AKEL on the second phase of the 1974 Turkish invasion

 

The Cypriot people remember the second invasion and betrayal

14 August 2022, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

The anniversary of the beginning of the second phase of the 1974 Turkish invasion completes the black anniversaries that marked the Cypriot people and our country’s modern history.

Turkey exploited the betrayal of the coup d’état and secured the ‘green light’ from its US-NATO allies in order to derail the Geneva Conference with its unacceptable demands with the aim of launching a new military offensive on 14 August. 14 August marked the final stage in the occupation of 37% of the territory of Cyprus by the Turkish Attila army and the forcible separation of the two communities.

Our people remember with anguish the refugee crisis and the devastation wrought by the hordes of Turkey’s invading army.

They remember the atrocities and crimes committed by the Turkish army and the Turkish Cypriot chauvinists against the Greek Cypriot community. AKEL honor the sacrifice of the brave sons of Cyprus who defended Cyprus and freedom against the far superiorly-armed invaders. It honors and stands by the victims of 1974, the war-stricken people, wounded and disabled, the women who were raped, the relatives of the fallen and the missing persons, the refugees and our enclaved people in the occupied areas.

The Cypriot people remember that during the second phase of the invasion, a second betrayal was committed on top of the betrayal of 15 July 1974. The coupists abandoned the city of Famagusta to the advancing Turkish army, which captured it despite the fact that it was not in Turkey’s original plans, in order to use it as a bargaining chip, as Turkey is doing to this day. The responsibilities of the puppets of EOKA B fascism are grave for the fact that instead of rushing to defend the homeland from Turkey’s invading army, whom they themselves invited, they engaged in massacres of prisoners and Turkish Cypriot women and children.

The dangerous and disheartening phase in which the Cyprus problem finds itself today must act as a wake-up call for every Cypriot. The illegal actions of the occupying power in the enclosed city of Famagusta are part of a new cycle of aggressive actions seeking to finalise the permanent partition of Cyprus, which will have disastrous consequences for the future of the future generations in our homeland. AKEL points out that the resumption of negotiations for a solution to the Cyprus problem on the agreed basis and framework can nullify the plans of the occupying duo, Erdogan-Tatar. We call on the Cypriot people not to give up the struggle for a solution of the Cyprus problem and for Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots to strengthen the struggle for freedom and the reunification of our homeland.

AKEL is holding a symbolic meeting to denounce the anniversary, on Sunday, 14 August 2022 at 10:15 am at the Cultural Centre of Famagusta Municipality in Deryneia. This will be followed by the presentation of a memorandum at the Deryneia checkpoint.