Operation Atilla
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Atilla was the code name given to the Turkish military operation in Cyprus which began on 20 July 1974, in response to a Greek-inspired coup d'état backed by the military junta in Athens which sought to unite the island with Greece.
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[edit] Rationale
The plan for the operation had been drawn following the infamous "Johnson's letter" sent on June 5, 1964 to Prime Minister İsmet İnönü, leading to a crisis between Turkey and the United States. Unable to intervene in 1963, following the threat of President Johnson that the United States would not interfere in the event of a Soviet invasion of Turkey if Turkey went ahead to intervene in Cyprus as a reaction to the violence that was committed by the EOKA paramilitary forces in December 1963. [1] İsmet İnönü was outraged at this threat. Even though the island and EOKA were heavily bombarded by Turkish fighter jets upon certain events (see Erenköy), from a Turkish point of view it became clear that an intervention in Cyprus would be necessary to protect the Turkish Cypriot minority and prevent another example of Crete. [2] Following the events of 1963, all subsequent Turkish prime ministers have provided funding to the planning of the intervention.
When EOKA-B led by Nikos Sampson overthrew the government of Archbishop Makarios in Cyprus on July 15, 1974, Turkish Foreign Minister Prof. Dr. Turan Güneş flew to London in order to convince the United Kingdom for a joint operation which would remove Sampson from power.[3] Disappointed by the British unwillingness to take action, Turan Güneş coded the authorization of the operation proclaiming "Ayşe may take a vacation now" (Ayşe was the name of the daughter of Güneş) from London to the Turkish Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit in Turkey.
Bülent Ecevit made a statement in the following day, declaring that Turkey was going to Cyprus not to wage war but to bring peace, and not only to the Turks but also to the Greeks on the island (referring to the intercommunal violence between 1963 and 1974) under the mandate of the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee which gave the United Kingdom, Greece and Turkey the right to intervene in Cyprus in case of a situation that would prevent the constitutional establishment which was set with the 1960 Zurich Treaty from functioning properly.
[edit] Operation Atilla
On 19 July 1974, a handful of Turkish paratroopers were landed and civilian access to the island from Turkey was cut that evening. Following a long night waiting in darkness, the Turkish Air Force resumed their patrols over Cyprus, and soon enough other forces arrived on the island to join with the Turkish Resistance Organization (TMT).
On 20 July 1974, the initial operation (Atilla I) captured the port city of Kyrenia/Girne, and by 22 July 1974 a road access to the Cypriot capital Nicosia/Lefkoşa. This secured the northern (Turkish) sector of the city. After UN talks about the withdrawal of the Turkish Army failed, the second stage of the operation (Atilla II) began on 14 August 1974 and extended Turkish control to cover the north-eastern third of the island, stretching from Kokkina/Erenköy in the west to Cape Apostolos Andreas/Zafer Burnu in the east, and then south to Louroujina/Akıncılar. This latter move was justified by the Turkish forces on the grounds that the Turkish Cypriots had ownership of 31% of the island before 1963 and were forced off into enclaves of just 3% of the island in the wake of the intercommunal violence which lasted for 11 years.
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[edit] Results
Thanks in part to the initial operation, the Athens-backed coup d'état which ousted the Greek Cypriot President Makarios collapsed eight days later, and provided the catalyst for the removal of power of the military junta controlling Greece. Still, Turkish forces did not withdraw, and ended up consolidating their hold on Northern Cyprus, stating that any withdrawal would end up putting the Turkish Cypriot populace back in danger. This failure of the Turkish forces to withdraw after the coup failed is regarded internationally as a violation of the Treaty of Guarantee.
The end result was that the island was partitioned into a Turkish-controlled north (which, in 1983, unilaterally declared its independence), and the southern two-thirds under the control of the Greek Cypriots. Regardless of the legalities, the Turks argue that the partition has prevented a resumption of the intercommunal violence.
