavuz said the evidence and the recent detentions pointed to what they had been saying all along: that the crash was an assassination of Yazıcıoğlu by FETÖ. “FETÖ was most active in the Turkish air force in the past, so it is quite possible that they played a role in this case,” he said, referring to the terrorist group’s infiltration of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), which ultimately led to the 2016 coup attempt.
Fatma Kaplan Hürriyet, the mayor of the central Izmit district in the northwestern province of Kocaeli, was detained on Monday on corruption charges. Her husband, Murat Hürriyet, and 26 others were also detained in the same investigation. Other suspects include municipal bureaucrats.
Hürriyet, a former lawmaker for the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), was nominated by the party for the municipal post in 2019. She won a second term in 2024. She and the other suspects are charged with running a criminal organization, bribery, and rigging public tenders. Their detention was ordered by the Chief Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul, which neighbors Kocaeli. The office has led a series of investigations into CHP-run municipalities in Istanbul, including one that resulted in the imprisonment of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu last year.
The Chief Prosecutor’s Office said the detentions stem from an investigation based on the testimonies of suspects detained earlier, including those who confessed to wrongdoing, as well as statements from secret witnesses. Those statements culminated in a separate probe into past public tenders conducted by the Izmit Municipality.
The office said the owners of companies that submitted bids in public tenders, as well as those whose companies won the contracts, had family ties to municipal officials. It also alleged that companies providing services to the municipality were forced to pay fees to municipal officials in violation of regulations. Hürriyet’s husband is also accused of playing a role in tender processes and the recruitment of municipal staff, despite holding no official position at the municipality.
Dozens of CHP mayors and municipal bureaucrats have been detained or arrested over the past two years in corruption investigations. The majority of the allegations involve bribery in exchange for construction permits, which are otherwise subject to strict regulations, and the rigging of lucrative municipal tenders.
The spirit of Peace and Freedom Day gripped the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on Monday. Prominent guests from Türkiye joined locals to mark the anniversary of the 1974 Peace Operation launched by Ankara. The day marks a milestone in the community’s struggle for independence. In a message on the occasion, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pledged that they would not abandon the people of the TRNC in their righteous cause, “as the motherland and guarantor state.”
Erdoğan’s message, issued through social media, was also a remembrance of martyrs and veterans who sacrificed their lives decades ago to stop attacks, atrocities and torture by Greek Cypriots on the divided island.
Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler represented Türkiye at the events in the TRNC, which included a military parade. Opposition politician Müsavat Dervişoğlu also joined the events.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also issued a message on the occasion, stating that the military intervention secured the freedom, security and future of the Turkish Cypriot people while reaffirming Ankara’s commitment to defending their rights.
“We proudly and enthusiastically celebrate the 52nd anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation, which secured the freedom, security and future of the Turkish Cypriot people,” Fidan said in a statement shared on social media.
He said that on this day, 52 years ago, Türkiye acted in line with the rights and obligations arising from the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, carrying out the Cyprus Peace Operation alongside Turkish Cypriot resistance fighters.
“Türkiye, shoulder to shoulder with our heroic Mujahideen, ensured the safety of our Turkish Cypriot brothers and sisters, who were facing the threat of annihilation, and guaranteed their presence on the island,” Fidan said. He added that the Turkish Armed Forces also laid the foundation for the peace, stability and security that have prevailed on the island for more than half a century.
“Today, Turkish Cypriots continue their lives freely, honorably and securely under the roof of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,” he said. Reaffirming Ankara’s position, Fidan said: “As the motherland and guarantor, Türkiye will continue, as it has in the past, to resolutely defend the rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriot people.”
He also paid tribute to the Turkish soldiers and Turkish Cypriot fighters who lost their lives during the operation, expressing gratitude to veterans for their service.
The Cyprus Peace Operation was the culmination of a series of developments that rocked the island following the establishment of the now-defunct Republic of Cyprus in 1960. The republic’s Constitution enshrined equal political rights and status for the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities, yet Greek Cypriots were intent on obtaining more.
The dominant mindset among Greek Cypriots was “Enosis,” or unification with Greece. In 1963, the republic collapsed after Greek Cypriots unilaterally nullified the Constitution. The following years saw heavy armament within the Greek Cypriot community, with the support of Greece, and escalating harassment of Turkish Cypriots.
