TRNC marks 52nd anniversary of Türkiye’s Cyprus Peace Operation

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on Monday marked the 52nd anniversary of Türkiye’s 1974 Cyprus Peace Operation — observed annually as Peace and Freedom Day — with a state ceremony at the Ataturk Monument in Lefkosa, attended by TRNC President Tufan Erhurman and Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz.

The ceremony began with a moment of silence and the Turkish national anthem, followed by the laying of wreaths at the monument. Erhurman and Yilmaz later signed the memorial book to conclude the event, which also drew TRNC Parliament Speaker Ziya Ozturkler, Prime Minister Unal Ustel and members of the public.

Intervention as guarantor power

Cyprus has remained divided since 1974, when a Greek Cypriot coup backed by the military junta in Athens sought to annex the island to Greece. Türkiye intervened as a guarantor power under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution, following ethnic attacks that had forced the community into enclaves throughout the 1960s.

The intervention led to the founding of the TRNC in 1983, though reunification talks have stalled repeatedly — including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland involving guarantor powers Türkiye, Greece and the UK. The Greek Cypriot Administration proceeded to join the European Union in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots rejected a UN-backed peace plan in a referendum.