Remembering 20 July 1974 and On Turkish Cypriots

Turkish Cypriots:

Unfortunately, one of the questions and criticisms I frequently encounter when I am in Turkey is that the Turkish Cypriots' feelings about Turkey are far from loyalty and they generally do not like Turkey. I try to understand why people think like this, why they pursue such an idea, and as a Turkish person, I try to find the answer to this question as a Turkish person with one foot in the Taurus Mountains and the other in the Beşparmak. In fact, before saying why it is like this, it would be useful to take a look at how it came to these days, at least until the 2000s.

Exactly 307 years after Cyprus was conquered on the morning of September 9 in 1571 (that's why September 9 has a special importance and meaning for the Turkish Cypriots), at a time when the Ottoman Empire was in the process of decline, it was sent to England as a part of Britain's insidious policy. is rented. Interestingly, England would pay the rent with the taxes it collected from the inhabitants of the island, until 1914. During the handover ceremony held in front of the Governor's Office in Nicosia, on the day the island came under British rule and British soldiers set foot on the island, the British flag was hoisted, while Şeherli Memed, that is, Memed from Nicosia (the grandfather of TRNC Founding President Rauf R. Denktaş) became the common voice of all Turkish Cypriots. and “The Ottoman is gone today; But they will surely come again one day.” says. The year is 1878.

37 years pass and the Ottoman Empire finds itself at war in alliance with the Germans, and the collapse of the already shaky empire accelerates. Just these days, England begins to land soldiers on the Gallipoli Peninsula with the intention of crossing the Dardanelles with its allies and, in Churchill's words, squeezing the Turks' throats. Naturally, there are Turkish and Greek soldiers from the island of Cyprus, which was a British colony in those days, among the soldiers serving in the British army. ” they refuse to fight at the cost of war. These Turkish Cypriots are sentenced to the harshest punishments by the British. There are those who were put to death, those who were sentenced to exile, those who were sentenced to hard labor, those who were thrown into prison, and even those who were shot; but they will never take action against the motherland.

Turkish Cypriots were there in "Canakkale Impenetrable":

The year is 1916, and the colonialist England brings the Turkish soldiers captured in the Anatolian lands and on the Çanakkale front to the Karakol/Caraolos prisoner camp, which he established on the island of Cyprus for strategic reasons, since 13 October 1916. In the meantime, it comes to mind that “The war in Çanakkale was over at the end of 1915. Where were these captives held until then?” question may arise. The Turks who were taken captive in Çanakkale were kept in the Sea of ​​Islands until they were brought to Cyprus on 13 October 1916, that is, on the island of Meis, where we now unfortunately play into the hands of the Greeks by calling it the "Aegean Sea". In this prison camp, which remained open until March 30, 1920, trying to save 6,732 Turkish prisoners of war in Çanakkale, sabotaging the British prison camp, succeeding in smuggling the prisoners from the camp and hiding them in caves or houses, then transporting them to Anatolia, lying in dungeons at the expense of saving Turkish prisoners, and spending their lives in prison. There are dozens of Turkish Cypriots who lost their lives and they say, “Let the motherland be safe and sound, our lives are worthless.” they always show that their direction is Anatolia, the Taurus Mountains, the Mediterranean and the homeland.

May 19, 1919 Is Also Important For Turkish Cypriots

The year is 1919 and there are Turkish Cypriots among those gathered around the fire of freedom lit by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Anatolia. Dr. Esat Bey, Dr. The Turkish Cypriots, organized by the community leaders of the period, such as Behiç Bey and Hasan Karabardak, said, “We would rather die than live in a pitiful state.” saying, they support the National Struggle in Anatolia with plays, theatres, companies, performances, aid activities to the Red Crescent (Red Crescent), donations and bazaars, and they also help logistic with medicine, quinine, mules, clothing and food items and Dr. Like Esat Bey's wife, tens of Turkish Cypriot people came to Anatolia personally and became Kuvayi Nationalists. The year is 1940 and the Second World War has begun. Britain, who saw and humiliated the people living in the lands that were colonized until that day, as a secondary race, again embraced the Turkish and Greek Cypriots when they were helpless, just like in the first great war. Britain, which closed the industrial facilities, mines and government offices on the island, thus compelled people to enlist in the military.

Mullers:

These people, called "Muleteers", whose duties are to carry materials, tailor, drive, cook, operate telephones, repair and work with mules behind the front, are driven to the front lines from Italy to Greece, from the African deserts to Palestine when there is a shortage of soldiers. In this way, a muleteer unit consisting of Turks is in the border area just below the Suruç district of Şanlıurfa, and Turkey has broken the bridges in the meetings held in Adana between Churchill and İnönü. İnönü, who does not listen to the blackmail and threats of England (and also Germany during the war), keeps the country out of the war; however, preparations are being made as if there will be a war at any moment. Just in these critical days, the muleteers in question gathered secretly and said, "If England declares war on Turkey, we will cross the border with as many weapons and ammunition as we can and join the Turkish army." they swear.