In 1963, Greek Cypriot gangs started implementing the “Akritas Plan,” outlined in an eponymous secret document that proposed methods to neutralize the Turkish Cypriot community’s resistance to the idea of “Enosis.” The murder of two Turkish Cypriots in their car in Lefkoşa (Nicosia) on Dec. 20, 1963, was the first major instance of violence. More attacks followed, mostly claimed by the Greek Cypriot terrorist group EOKA. On Dec. 23, 1963, 21 Turkish Cypriots were shot dead execution-style. Within a year, dozens of Turkish Cypriots were killed in attacks.
Attacks prompted the rise of a secret Turkish Cypriot resistance movement whose members became known as “mücahits” (fighters). Türkiye initially limited its response to sending fighter jets to the island as a warning to Greek Cypriots. During one of those flights, Capt. Cengiz Topel of the Turkish Air Forces Command was captured by Greek Cypriots after his plane was shot down. Topel was tortured to death in captivity, while more Turkish military flights followed.
Although it secretly supported the Turkish Cypriots, Türkiye opted for diplomacy to resolve the issue for years. When EOKA leader Nikos Sampson, backed by the military junta in Greece, seized power on July 15, 1974, Türkiye decided to greenlight military action. Ankara initially suggested joint military action to the United Kingdom, another guarantor state for the island, but London declined. The Turkish coalition government of Bülent Ecevit and Deputy Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan agreed to launch the military operation, invoking Türkiye’s status as a guarantor state.
Türkiye ceased military action two days after it began, seeking to pursue diplomacy again. Talks among the guarantor states ended with the Geneva Declaration on July 30, 1974, which called for the evacuation of Turkish Cypriot enclaves occupied by Greek Cypriots and the restoration of constitutional order.
In the second round of talks on Aug. 8, 1974, Greece rejected the proposal for restoration and insisted on the withdrawal of Turkish forces from the island, while Greek troops and Greek Cypriot militias had not withdrawn from the Turkish Cypriot enclaves. As the talks failed, Türkiye declared the launch of the second operation on Aug. 14, with the now-famous code phrase ordering the operation: “Let Ayşe go for vacation.”
The operation lasted two days but was enough to push back the Greek Cypriots. More violence followed, however, as Greek Cypriot troops massacred villagers during their withdrawal. The Turkish army lost 498 soldiers during the operation, while 270 people, including 70 mücahits, were among the casualties in the Turkish Cypriot community.
The operation, which ultimately prevented Cyprus’ incorporation into Greece, paved the way for strengthening the safety of the Turkish Cypriot community. July 20 is observed as a memorial day by Greek Cypriots.
Since the 1970s, the U.N., which has maintained a peacekeeping force patrolling a 180-kilometer (116-mile) buffer zone bisecting Cyprus from east to west, has made several attempts to end the dispute, but to no avail. Greek Cypriot voters rejected a U.N. peace plan in a 2004 referendum, and the Greek Cypriot administration entered the European Union on its own, while Turkish Cypriots were denied the full benefits of membership.
Conquering fear
The Peace Operation is still a vivid memory for Turkish Cypriot mücahits. One of them, Nejat Kocaismail, hails what he calls the arrival of peace on the island. Hüseyin Arpalıklı recounts how they “conquered the fear” when Turkish troops landed in Cyprus. “I remember hugging the troops,” Arpalıklı told Anadolu Agency (AA) on the anniversary of the operation.
Halil Coşkun Alaslanlı remembers seeing Turkish troops hoisting their flag on Çadır Hill in the village of Gaziler on July 22, 1974. “We ran toward them and hugged them. Everyone was crying. They were tears of happiness. We then ran home and brought water to the soldiers. In turn, they shared their food with us. It was a day of excitement,” Alaslanlı said.
Coşkun Adaber was among the Turkish troops participating in the operation. Now serving as the head of a veterans’ association in the southern Turkish city of Adana, Adaber was a gendarmerie commando in 1974.
“We arrived in Kırnı (a logistics hub of the Turkish army in a mountainous area of Cyprus) by helicopter. We then joined paratroopers and a brigade. We were nervous and a little scared, but it did not last long,” he told Ihlas News Agency (IHA) on Monday.
Adaber spent 15 months in Cyprus, including more than nine months in the mountains of Cyprus.