The Operation Atilla and subsequent partition of Cyprus resulted in the following:
- Greek View: Almost 37% of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus - that is, the northern part of the island, where 70% of its natural resources are concentrated - is under Turkish occupation. Turkish View: 37% of the island was liberated from the Greek Cyriots as compensation for the lands taken from Turkish Cypriots between 1963-1974
- Greek View: Almost all Greek Cypriots have been displaced from the occupied northern sector where they had constituted 80% of the inhabitants. Turkish View: Due to fears as to how they would be treated by the Turkish Forces given their treatment of Turkish Cypriots, Greek Cypriots in the North decided to move South.
- Greek View: Greek and Turkish Cypriots, who for 400 years had lived together intermingled throughout the island, were now artificially separated. Turkish View: As Turkish Cypriots were harrased and forced into enclaves amounting to only 3% of Cyprus between 1963-1974, the partition enabled the Turkish Cypriots to have far more freedom of movement.
- Combined View: The ascertainment of the fate of the missing persons is still pending.
- Greek View: By the end of 1974 about 12,000 people were enclaved in their occupied villages living under conditions of oppression, harassment and deprivation. Now very few remain. Turkish View: Greek Cypriots who remained in the North were welcome to remain, but the population exchange agreements in 1975 'persuaded' the Greek Cypriots to move south - at the 'request' of the Greek Cypriot Administration.
- Greek View: 35,000 Turkish soldiers, armed with the latest weapons, are stationed in the occupied area, making it, according to the UN Secretary-General, "one of the most militarized regions of the world" (S994/680/7.6.1994.par.28). Turkish View: The Turkish Armed Forces in the North are there as a protective power, ensuring that a return to Greek and Greek Cypriot armed terrorism does not recur.
- Greek View: Over 115,000 Turks have been brought over from Turkey to colonize the occupied area thus changing the demography of the island and controlling the political situation. Turkish View: Immigration is encouraged to offset the numerical superiority of the Greek Cypriots.
- Greek View: The "Green line" artificially divides the island and prevents Greek Cypriots from claiming their property in the north. Turkish View: The "Green line" artificially divides the island and prevents Turkish Cypriots from claiming their property in the south.
- Greek View: In an effort to consolidate the de facto situation, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was unilaterally declared in 1983 in the occupied area, a pseudostate recognized only by Turkey and entirely dependent on it. Turkish View: As the partnership 1960 Republic of Cyprus ceased to exist from December 1963 on, and that Turkish Cypriots would never enjoy equal rights, the TRNC was founded as a statement of an inalienable right to self-determination.
- Greek View: According to Turkish Cypriot newspapers, over one third of Turkish Cypriots emigrated from the occupied area between 1974-1995 because of the economic and social deprivation which prevails there. As a result the Turkish Cypriots who remain are today outnumbered by the Turkish troops together with the settlers from Turkey. Turkish View: The embargo imposed by the Greek Cyriots has had the effect of forcing Turkish Cypriots to emigrate in order to seek a better life.
- Greek View: The illegal regime in the occupied area is deliberately and methodically trying to eradicate every trace of the Greek cultural and historical heritage. All Greek place names have been replaced by Turkish ones. Churches, monuments, cemeteries and archaeological sites have been destroyed, desecrated or looted. Priceless religious and archaeological treasures, part of the world's cultural heritage, are being stolen and smuggled abroad, and illegal excavations and dealings in antiquities are taking place. Turkish View: Greek Cypriots have tried to eradicate all vestiges of Turkish culture in Cyprus since 1963.
- Greek View: Cyprus was being rendered ungovernable by the intransigence of the Turkish Cypriot partners in the government. The proposed amendments to the 1960 Constitution were necessary to govern the island. The Turkish Cypriots refused to go along and walked out of the government. Turkish View: Cyprus ceased to be an island where UN actively needed to create zones to protect the Turkish minority after the dysfunctional Cypriot government partnership had been dissolved in 1963 and the Turkish Cypriots were forced out of all government organs. Even though it was the Greek side who inherited the official recognition and law structure of the partnership, the Turkish side has exercised some form of self determination.
[edit] Notes
- ^ "The United Nations Force in Cyprus Since 1964"
- ^ "The Example of Crete "Cyprus Conflict.Net"
- ^ "Cyprus: How the crisis unfolded" BBC News Online
