Cyprus marks 40 years of division

NICOSIA — Sirens wailed in Greek Cypriot towns and villages Sunday as Cyprus marked the 40th anniversary of Turkey’s invasion still a divided island despite countless UN-brokered peace initiatives.

In the breakaway north, Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul joined Turkish Cypriot celebrations of the 1974 “peace operation” when mainland troops invaded with the declared aim of protecting the minority community after a Greek-engineered coup to unite the island with Greece.

But in the government-held south, both events are commemorated as “black anniversaries” that led to the presence of tens of thousands of Turkish troops on the island that continues to this day.

The coup failed but within weeks Turkish soldiers had seized 37 per cent of the Mediterranean island, leaving 160,000 Greek Cypriots displaced and hundreds more listed as missing, as well dislodging tens of thousands of Turkish Cypriots.

At a memorial service in Nicosia, the world’s last divided capital, President Nicos Anastasiades said that 40 years of division was far too long, and it was time for peace and reunification.

“Forty years is enough for everyone. Not only for us but also for Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots to realise that a solution will be to the benefit of all our people,” Anastasiades said.

He criticised Gul’s visit to the breakaway north for a military parade to celebrate the anniversary as a “provocation”.

The Cypriot president called on Ankara to show “active and substantial engagement” to help find a solution.

But in Turkish Cypriot-held northern Nicosia, Gul charged that the Greek Cypriot leadership was to blame for the slow progress of UN-backed peace negotiations.

“A comprehensive solution is possible only if it is based on the realities on the island,” the Turkish president said.

“What’s needed for a solution on Cyprus is political will. The Turkish Cypriot side has demonstrated this will.”

Gul vowed continued support for the Turkish Cypriots from Ankara, the only government in the world to recognise the breakaway Turkish Republic of North Cyprus.

“The support given to the Turkish Cypriots to proceed toward a bright future will continue. Turkey has stood by you in all circumstances and will continue to do so in the future,” he said.

The first Turkish troops landed on a beachhead on the north coast of Kyrenia at 5:30am on July 20, 1974. Sirens wailed across the Greek Cypriot side on Sunday to coincide with the timing.

Greek Cypriot authorities say the one-sided conflict against mighty Turkey cost 3,000 lives and wounded thousands more, while 1,619 people were listed as missing.

For Greek Cypriots, 1974 and the continuing presence of Turkish troops lie at the heart of the conflict.

The two sides relaunched UN-brokered talks aimed at reunifying Cyprus in February after a two-year hiatus, with the US believed to have played a major behind-the-scenes role.Rounds of talks have failed in the past, partly because of still-raw emotions on both sides of the UN-patrolled ceasefire line which cuts across the island.