Hacı Özdaş, another veteran from Adana, recounts arriving in Cyprus before dawn at a place “reeking of gunpowder.” “It was like Cyprus was on fire,” he said. Özdaş was an anti-aircraft gunner and remembers seeing soldiers crying after their vessel was struck by friendly fire. Özdaş still harbors good feelings for Cyprus.
“If they called me to action, I would gladly go back there to protect them. It is a mission for patriots,” he said.
The former chairperson of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) is rumored to make his final speech at the parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday. Multiple media outlets, particularly those associated with Özgür Özel, claimed he would declare the establishment of the “New Party” during the meeting, which will be broadcast live. He had earlier signaled that he might found the new party by the end of July.
Media reports say the Özel camp has already commissioned logos for the party and designated offices in Ankara. The country’s patent authority has also received applications to register the name “New Party,” but it remains unclear whether Özel or his associates submitted the application.
Özel was ousted from his post last May after a court ordered the reinstatement of his predecessor, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, citing irregularities in a 2023 intraparty vote in which Özel was elected to the top office. Özel has appealed the verdict, and the case is before the Supreme Court of Appeals, although it is not expected to be resolved soon. Last Friday, a court of appeals referred the case to the Supreme Court of Appeals for reassessment. The Supreme Court of Appeals is expected to issue a final verdict soon.
The Anka news agency, which has close links with the CHP, announced that Özel would formally apply to the Interior Ministry on July 27 for the establishment of the party.
Özel is also expected to hold a series of meetings this week regarding the new party. Following the CHP’s weekly parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday, he will meet with the party’s provincial chairpersons who opposed the current administration. On Wednesday, July 22, Özel will chair meetings with members of the CHP’s former Party Assembly and Central Executive Board. He is also expected to meet with his party’s lawmakers later this week.
Following the establishment of the new party, a large-scale realignment is expected to take place in Parliament. In the initial phase, at least 70 lawmakers are expected to join the new party, though this number is disputed by party sources close to Kılıçdaroğlu. Once the registration process is completed, the party is expected to announce a timetable for forming its leadership and parliamentary group.
Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry on Monday reaffirmed the country’s commitment to the Montreux Convention on the 90th anniversary of the deal regarding Türkiye’s straits.
“The Convention, which reaffirmed our country’s sovereignty over the Turkish Straits as its internal waters, has been implemented by Türkiye with neutrality, transparency and diligence for the past 90 years,” the ministry said in a statement.
“As one of the main guarantees of peace, security and stability in the Black Sea, the Convention has consistently remained in force in both times of peace and war, proving its enduring value,” it added.
“As it has done to date, Türkiye will continue to implement the Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits with the same determination in the years ahead,” the ministry said.
First enacted in November 1936, the 29-article Montreux Convention grants Türkiye control over the Bosporus and Dardanelles, allowing it to regulate the passage of naval warships while guaranteeing free transit for civilian vessels in peacetime.
The treaty imposes strict limits on non-Black Sea states, including caps on warship tonnage and a maximum stay of 21 days in the Black Sea.
Notably, under Article 21, Türkiye has the right to close the straits to protect itself in times of war or when it perceives an imminent threat.
The Convention is under the spotlight as Black Sea security faces the risk of spillover from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Türkiye’s Center for Countering Disinformation (DMM) rejected Monday claims circulating on social media that Türkiye is an occupying power on the island of Cyprus, saying its military presence there is lawful under international agreements.
In a statement, the center said Türkiye’s 1974 Cyprus Peace Operation was carried out to stop attacks and systematic massacres targeting the Turkish Cypriot community.
The DMM said the intervention was conducted within the framework of Türkiye’s rights and obligations under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, arguing that the operation helped restore peace on the island and paved the way for the collapse of Greece’s military junta.
The center dismissed claims that the presence of Turkish troops in northern Cyprus is illegitimate, saying they remain a guarantor of the security, sovereignty and safety of the Turkish Cypriot people.
It also accused unnamed actors of spreading disinformation by portraying Türkiye’s actions as an occupation, arguing that such narratives ignore international law and historical developments.
Türkiye has maintained that its military presence in northern Cyprus is based on its guarantor status under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee. Under the leadership of President Erdoğan, Türkiye continues to implement policies that provide full support to Turkish Cypriots.
Greek Cypriots advocate for the reunification of the island with a bi-communal administrative system, while the TRNC insists on a two-state solution where it will be recognized as a sovereign state.
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