History has shown that the real guarantee of peace in Cyprus is not promises on paper, but Türkiye’s deterrent power and the Turkish Cypriot people’s own state.
History has shown that the real guarantee of peace in Cyprus is not promises on paper, but Türkiye’s deterrent power and the Turkish Cypriot people’s own state.
By Hüseyin Macit Yusuf – Former Roving Ambassador of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)
A proposal reviving the painful memories of the past
The proposals allegedly put forward by United Nations Personal Envoy Maria Holguín resemble not so much a search for a settlement in Cyprus as a new attempt at political engineering aimed at dismantling the very foundations of security for the Turkish Cypriot people.
– The withdrawal of Turkish troops.
– The termination of the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee and 1960 Treaty of Alliance.
– The claim that Cyprus’ security would be ensured through NATO membership.
These don’t offer the Turkish Cypriot people a new future. On the contrary, they are extremely dangerous proposals that revive the painful memories of the past. The Turkish Cypriots know very well that security is not guaranteed by texts drafted at the negotiating table, but by the bitter experiences they have endured throughout history.
Where was the international community during Bloody Christmas in 1963?
Where was NATO for those massacred in Geçitkale, Erenköy, Muratağa, Sandallar and Atlılar?
Had Turkish aircraft not taken off from Türkiye in 1964, had Türkiye not exercised its rights as a guarantor in 1974, would the Turkish Cypriot people still exist on this Island today?
Everyone knows the answer to these questions.
The ignored truths
Those who today say, “Turkish troops must withdraw!” are ignoring the fact that Southern Cyprus is arming itself at a level unprecedented in its history.
– The American arms embargo has been lifted.
– Defense agreements have been signed with France.
– Military cooperation with Israel has deepened.
– Joint exercises with Greece have increased.
– The British bases continue to be used actively.
While the Greek Cypriot Administration is transforming into a network of military bases in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Turkish Cypriot people are being asked to give up their only deterrent force: the Turkish military presence.
What kind of “balance” is this?
What kind of “confidence-building” is this?
The demands of the Greek Cypriot side for more than 50 years
More importantly, what has the Greek Cypriot side been demanding for more than fifty years?
– A single sovereignty.
– A single international identity.
– A single citizenship.
– The withdrawal of Turkish troops.
– The abolition of guarantees.
– And ultimately, the reduction of the Turkish Cypriot people to minority status.
Their objective has never changed.
Only their methods have changed.
Today, the same objective is being brought back in new packaging, under pleasant-sounding labels such as “strategic agreement,” “transition period” and “NATO umbrella.”
NATO and the “guarantee system”
Yet NATO cannot replace the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee.
No NATO member has an obligation to protect another member state in the event of internal conflict.
After all, NATO is not a party to the Cyprus issue.
The only international legal mechanism that guarantees the security of the Turkish Cypriot people is the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, together with the effective and active guarantorship of the Republic of Türkiye.
Abandoning Türkiye’s guarantorship is not merely a matter of changing a legal arrangement. It means abandoning the very guarantee of the Turkish Cypriot people’s existence.
The real guarantee of peace in Cyprus
Security cannot be built through one-sided sacrifice.
First, the threat must be removed. Only then trust can be built.
However, what is happening today is the exact opposite: while the Greek Cypriot side is arming itself further, the Turkish side is being asked to leave itself defenseless.
This is unacceptable.
The red lines of the Turkish Cypriot people are clear.
There can be no retreat from sovereign equality.
Equal international status cannot be abandoned.
The presence of Turkish troops cannot be made a bargaining chip.
The effective and active guarantorship of the Republic of Türkiye cannot be opened to debate.
And no international official can overstep the limits of a good offices mission and impose a security model on the Turkish Cypriot people.
History has shown that the real guarantee of peace in Cyprus is not promises on paper, but Türkiye’s deterrent power and the Turkish Cypriot people’s own state.
Any plan ignoring this reality can’t produce any solutions.