This week, the Greek and Turkish inhabitants of Cyprus collectively observed the 50th year since the Greek coup. This historical event that happened on July 20th, 1974, sparked the justification for Turkey’s military invasion and subsequent domination of the island’s northern part. As dawn broke at 6am that day, the coast of northern Kyrenia was bombarded by Turkish naval vessels, and Turkish paratroopers descended into the capital, Nicosia. Reminders of this event were profoundly evoked last Monday when sirens echoed at 8.20am. This was to commemorate the coup’s inception and serve as a reminder to Cypriots of the mainland Greek junta’s assassination attempt on Archbishop Makarios, the Cypriot president, affecting people on both sides of the island’s bifurcation known as the Green Line.
Horrifyingly, this situation could have been prevented. Makarios was privy to the plot intent on killing him and ousting the independent Cypriot republic. He made foreign functionaries, visiting dignitaries, and press – myself included during an interview in April – aware of this intent. Makarios believed that revealing the plan would dissuade Athens and warn the US and UK of an impending conflict between Greece and Turkey. On July 3rd, an open letter accusing the junta of subversion and demanding the withdrawal of its officers was published by Makarios.
The ambition of the junta was Enosis – the political amalgamation of Cyprus, with an 82% Greek-Cypriot majority, and Greece, irrespective of fears over potential Turkish retribution aimed at safeguarding the 18% minority of Turkish Cypriots. A portion of the latter even advocated for Taksim, or unification with Turkey.
On 15th July, Makarios was hosting a gathering of Egyptian pupils at the presidential residence when he was ambushed by rebellious Greek-Cypriot combatants and Greek soldiers. He quickly evacuated the children through an alternative exit, leading them across the garden to the primary thoroughfare. There, he hailed a vehicle and made his getaway to Paphos. Nicos Sampson, a zealous Greek-Cypriot supporter of the junta, assumed the presidency later that day. United States State Secretary Henry Kissinger instructed the US representative in Nicosia to meet with Sampson’s foreign minister, a move interpreted as implicit acknowledgment.
The following day, Makarios embarked on a British military aircraft headed for Malta and subsequently London. Britain, being the erstwhile colonial power in Cyprus, was responsible – along with Greece and Turkey – for ensuring Cypriot sovereignty. Makarios pleaded with Britain to deploy soldiers stationed at its military bases on the island to counteract the coup and prevent Turkey’s intervention.
On 20th July, Makarios condemned the coup and subsequent invasion at a United Nations Security Council meeting, during which a call for a ceasefire was issued. Despite this, conflict restarted on 23rd July, the same day the Athens dictatorship and Sampson were overthrown, and Greece and Cyprus saw a return to democratic rule. Turkey, however, persisted with different phases of the invasion until18th August, establishing control over thirty-six per cent of northern Cyprus. As per UN calculations, approximately 165,000 Greek Cypriots relocated to the south while 45,000 Turkish Cypriots moved north.
Failed negotiations under the mediation of the UN to reunify the island escalated in the following decades. The Green Line kept the two communities separate and the island remained divided. Discussions persisted even after the Turkish-Cypriots declared an independent state in 1983, a status acknowledged solely by Ankara.
In 2003, the Turkish-Cypriots permitted crossings between the two parts of the island, signalling an end to communal alienation. Turkish Cypriots ventured southwards for better salaries and procured passports from the republic, which became an EU member in 2004. The north was deemed as being outside of the government’s control.
Cyprus remains the only nation in the European Union that is bisected, with Nicosia being its single divided capital. In the year 2019, the Turkish residents of Cyprus were encouraged by Ankara to propose a “two-state solution”. However, both the European Union and the Republic rejected it, and subsequent attempts by the United Nations to revive discussions have been unsuccessful.
In 1974, a third of the Greek Cypriots became refugees and witnessed a 78% reduction in their agricultural, industrial and tourism provisions. Despite this, they bounced back, thrived and held onto their independence. The Turkish Cypriots, conversely, depend on Turkey for financial aid and are incorporated into their economy. This dependency would prove to be problematic with its political meddling, escalating inflation, and depreciating currency causing disquiet among the Turkish Cypriots. Consequently, critics have rallied with Greek Cypriots in a collective appeal for reunification, a move that has provoke resentment in Ankara.