The Defense Ministry released a statement on its website Sunday stressing that the only solution in Cyprus is a two-state structure.
Reiterating that the Greek Cypriot terrorist organization EOKA began systematically attacking the Turkish Cypriots from 1958, the statement said, "These attacks turned into a genocide with torture and brutal murders against the Turks over time."
The statement also pointed out that the barbaric massacres committed against the Turks in Cyprus on Dec. 23, 1963, is known as "Bloody Christmas" and will never be forgotten.
"The terrorists and their cowardly supporters continued their attacks for a long time to destroy our kinsmen, regardless of the victims being children, women or elderly. The heroic TSK (Turkish Armed Forces) took action in July 1974 to put an end to this persecution and establish peace on the island, which had turned into a fire. Within the framework of the guarantor rights, the security of both Turks and Greeks was ensured through the Cyprus Peace Operation, which took place 48 years ago.
"Those who call the Cyprus Peace Operation an occupation and those who ignore the historical facts are the ones who try to prevent the world from seeing the massacres between 1958-1974. There has not been a single loss of life on the island since the Peace Operation, and peace, tranquility and serenity have been brought to the island by TSK.
"It should now be seen that the only solution in Cyprus is a two-state structure. We will always continue to stand by our Turkish Cypriot brothers in their deserving cause," stated the Defense Ministry.
During EOKA's terror campaign during the 1963 Christmas season, 374 Turkish Cypriots were killed, 109 Turkish villages were forced to evacuate, over 2,500 Turkish houses were severely damaged or demolished, and between 25,000 and 30,000 Turkish Cypriots became refugees, according to a United Nations report released on Sep.10, 1964.
While Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration support a federation on Cyprus, Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) insist on a two-state solution that reflects the realities on the island.
The island has been divided since 1964 when the ethnic attacks forced the Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety. In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aiming at Greece's annexation led to Turkey's military intervention as a guarantor power. The TRNC was founded in 1983.
The Greek Cypriot administration, backed by Greece, became a member of the European Union in 2004, despite most Greek Cypriots rejecting a U.N. settlement plan in a referendum that year, which had envisaged a reunited Cyprus joining the EU.