58 years have passed since the massacre that was started by the terrorist organization EOKA militants against the Turkish Cypriots on December 21, 1963 in Cyprus, which was written in history as "Bloody Christmas", 364 people were martyred in the attacks and 103 Turkish villages were evacuated.
While the armed attacks launched by the Greeks against the Turkish Cypriots on December 21, 1963 were called Bloody Christmas, these attacks marked the beginning of inter-communal conflicts on the Island.
In Cyprus, on 16 August 1960, the "Republic of Cyprus" was established, based on the partnership of Greeks and Turks.
The constitution of the republic guaranteed the political rights of the Turkish Cypriots, but this partnership did not last long and the Greeks removed the Turkish Cypriots from the administration by force of arms.
Although the period of 1960-1963 in Cyprus was the period when the Republic of Cyprus legally existed, the problems continued on the Island. From the beginning, the Greeks did not believe in the Republic of Cyprus, which was established in partnership with the Turkish and Greek Cypriots, and saw the established order as a springboard for Enosis (the connection of Cyprus to Greece).
Later, the Turks were excluded from the republic by oppression and force of arms. The Greeks saw the Turks on the Island as an obstacle to their goal of Enosis (connection of Cyprus to Greece).
With this aim, on 21 December 1963, the plan called Akritas, which aimed to destroy the Turks from the island, began to be implemented by the Greek gangs.
In the Tahtakale district of Nicosia, on the night of 20 December 1963, Turkish Cypriot Zeki Halil and Cemaliye Emirali were martyred as a result of fire opened on their cars.
In the first attacks of the Greeks, 92 Turks were killed and 146 injured in Nicosia alone.
The militants of the Greek Cypriot terrorist organization EOKA carried out their first major massacre against the Turkish Cypriots in the village of Ayvasıl in Nicosia on December 23, 1963. 21 Turkish Cypriots captured in this village were killed and buried in a mass grave after their hands were tied.
While the Greek Cypriot gangs continued their attacks in the Kumsal region of Nicosia on 24 December 1963, they brutally murdered the wife and three children of Major Nihat İlhan, who worked as a doctor in the Turkish regiment in Cyprus.
His wife Mürüvet İlhan and their children Murat, Kutsi and Hakan were found dead in the bathtub of Major İlhan's house. While this event went down in history as the "Beach Massacre" or "Bathroom Massacre", the house where the raid was made was later opened to visitors as the Museum of Barbarism.
The restoration works of the Museum of Barbarism are currently being carried out by TIKA.
While 103 Turkish villages, which were attacked in the events, had to be evacuated, 364 Turks were martyred in the events that started in Cyprus in 1963 and continued in 1964.
The United Nations (UN) Security Council decided to send a Peacekeeping Force to the Island, and the first UN Peacekeeping Force (BMBG) arrived on the Island on 14 March 1964. However, the arrival of the UNHCR to the Island did not prevent the Greek Cypriots' attacks against the Turks.
On 6 August 1964, the Greeks attacked Erenköy, which was defended by university students and mujahideen from Erenköy, with the forces under the command of EOKA leader Yeoryos Grivas.
GREEK JUNTA STAGED A COUP IN CYPRUS IN 1974
EOKA leader Nikos Sampson, with the support of the Greek junta, staged a coup against Makarios in order to connect Cyprus to Greece on July 15, 1974 and seized power.
With this coup, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cyprus was meant.
After the coup, Turkey prioritized diplomatic initiatives at the first stage, in accordance with the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee.
At this point, on 17-18 July 1974, talks were held in London between Turkey and England regarding the steps that could be taken after the coup.
Greece was also invited to the consultations as a guarantor state, but the junta administration in Greece did not participate in the negotiations.
During the meetings between then Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit and British Foreign Secretary James Callaghan, a joint intervention proposal was made to the UK.