Greeks condemn, Turks honor Cyprus anniversary<\/p>\n
NICOSIA (Reuters): While Turkish Cypriots celebrated on Friday
\nwhat they call \"Peace and Freedom Day\", Greek Cypriots condemned
\nthe anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus which divided
\nthe island 27 years ago.<\/p>\n
Church bells tolled and Greek Cypriot air-raid sirens wailed
\nover the divided capital Nicosia at 5:20 a.m. (9:20 a.m. in
\nJakarta), marking the hour Turkish forces landed on the beach at
\nthe northern town of Kyrenia on July 20, 1974.<\/p>\n
Turkish Cypriots marked the anniversary with celebrations, a
\nmilitary parade and an air display in northern Cyprus.<\/p>\n
Turkey invaded Cyprus five days after a coup by Greek Cypriot
\nextremists, urged on by the military junta then ruling Greece,
\ntoppled the government of Archbishop Makarios.<\/p>\n
The heavily-militarized island, at odds with its better known,
\nhip image of a clubbers' paradise for young Europeans, is a
\nconstant irritant between NATO allies Greece and Turkey.<\/p>\n
Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, who was also premier at
\nthe time of the 1974 invasion known in Turkey as the \"Peace
\nOperation\", said the presence of Turkish armed forces on the
\nisland had guaranteed peace and security for 27 years.<\/p>\n
\"Turkey will go on supporting the Turkish Cypriot people in
\nfull strength in its struggle to preserve its legitimate rights
\nand interests and to take the place it deserves within the
\nworld,\" Ecevit said in a statement from Ankara.<\/p>\n
Sweltering heat kept the crowd smaller than in recent years as
\nTurkish tanks, troops and aircraft put on a show of might.<\/p>\n
\"Turkey will never allow the return of the island to the day
\nof July 19, 1974,\" said Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash.<\/p>\n
Greek Cypriots planned memorial services and protests along an
\noccasionally tense \"green line\" dividing the island.<\/p>\n
Northern Cyprus is a breakaway state recognized only by
\nAnkara, which supports the enclave militarily and economically.<\/p>\n
The 1974 crisis in Cyprus brought Greece and Turkey to the
\nbrink of war and was instrumental in the collapse of the
\nmilitary's seven-year grip in Athens.<\/p>\n
The need to settle the division has gained importance in
\nrecent years as Cyprus prepares for European Union membership.<\/p>\n
Turkey, also an EU aspirant, has been told its chances of
\njoining partly hinge on progress over Cyprus.<\/p>\n
United Nations-led \"proximity talks\" were abruptly interrupted
\nlast November after the Turkish Cypriot side pulled out,
\ncomplaining about the process.<\/p>\n
Denktash has said he would return to negotiations once his
\ndemand for equal sovereign status with the Greek Cypriots is
\naddressed. The Greek Cypriots administer the island's only
\ninternationally recognized government.<\/p>\n
Ecevit said Turkey would continue to support Denktash and he
\nhoped dialogue could restart under \"more realistic\" conditions.<\/p>\n
\"Denktash will decide, after talking to us of course. To the
\nbest of my knowledge, he is first to meet UN Secretary General
\nKofi Annan and they might make a program together. Dialogue
\nshould prevail despite everything,\" Ecevit told reporters.<\/p>\n
In a public address on Friday, Cypriot President Glafcos
\nClerides said, \"It is my conviction that the overwhelming
\nmajority of ordinary citizens, Greek and Turkish Cypriots,
\nbelieve in the need to reunite our island.\"<\/p>\n
Denktash reiterated his defiant stance against unification.<\/p>\n
\"Let us negotiate together as good neighbors under the
\nauspices of the United Nations and the European Union and seek a
\nsolution as two separate states, not as a unitary state.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/greeks-condemn-turks-honor-cyprus-anniversary-1447893297",
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