33 years since the Turkish invasion - Cyprus marks tragic anniversary

On 20 July 1974, at dawn, the Turkish military hits Cyprus with all three corps, namely the army, navy and air force, five days after the coup against Cyprus President, Archbishop Makarios III, engineered by the military junta then ruling Greece.

Turkish aircraft begin bombing significant targets and dropping parachutists north of Nicosia, while warships and landing craft appear off Pente Mili, eight km west of the island's northern coastal town of Kyrenia, where the Turks manage to create an assault bridge.

On 22 July 1974 at 16:00 local time, a ceasefire agreement is enforced. Meanwhile, the Turks have extended their assault bridge, capturing the town of Kyrenia and surrounding villages, joining the assault bridge with Turkish Cypriot enclaves, thus placing a larger section under their control.

Violating the UN-brokered ceasefire agreement, the Turkish forces advance in all directions, extending their assault bridge.The Greek Cypriot forces manage to break the main Turkish Cypriot strongholds but are unable to cut off the invasion itself.And as the first refugees appear in other areas of Cyprus, US-incited moves ignite a series of events, which lead to averting a broader military clash between Greece and Turkey, and the handing over of the Republic of Cyprus' leadership by Nicos Sampson.

The Greek government has in the meantime dissolved and Greek politician Constantinos Karamanlis returns to Athens from Paris, where he had been self-exiled.

On 25 July 1974, peace talks begin in Geneva at a British initiative, between Britain, Turkey and Greece, Cyprus' three guarantor powers under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantees. After five days of talks, they reach an agreement providing, among other things, for the termination of any aggressive activities.

However, the Turkish troops continue to improve their positions and expand their initial assault bridge.

On 8 August 1974, talks resume in Geneva, this time with the participation of the representatives of the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, Glafcos Clerides and Rauf Denktash. In the afternoon of 13 August 1974, it is announced that the talks have collapsed.

On 14 August 1974, at daybreak, Turkey launches a new military assault.

The Turkish forces, which have in the meantime been strengthened, advance almost undisturbed and capture the Karpass Peninsula, reaching Famagusta in the east and the area of Tilliria in the west.

On 16 August 1974 at 18:00 local time a new ceasefire is imposed. Meanwhile, the Turks have captured the area just outside the old town of Famagusta and villages in the Nicosia District.

Cyprus is licking its wounds.

According to official data, 36.2% of the sovereign territory of Cyprus is still under illegal military occupation by Turkey.

More than 162,000 Greek Cypriots, about a quarter of the total population, who were forcibly expelled from the occupied northern part of the island, where they constituted about 70% of the population, are still deprived of the right to return to their homes and properties.

Some 1,900 persons, among them several hundred civilians, are listed as missing persons.

The Turkish side refuses to cooperate in ascertaining their fate.

Some 1,500 Greek and Maronite Cypriots, out of 20,000 at the end of August 1974, remain enclaved in their villages which are still occupied. These people are living under conditions of oppression, harassment and deprivation.

The rest were forced to abandon their homes and become refugees.

More than 43,000 troops from Turkey, heavily armed with the latest weapons, supported by air, land and sea power, are illegally stationed in the occupied area, making it one of the most militarized regions in the world.

Over 160,000 settlers from Turkey have been illegally brought to colonise the occupied area and alter the demographic structure of Cyprus. The colonisation of Cyprus has been deplored by the international community and the Turkish Cypriots themselves.

Furthermore, 58,000 out of the 116,000 Turkish Cypriots have emigrated from the island since Turkey’s invasion, according to Turkish Cypriot sources, because of the economic, social and moral deprivation which prevails in the occupied areas.

Turkish Cypriots are now vastly outnumbered by troops and settlers from Turkey.Illegal construction on Greek Cypriot land and illegal sale of property owned by Greek Cypriots who were forcibly expelled from their homes by Turkey’s invasion have intensified.

