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.