In a highly provocative letter to the UN General Assembly Director, which was subsequently made public by the UN, the Turkish permanent representative, Feridun H. Sinirlioğlu accused the Greek Cypriots of committing ethnic cleansing against the Turkish Cypriots between 1963-1974.
“From 1963 to 1974, the Greek Cypriots conducted an armed ethnic cleansing campaign against Turkish Cypriots,
who had to live in enclaves under siege corresponding to 3 per cent of the surface of
the island”, the letter read.
In the letter Sinirlioğlu comments on the speech by Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the UN, disputing that the Cyprus issue was an invasion.
“The Cyprus dispute is not an issue of “invasion” or “occupation”, but an issue of the renewal of a partnership between the co-owners of the island, which was destroyed by the Greek Cypriot side in 1963. The division in the island began in 1963 when the Greek Cypriots expelled Turkish Cypriots from the partnership State organs and institutions, as well as from their homes, in violation of the treaties of 1960 and all human rights norms”
