Turkish leader blasts Cyprus ‘invasion discourse’

Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat yesterday called on Greek Cypriots and the international community to review their interpretation events that led to the partition of the island in 1974.

Speaking at a military parade to mark the 33rd anniversary of the Turkish invasion, Talat said that describing the events of 1974 merely in terms of an invasion was both “wrong and dangerous” because it “totally denies the complicated background to the Cyprus issue”. “It is rude and simplistic… and only serves to polarise Greeks and Turks,” he told an audience of dignitaries, military officials and members of the public in the Turkish occupied and military controlled north area of Cyprus’ capital Nicosia. The “invasion discourse” also failed to take into account the “longstanding sufferings” of the Turkish Cypriot community, he said, adding that what led to Turkey’s so-called “peace operation” were “many thousands of acts of violence towards my people”.

Talat’s speech included an oft-repeated call on the EU and the international community to “persuade” the Cypriot government to ease blockades on trade and international fights to the north. By not doing so, Talat said, the EU and the UN were supporting a Greek Cypriot policy that sought to assimilate Turkish Cypriots into a Hellenic state.

Visiting the Turkish military-controlled and occupied north area of the Republic of Cyprus for the occasion, Turkish Minister of State Abdullatif Sener speech warned the Cypriot government against prospecting for oil in the eastern Mediterranean. “We are watching them, the Greek Cypriots, closely,” he said. The speeches were followed by a display of military hardware and personnel.

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