This unprecedented usurpation of property is yet another flagrant violation of human rights by the Turkish side.Turkey and the illegal Turkish Cypriot regime continue to destroy, deliberately and methodically, the Hellenic and Christian cultural and historical heritage in occupied Cyprus.

Press reports and testimonies show that more than 500 Greek Orthodox churches and chapels and 17 monasteries that are located in towns and villages of the occupied part of the island have been pillaged, deliberately vandalised or torn down.

The current location of their ecclesiastical furnishings and items, which include more than 15,000 icons, remains unknown to this day. Many of the icons and frescoes in churches were smuggled abroad and sold to private collections.

The consequences of the invasion on the Cypriot economy were devastating. About 70% of the gross output has been lost, along with 65% of the tourist accommodation capacity, 87% of hotel beds under construction, 83% of the general cargo handling capacity, 56% of mining and quarrying output, 41% of livestock production, 48% of agricultural exports, 46% of industrial production, 20% of state forests, 36.2% of housing stock, and 38.3% of school buildings.

According to a study conducted by the Economic Department of the University of Cyprus indicates that the direct loss of wealth and productive capacity caused by the invasion and occupation was huge.

At the same time, a climate of instability and insecurity was created, which impinged economic activity.The consequences of the invasion are not exhausted in 1974. The initial reduction of the per capita income had a negative impact on the subsequent course of the Cypriot economy, while the continuing occupation and deprivation of access rights creates significant financial losses to the legitimate owners of properties in the occupied areas.

By the year 2000, according to the study, the accumulated cost of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus reached 6.8 billion Cyprus pounds, which translates into about 11.6 billion euros. The accumulated gross cost for the refugees and sufferers was 4 billion pounds, while the losses of the Turkish Cypriots forced to abandon their homes in the government-controlled areas of the Republic was 1 billion pounds for the period 1974-1999, in terms of 1995 prices.

Despite the serious losses, despite the refusal of Turkey to comply with numerous resolutions, blatantly violating the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Greek Cypriots, despite unilateral actions on behalf of the Greek Cypriot side to create conditions of trust, such as the destruction of landmines, despite the difficulties the country has faced to secure financial robustness after the devastating consequences of the invasion, the Republic of Cyprus has proven that it can play a role in the European and international scene, and defend its entity and dignity.

The Republic of Cyprus manages an ''economic miracle,'' the quality of life in the semi-occupied island improves drastically, and the country joins the European Union on 1 May 2004, with the implementation of the acquis communautaire suspended in the occupied areas.

Meanwhile, Ankara continues to to support militarily, politically and financially the illegal entity, which unilaterally declared independence on 15 November 1983, (branded ''legally invalid'' by UN Resolution 541 of 1984).

The allegation that the Turkish Cypriots are kept isolated is projected internationally. On 23 April 2003, the puppet regime partially lifted restrictions on the free movement of citizens, after demonstrations in the occupied areas.A series of UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, as well as resolutions adopted by numerous other international organisations, reflect the universal condemnation of Turkey’s invasion and all subsequent acts of aggression against Cyprus, including mass violations of human rights.

Successive rounds of UN-sponsored talks between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities to resolve the Cyprus problem have been undermined by the Turkish side which has sought a settlement that in effect would leave Cyprus permanently divided and hostage to foreign interests.

The Greek Cypriots, on the other hand, have been insisting on the genuine reunification of the island, its institutions and its people.Today, Cyprus is still counting its losses.Today, the Turkish threat is still hovering over Cyprus. The violations of Cyprus' airspace and the Nicosia FIR are continuing.

The occupation army is being strengthened.

Turkey is obstructing Cyprus' participation in international organisations. The Turkish side is maintaining its intransigent stance and delaying tactics in efforts to solve the Cyprus problem.

Today, 33 years after the invasion, the refugees are still waiting for the day they will be able to return to their homes.

The relatives of missing persons are still waiting to hear what happened to their loved ones.

The people of Cyprus are still waiting for a just settlement and the reunification of their homeland.

And the distressing anniversaries of the 1974 Turkish invasion continue to come and go.