AKEL on the 52 Years Since the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus

 

Freedom and reunification are the best tribute to the heroes of 1974

20 July 2026, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

On the occasion of the 52nd anniversary of the Turkish invasion, AKEL pays tribute to all the sons and daughters of our people who defended Cyprus during Turkey’s invasion of 1974, as well as to the Greek soldiers who fought alongside the Cypriot people. Their sacrifice remains a timeless symbol of the struggle for freedom and reunification.

At the same time, AKEL reaffirms that it will continue to stand with and support our compatriots who bore the burden of the 1974 tragedy: the war-stricken victims, the relatives of the missing persons, the prisoners of war, the wounded and disabled veterans, the women who were raped, the refugees, and the enclaved people in the occupied north.

The invasion by the Turkish “Attila” army on July 20, 1974—five days after the coup d’état by the Athens junta and EOKA B—constituted the second phase of the NATO plan to divide Cyprus. Turkey’s goal was never to “restore constitutional order”, nor to “protect the Turkish Cypriots,” but the occupation and partition of our homeland and people.

The Turkish “Attila” army, taking up the baton from the betrayal of July 15, invaded our island, sowing death, ruin, and destruction. In violation of every principle of international law, Turkey invaded Cyprus, slaughtering our people, leaving behind thousands of dead and missing, uprooting tens of thousands of Cypriots, and committing mass atrocities and war crimes, including the rape of women and the massacres of civilians and prisoners of war.

During the 52 years of occupation that followed, Ankara, through the colonisation of the occupied areas, the illegal declaration of the pseudo-state, and its strategy of political and economic control over the Turkish Cypriot community—but also its cultural assimilation—is attempting to consolidate the partition of our island and people.

AKEL reiterates to all quarters that it will never compromise neither with the perpetuation of the current de facto partition, nor will it compromise with Turkey’s unacceptable demands to legitimize this crime through a two state solution.

The only realistic prospect for ending the occupation and de facto partition has been and remains the solution of the Cyprus problem through a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, as set forth in the relevant resolutions of the UN.

The upcoming visit of the United Nations Secretary-General and his stated intention to take the initiative to resume talks lend momentum to THE efforts to restart the negotiation procedure for a solution to the Cyprus problem. That’s precisely why, AKEL reiterates that it is of critical importance to safeguard the entire negotiation acquis and the Guterres Framework, on the basis of which negotiations must resume from the point where they were suspended in 2017 regarding the remaining issues.

The freedom and reunification of our homeland is the best tribute to the sacrifices made by the heroes of 1974. It is also the only path to a future of peace and security for Cyprus and all Cypriots.

A delegation from AKEL and the mass organisation of the People’s Movement of the Left, headed by the General Secretary of the Central Committee of AKEL, will hold a symbolic ceremony of remembrance and tribute at the Macedonitissa Memorial on Monday, July 20, 2026, at 9:00 a.m.