The year is 1950 and the Turkish Cypriots have been trying to defend themselves since April 1, 1955, against EOKA, the bloody terrorist organization founded by Greece on the island of Cyprus, to Colonel Grivas, who showed what treason means by cooperating with the fascist German forces that occupied the country during the Second World War in Greece. When they set up underground organizations such as 9 Eylül, Karaçete, Volkan, consisting of amateur, regional but extremely patriotic young people, the state of the Republic of Turkey, its legitimate government and the legitimate Turkish Armed Forces step in. While re-planning the Turkish Resistance Organization with the help of Turkey's most distinguished officers, who gained experience in underground wars in Korea since 1958, the Turkish Cypriots said, "Let nothing happen to our motherland Turkey, let it not harm it, we will suffer." and they are fighting shoulder to shoulder against terrorist EOKA militants at TMT with heroic Turkish officers who are experts in underground warfare from Turkey. The point that should be remembered here is that the legitimate government of Turkey (the government of Adnan Menderes, who ruled in the 1950-1960 period), protects the life, property and most importantly the honor security of the Turkish Cypriots, which is carried out in Cyprus by the legitimate Turkish Grand National Assembly and the legitimate Turkish Armed Forces, in accordance with the law and approved by the Parliament. These activities for a long time and by "known" circles and parties are trying to be drawn to absurd and unreasonable places.

EOKA Threat and Terrorist Organization:

48 years ago today, Cyprus is experiencing the silence before the storm in July, and especially Turkish Cypriots experience all of these very closely. EOKA, which was established by a retired Greek officer, Lieutenant Colonel Georges Grivas, with the great opportunities and military support provided by Greece, turns the island into a bloodbath as of April 1, 1955. Since this date, the island has become uninhabitable for the Turkish Cypriots and people are looking for ways to protect their lives, property and honor.

The Turkish Cypriots, who tried to resist with local organizations such as Volkan, 9 September, and Karaçete, against the support of EOKA's professional military think tank and Greece, and tried to protect their lives, property and honor, started the Turkish Resistance Organization (TMT) with the intervention of Turkey since 1958. they establish. Colonel Ali Rıza Vuruşkan, who ran TMT with the code name "Ali Conan", known as Bayraktar and Bozkurt, and behind a front job such as a bank inspector, goes into the recent history of the island with golden letters. TMT, which was completely on the defensive against the Greek Cypriot attacks and had no other purpose than to protect and defend the Turkish Cypriots, entered this sacred duty underground until December 21, 1963, keeping its secretiveness.

Intervention Expected from the Guarantor States:

Although the Republic of Cyprus, which was established on 16 August 1960 under the guarantee of Turkey, England and Greece, seems to have brought the Turks and Greeks together, it has been revealed that the Greeks and Greeks continued their armed struggle from where they left off in order to include the island in Greece and to realize the endless dream of Megali Idea. will come out. The most important proof of this, known to the world, is the murder of Major (deceased retired Brigadier General) Nihat İlhan's wife and three children in their house in the Kumsal area of ​​Nicosia on 23 December 1963, which entered the recent history of Cyprus as a Bloody Christmas. Immediately after this incident, TMT deciphered its secrecy to some extent and emerged from the underground to the surface and started to fight against the armed EOKA mercenaries. After this period of bloody events, unfortunately, the life of the Republic of Cyprus will not last long and the established state will actually disappear. All these events ignite rather than dull the Enosis thoughts and Megali Idea dreams of Greek Cypriots and Greece, and the Greek attacks come almost until 1974.

20 July 1974:

By July 15, 1974, the fascist Colonels' Junta was in power in Greece and there were serious differences of opinion with Archbishop Makarios, who held the administration on the island. In the face of the irresistible attraction of power, Makarios, who resisted Greece and opened the flag of rebellion, tries to find himself a place among the Non-Aligned Group and third world countries. Makarios, who rested against the sanctions imposed by the Colonels' Junta, thus pulled his own rope and as a result of all this, he was removed from power by the putschists, whose head was led by Nikos Sampson, the owner of Mahi newspaper and one of the bloodiest murderers of EOKA, on July 15, 1974. Sampson declares himself President and the Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots are informed that the country has been liberated (!) and that everyone is safe (!).

However, it will not be like that at all, and just as it has been since the 1950s, it will be the turn of the Turkish Cypriots and the island will be turned into a full Greek-Greek island; however, the account at home will not match the market and Turkey will intervene as a guarantor state 5 days later.

Conclusion:

This week, we have completed the 48th anniversary of the 20 July 1974 Happy Peace Operation, which was carried out by the TAF to put an end to the 15 July Greek coup, which was launched to massacre the Turkish Cypriots on the island, based on the guarantee rights arising from the London and Zurich agreements, which formed the basis of the Republic of Cyprus. If you ask about Turkish Cypriots, some of their grandparents are from Anamur, some from Silifke, some from Karaman, some from Fethiye, and some from Adana. In short, almost all of the Taurus Mountains from the south side of the mountain range starting from Fethiye and extending to Kahramanmaraş.

You decide whether you have flesh and nails, air and water, essence, heart or soul. The Cyprus leg of the game of "depersonalization and de-identification", which has been deliberately played on the island by the "known and partisan" circles in Turkey and Cyprus in recent years, and one scene in Turkey, has slowed down relatively, although it is not completely finished. We are the soil of the same pot, let there be carnations, poppies, hyacinths and daffodils among us. Let's be colorful, be dough, be us because this is our homeland, our land that we make homeland.