LEFKOSA, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Turkish Cypriot veterans who took part in the Cyprus Peace Operation of 1974 recalled their winning moments as well as trials and tribulations.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Besim Faruk Can said: "After the Cyprus Peace Operation which Türkiye carried out in 1974, peace came to the Island not only for the Turkish Cypriots but also for the Greek Cypriots."
In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island led to Türkiye's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence.
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will mark the 48th anniversary of the operation on July 20.
Right after the coup, Greek Cypriots began attacking Turkish Cypriots, Can said.
The Greek Cypriots seized the weapons of Turkish Cypriots and carried out atrocities in Turkish Cypriot-majority villages.
Can said if Turkish soldiers had not set foot in Cyprus, it would have been the death of Turkishness on the island.
"Nearly 50 years have passed since Türkiye’s intervention, and no one has been attacked," he added.
The presence of Turkish soldiers on the island guarantees peace, he added.
Sharing the popular opinion on the island, Can said the two-state solution in Cyprus will be more permanent and peaceful.
Another veteran, Omer Ozyildirim told Anadolu Agency that Turkish Cypriots used to live in very bad conditions before Türkiye’s peace operation.
"Between 1963-1974, the Greeks abducted several people from our village and butchered them. We used to be afraid even of going out," he said.
He recalled that Greek Cypriots had gathered in their village to take Turkish men to the prison camp before the operation.
Ozyildirim stated that he did not trust the Greek Cypriots and fled to the mountains and risked death rather than being captured.
Ozyildirim said the Greek Cypriots massacred the people who surrendered to them.
Recalling those days in Cyprus, he said that before Türkiye’s peace operation Turkish Cypriots handed over their weapons to the UN Peacekeeping Force, which “gave all our weapons to Greek Cypriot police.”
Putting his distrust in the UN and other international organizations into words, Ozyildirim said: "I never trust the UN Peacekeeping Force, the US or NATO, I only trust the Turkish Armed Forces."
