Ελληνικά / Türkçe / English
20.07.2024 – 20 July 2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the NATO-planned Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974.
For half a century, imperialist occupation and settler colonialism have persisted on the island, with ongoing colonial policies oppressing Turkish-speaking Cypriots and preventing Greek-speaking Cypriots, forcibly displaced during the Turkish invasion, from returning to their homes. Imperialists use these policies to enforce ethnically-based segregation among the Cypriot people through plans like the “bi-zonal bi-communal federation” and the “two-state” arrangement, in order to keep their presence on the island.
Currently, five NATO militaries – Turkey, the United Kingdom, Greece, the United States and France – utilize air and naval bases on the island that are strategically located at the crossroads of three continents. This is a consequence of the treaties that placed approximately 3 percent of the island under the control of the United Kingdom, when Cyprus gained its independence from British colonialism in 1960 as a non-aligned Republic, and was further solidified after the invasion of 1974. The United Kingdom and NATO have used these territories to perpetuate their imperialist agenda throughout West Asia and North Africa for decades.
Most recently, since the Palestinian resistance began on October 7, 2023, these territories on the island of Cyprus have been used to aid “Israel” in its war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as to bomb Yemen, for resisting the imperialist forces slaughtering their brothers and sisters in Palestine. There are calls for the International Criminal Court to investigate British ministers for allegedly facilitating the use of United Kingdom bases in Cyprus to commit war crimes in Gaza.
The Turkish occupation of Cyprus in 1974 established the status quo of so-called “negotiations under United Nations auspices” in Cyprus. With this status quo, imperialists continue to promote the false narrative of Cyprus being a “divided” island, which even contradicts United Nations resolutions. We, the anti-imperialists, know that Cyprus is not divided but occupied; therefore, the solution is not reunification, but liberation.
We categorically reject any so-called solution that includes partition, two states, or any other arrangement with a geographical separation based on ethnic origin, as these will only help imperialists continue their presence on the island. We reject being nothing but an “unsinkable aircraft carrier” to facilitate the imperialists’ parasitic greed. We do not condone the use of our island to commit genocide.
We support the national, democratic, and class unity of Cypriots, as well as the territorial and social integrity of a unitary Cyprus free from foreign presence. Therefore, on 10 October 2024, we call upon every anti-imperialist movement and individual worldwide to stand with the liberation struggle of the Cypriot people and join or initiate solidarity actions or organize protests in front of their country’s Turkish embassy. When we talk about the liberation of Cyprus, we are talking about the freedom of all West Asia and North Africa, as well as cutting off the windpipe of imperialism in the whole region.
Liberate Cyprus, Free West Asia and North Africa, Defeat Imperialism!
10 October marks the anniversary of the anti-imperialist Declaration adopted at the 2nd Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement held in Cairo in 1964, which called upon states to respect the sovereignty, unity, independence, and territorial integrity of Cyprus after Turkey’s early actions against the Republic of Cyprus. Parts of the Declaration regarding Cyprus, which are also referenced by United Nations resolutions, state:
“Concerned by the situation existing with regard to Cyprus, the Conference calls upon all states in conformity with their obligations under the Charter of the United Nations, and in particular under Article 2, paragraph 4, to respect the sovereignty, unity, independence, and territorial integrity of Cyprus and to refrain from any threat or use of force or intervention directed against Cyprus and from any efforts to impose upon Cyprus unjust solutions unacceptable to the people of Cyprus.
Cyprus, as an equal member of the United Nations, is entitled to and should enjoy unrestricted and unfettered sovereignty and independence, and allowing its people to determine freely, and without any foreign intervention or interference, the political future of the country, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.”
