Turkey became a member of NATO in 1952. Twenty-two years later, in 1974, Turkey invaded the Republic of Cyprus, and to this day continues illegally to occupy 36% of the island. Turkey has ethnically cleansed non-Turks from the northern part of Cyprus and largely destroyed both the Christian and Jewish cultural heritage of the area they occupy.

Since Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974, the island has been illegally and forcibly partitioned in two. The northern part of the Republic of Cyprus — like the rest of the country — had been majority-Greek. Its demographic structure was changed by Turkey when approximately 170,000 Greek Cypriots were forcibly displaced by Turkish troops. This expulsion affected about one-third of the Greek Cypriot population. The occupied part of the island has since been colonized by settlers from Turkey. Approximately 40,000 Turkish soldiers are illegally stationed in the occupied area, making it, according to the UN, one of the most heavily militarized areas in the world. Around 80% of the island’s wealth-producing resources lie under Turkish occupation.

Turkey is now using the distraction of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a cover to increase its likelihood of officially annexing Cyprus’s north. On April 14, a protocol was signed between Turkey and the illegal Turkish de facto regime that has been ruling occupied northern Cyprus. Although Turkey has already forcibly altered the demography of Cyprus through the ethnic cleansing campaign, the new protocol gives Turkish nationals even easier access to the region.

The protocol also stipulates the strengthening of the Religious Affairs Department in the area, as well as building religious complexes, such as mosques, and restoring Turkish-Islamic heritage sites. The protocol makes no secret of Turkey’s intention to annex the north. The introduction states, “the island of Cyprus has been a part of Anatolia politically and culturally since 1571.” 1571 is when the Ottoman Empire began occupying Cyprus.

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In 1570, Ottoman troops invaded Cyprus and plundered it, while killing thousands. The Ottoman Empire, presumably to keep the indigenous Greek population under control, transported Turks to Cyprus. In 1878, the Ottoman Empire granted Britain administrative control of Cyprus, and in 1914 Britain annexed the island. In 1923, Turkey renounced all claims to Cyprus in favor of Britain through the Treaty of Lausanne, which also established the Republic of Turkey. In 1960, Cyprus gained independence from British rule and became an independent republic. Britain, Greece, and Turkey became guarantors of “the independence, territorial integrity and security” of the Republic of Cyprus under the 1960 “Treaty of Guarantee“. Fourteen years later, Turkey violated both the treaty and international law by invading Cyprus in two phases — on July 20 and August 14, 1974.

In 1983, Turkey declared the so-called “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (TRNC) in the occupied north of Cyprus. The TRNC was unilaterally recognized only by Turkey and remains unrecognized by the international community to this day.

Read more: Gatestone Institute