Ünal Üstel, the prime minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), condemned Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides for statements praising the terrorist group EOKA on the latter’s anniversary of foundation. “It is basically ignoring the oppression Turkish Cypriots are exposed to,” Üstel said in a statement on Thursday.
Founded by Georgios Grivas in 1954, EOKA staged its first terrorist attack a year later. However, its primary objective was to fight against the British occupiers of the island in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The terror group began committing more terrorist attacks and massacres against Turkish Cypriots in 1958, in line with its goals of clearing the island of Turks and uniting it with Greece.
EOKA has been notorious since then for its crimes against Turks and is listed as a terrorist organization, but celebrations continue to be held in the Greek Cypriot party of divided Cyprus every year for its foundation. This year’s celebrations on the Greek Cypriot side were also the scene of attacks by a Greek Cypriot group toward Turkish Cypriots in a park on the other side of the buffer zone between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot sides. Masked assailants have hurled homemade explosives and rocks at Turkish Cypriots before the arrival of Turkish soldiers to the park forced them to flee.
Üstel stated that portraying EOKA as part of "a fight for national liberation" and conveying it to new generations in this manner meant distorting the historical facts. “For Turkish Cypriot people, EOKA does not mean a movement of struggle, it is synonymous with massacres, attacks and systematic pressure. It is unacceptable to extol this group and revive it in collective memory, while it is known what the Turkish Cypriot people suffered. This approach contradicts any effort to build a common future on the island,” he said.
Commenting on Wednesday’s attacks on the buffer zone, the prime minister said it laid bare gaps in security measures in the buffer zone, calling on the U.N. peacekeepers stationed there to take responsibility. “This is a dire development for civilians and is unacceptable. We also expect the Greek Cypriot administration to launch an investigation into this attack and bring those involved to justice, to prevent further escalation of tensions,” he said.
