Türkiye on Friday called for the international community to recognize and forge ties with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on the 41st anniversary of its foundation.
“The international community must form political, economic and diplomatic relations with the TRNC,” Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz said as he marked the anniversary on the island by attending a special wreath-laying ceremony at the Atatürk Monument in the capital, Lefkoşa (Nicosia), alongside Ersin Tatar, president of the TRNC.
Turkish and TRNC flags were unfurled in the capital and across Türkiye on Friday as people celebrated the TRNC’s foundation and paid tribute to Dr. Fazıl Küçük, one of the leaders of the Turkish Cypriot struggle for independence and Rauf Denktaş, the first president of TRNC.
Yılmaz reaffirmed Türkiye’s commitment to supporting Turkish Cypriots in their pursuit of sovereignty and security and said they have “no time to waste with old U.N. parameters that aim for the tried and failed federation model.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan celebrated the anniversary on X, sending a message of solidarity and remembrance.
“I congratulate the 41st anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, our friend and brother, the guarantor of peace, justice and stability in the Mediterranean,” Erdogan wrote.
He also respectfully honored the memory of the “heroic martyrs” and veterans – referring to Turks and Turkish Cypriots who fought off ethnic violence and ensured the safety of the island’s Turkish Cypriot community – and sent affectionate greetings to his “Turkish Cypriot brothers and sisters.”
“As the motherland and guarantor, Türkiye will always stand by the Turkish Cypriots, safeguarding their rights and interests,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry also said on X.
It commemorated the TRNC as “the foremost symbol of the Turkish Cypriots’ struggle for sovereignty and freedom.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also marked the milestone on X, saying: “We are proudly celebrating the 41st anniversary of the establishment of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The recognition of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriots, the rightful co-owners of the island, remains our unwavering priority.
“In this regard, we will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus takes its rightful place in the international community.”
He also stressed the strong and enduring bond between Türkiye and the TRNC: “Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, regardless of the circumstances, will always stand united.”
Turkish Cypriot struggle
Turkish Cypriots went through a lengthy political process disrupted by Greek Cypriot attacks and opposition to their existence on the island.
They were part of the island’s administration when it gained independence from British rule in 1960. Still, only three years later, they found themselves the target of a Greek Cypriot campaign to change their status to “minority” through amendments to the constitution, demoting them from founders of the republic to a mere community with no sovereignty rights.
Their rejection of the Greek Cypriot mandate and fight for self-determination led to several administrative entities, from a General Committee set up in 1963 to the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus founded in 1975.
In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island led to Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, TRNC declared its independence on Nov. 15, 1983.
The Greek Cypriot Administration was admitted to the European Union in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted a U.N. plan to end the longstanding dispute.
An international embargo against Turkish Cyprus is currently in place in several areas, allowing access to international communications, postal services and transport only through Türkiye.
Turkish Cyprus and Türkiye have been committed to demanding a two-state solution that would ensure international recognition and equal sovereignty and status, which the Greek Cypriots reject.