The Greeks, who have always felt enmity towards the Turks with their grudge from history, have institutionalized this hatred after they succeeded in establishing their state.
We see that Greece, which has displayed an opposite attitude to Turkey on various issues since the establishment of its states, maintains its hostile attitude today.
While Turkey and Greece are facing an existential equation, it is possible to list the problems between the two countries under five main headings:
The persecution of the Turks of Western Thrace, the Patriarchate issue, the Cyprus problem, the arrogant attitudes of Greece within the scope of the Aegean islands and the struggle in the Eastern Mediterranean…
Cyprus, which was under Ottoman rule for nearly 300 years and spent peaceful days in this process, has been a place where oppression and problems have been experienced since the British rule.
Protecting Cyprus, where Greece and the Greeks on the island want to serve as an appetizer for Enosis, is of great importance for Turkey's independence. Efforts need to be made to have Muslim dominance over the entire island, which still whets the appetite of the Greeks.
The island of Cyprus, which has a great historical and strategic importance for Turkey, has been struggling with problems since the day it left the Ottoman rule.
Cyprus Island, which was under Ottoman rule for centuries and lived peacefully in this process, was leased to the British after the defeat in the Ottoman-Russian War of 1877-1878.
Cyprus, which has been facing various problems from the British domination to the present, is waiting for the day when the entire island will be dominated by Muslims.
BRITISH IMPERIALISM DID NOT STOP
The island of Cyprus, which was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1571, was leased to the British after the defeat in the Ottoman-Russian War of 1877-1878.
While the said move was made in order to get the support of the British in the international arena, according to the agreement made, the island had to come under Ottoman rule again after the war was over.
However, England displayed its imperialist stance on this issue as well. England, which did not want to return the island due to its strategic location, found the excuse it was looking for when the Ottoman Empire sided with the Germans in the First World War.
While Britain announced that it annexed the island on 5 November 1914, the aforementioned situation was also registered with the Lausanne Peace Agreement.
GREEKS DO NOT MISS THE OPPORTUNITY
With the Lausanne Peace Agreement, England, whose dominance on the island of Cyprus was recognized in the international arena, decided to withdraw from some of its colonies after the Second World War.
One of the points where the British decided to withdraw was the island of Cyprus. After the British decided to leave the island, the Greeks, who took advantage of the situation, started some work to connect Cyprus to Greece.
While the Greeks were voting on the island in line with this goal called Enosis, Greece asked the UK to hand over the island to itself in 1954.
GREEKS STARTING TERROR ACTIVITIES
Although Greece wanted the island of Cyprus to be handed over to England, the British were looking for a way to protect their military bases on the island.
Despite wanting to leave Cyprus, Britain, who was afraid of losing the presence of its military bases in the region, did not accept Greece's request.
Thereupon, Greece, which brought the issue to the agenda of the United Nations (UN), demanded the recognition of the right of self-determination to the Cypriot people.
When Greece's request from the UN was also rejected, the Greek Cypriots started terrorist activities on the island.
EOKA STARTING TERROR ON THE ISLAND
The Greeks on the island of Cyprus founded the terrorist organization EOKA on the island, after Greece's request to the UN was rejected. The Greeks, united under this organization, started terrorist activities against the Turks in Cyprus.
As the persecution of the Turks increased day by day in Cyprus, the government was instructed to deal with the problem by the prime minister of the time, Adnan Menderes. Thereupon, a Cyprus Commission was established under the chairmanship of Fatin Rüştü Zorlu. On the other hand, a note was given to England in order to stop the persecution on the island and it was requested to ensure the safety of life and property of the Turks.
REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS IS ESTABLISHED
Following the note given by Turkey to England, the London Conference was convened with the participation of Turkey and Greece upon the call of the British. While the said summit was inconclusive, it was decided to establish the Republic of Cyprus as the calendar leaves showed the date of February 11, 1959.
While the said decision was shared with the public under the name of the Zurich Agreement, the pressures of the UK and the UN were effective in taking the decision. Within the framework of the Zurich Agreement, in which Turkey, England and Greece were accepted as the guarantor states, it was accepted that all three states had the right to intervene in Cyprus in the face of a problem to be experienced on the island.
