Turkish Occupation of Cyprus

Since proclaiming independence nine years after Turkey invaded in response to a coup aimed at uniting Cyprus with Greece, only Ankara has acknowledged the north of the island as a separate state. In stark contrast to the EU-member south, northern Cyprus is isolated internationally and prone to the whims of Turkey.

16 years after Greek Cypriots rejected reunification in a referendum, and more than three years after the collapse of peace talks that came close to a settlement, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was met by demonstrators as he flew to northern Cyprus for celebrations marking its unilateral declaration of independence.

Many demonstrators expressed dismay over Erdoğan’s decision to use the occasion to enjoy a picnic in the controversially reopened beach resort of Varosha, holding banners that said: “No picnic over pain”. The resort visit has been widely condemned for violating UN resolutions aimed at reuniting the war-torn island.

Last month Ersin Tatar, a nationalist hardliner backed by Ankara, won elections in the self-styled republic. Like Erdoğan, Tatar has vigorously espoused a two-state solution to resolving a dispute that has bewildered international mediators for decades.

Most of those who took to the streets on Sunday voted for Tatar’s moderate predecessor Mustafa Akıncı, who is an ardent supporter of a settlement in which the majority Greek Cypriots share power in a bizonal, bicommunal federation.

The veteran leftist lost by less than four percentage points in an election during which members of Turkey’s ruling AKP party went from village to village and reports emerged of flagrant vote-buying and threats of deportation for mainland settlers who refused to endorse Tatar.

Amid fears of Erdoğan’s increasingly hawkish regional polices, such as the confrontation with Cyprus over energy reserves in the eastern Mediterranean, Tatar’s opponents fear annexation of northern Cyprus may now be on the cards.