Archbishop Makarios became the president of the Republic of Cyprus, which was established with the Zurich Agreement, and Dr. Fazil Kucuk was elected. After the elections, the Republic of Cyprus declared its independence on 16 August 1960.
GREEK TERROR AGAIN
Although it was hoped that the problems on the island would be resolved with the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus, this did not happen. Because Greece and the Greeks on the island could not adopt the emerging picture. In this direction, terrorist activities against the Turks started again.
As a result of the atrocities experienced, on January 1, 1964, Makarios announced that they had unilaterally terminated the Zurich Agreement. While Turkey was discussing the option of taking action in the face of this attitude of the Greek Cypriots, the event that went down in history as the "Johnson Letter" took place.
Accordingly, US President Johnson, by sending a letter to the then Turkish Prime Minister İsmet İnönü, was harsh on Turkey's intention to intervene in Cyprus. After Johnson's threatening remarks towards Turkey, the option to intervene in the island was shelved for a while.
GREEKS TAKING A COUP IN CYPRUS
When the calendar leaves showed the year 1967, an important development took place in Greece and as a result of the military coup, the "Colonels Junta" seized power.
The Colonels' Junta, which wanted to establish dominance in Cyprus as soon as possible, clashed with Makarios, the leader of the Greeks on the island. Although Makarios wanted Cyprus to be connected to Greece, he did not favor this situation immediately.
As a result of turmoil between the two sides that could not come to an agreement, the Colonels' Junta staged a coup against Makarios on July 15, 1974 and took over the administration in Cyprus.
CYPRUS PEACE OPERATION UNDER THE LEAD OF MİLLİ GÖRÜŞ MOVEMENT
As a result of the coup that took place in Cyprus as a result of the support of the Greek administration, the Greek puppet Nikos Sampson was appointed as the president.
This step of Sampson, who declared the "Greek Republic of Cyprus" after he took office, was the straw for Turkey. Turkey, which did not stand still in the face of the developments in Cyprus, where the persecution continued uninterruptedly, organized an operation on the island under the leadership of the leader of Milli Görüş, Prof. Dr. Necmettin Erbakan.
Showing an independent and anti-imperialist stance in 1974, Turkey divided Cyprus into two as a result of the glorious struggle of Mehmetçik and conquered 40 percent of the island in a short time.
Even though the Turkish Federated Republic of Cyprus was established on 13 February 1975 as a result of the Cyprus Peace Operation, the Greek Cypriots continued their uncompromising attitude. Thereupon, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was proclaimed on November 15, 1983 in order to make the Turkish sovereignty on the island even more evident.
WE GET OVER THE ANNAN PLAN
In 2004, a development of vital value took place for Cyprus. In this context, an intense effort was made to establish the United Cyprus Republic within the framework of the Annan Plan prepared by the UN.
The Annan Plan was a United Nations plan that proposed to unite the island of Cyprus, which was divided into Turkish and Greek parts, as an independent state.
The plan envisaged the unification of the parts of the island, excluding the British bases, as an independent and federal state. Under the plan, at least one-third of the ministries in the United Cyprus Republic would be Turkish. The offices of the presidency and prime minister would alternate between Turks and Greeks every ten months.
IF THE ANNAN PLAN HAS BEEN ACCEPTED, THE TRNC FLAG WOULD NOT WAVING IN CYPRUS
The plan, which was put to the vote with the referendums held in the TRNC and the Greek Cypriot Administration in April 2004, was accepted by 65% of the Turks, but could not be implemented due to the rejection by the Greeks.
If the Annan Plan had been accepted, the TRNC flag would not have been flying in Cyprus today, instead the flag of the United Cyprus Republic with red and blue stripes on a yellow background would have been flying. In short, God preserved the peace of the island, with the Greeks voting no.
CYPRUS' VALUE SHOULD BE REALIZED
At this point, while the treacherous ambitions of the Greek Cypriots do not end, studies should be carried out on the strengthening of the TRNC and its recognition in the international arena. If the value of Cyprus, which is of vital importance for Turkey, is not known, it will be easy for the island to be gone and Turkey will be ready for invasion from its southern front.