Cyprus-Forum.com

[BigDutch]

http://www.kypros.org/Documents/Tornari ... cosia.html

"... the speech of the Turkish Foreign Minister Erkin on the 16th January 1964 cannot remain without comment. After referring to the familiar argument of the strategic importance of Cyprus to Turkey and the geographical position of Cyprus as being a continuation of the Anatolian Peninsula, an echo of the speech of the Foreign Minister Zorlu in 1955, he concluded by remarking that-

"All these considerations clearly demonstrate that Cyprus has vital importance for Turkey, not merely because of the existence of the Turkish community in Cyprus, but also on account of its geo-strategic bearing ".

This unexpectedly candid statement by the Turkish Foreign Minister clearly demonstrates that Turkey's primary concern has all along been the strategic importance it attributed to Cyprus rather than the protection of the minority rights of the Turkish Cypriot community."

1) Are those quotes in the article accurate ?
2) Is this "mind-set" still active in Turkish government ?

cheers

[observer]

BigDutch

"All these considerations clearly demonstrate that Cyprus has vital importance for Turkey, not merely because of the existence of the Turkish community in Cyprus, but also on account of its geo-strategic bearing ".

This unexpectedly candid statement by the Turkish Foreign Minister clearly demonstrates that Turkey's primary concern has all along been the strategic importance it attributed to Cyprus rather than the protection of the minority rights of the Turkish Cypriot community."

1) Are those quotes in the article accurate ?
2) Is this "mind-set" still active in Turkish government ?

"not merely because of the existence of the Turkish community in Cyprus, but also on account of its geo-strategic bearing" indicates that the existence of the TC community is more important than its geo-strategic position (I comment on the statement, not whether or not it is true).

I suspect that this view is still held by some, but in a weaker form than in 1964 due to the increasingly friendliness between Greece and former USSR countries.

[Piratis]

Turkey always wanted Cyprus for her own strategic geo-political interests.

The protection of the TC minority on the island was used merely as an excuse for Turkey to invade. This is nothing new in history. Hitler also used the protection of the German minorities in order to invade other countries, Czechoslovakia for example.

[cypezokyli]

Turkey always wanted Cyprus for her own strategic geo-political interests.

.

which are ?

[T_C]

Turkey always wanted Cyprus for her own strategic geo-political interests.

.

which are ?

Yeah I'd like to know too, I'm not trying to challenge anyone just asking out of curiosity, if someone could fill me in I would appreciate it, thanks.

[eracles]

protection of her soft underbelly....apparently

denktash also said in 2003..."Cyprus issue is not the issue of Turkish Cypriots. It is not an issue that is not solved due to resistance of Denktas. Cyprus issue is a geopolitic and strategic issue of Turkey"

The original link was http://www.turkishpress.com/turkishpres ... p?ID=13874
but it looks like it has been removed...

[zan]

Cyprus remained under Ottoman rule until 1878. In that year through a bilateral treaty, the Ottoman Empire allowed Great Britain to take over the administration of the island in exchange for British agreement to assist Turkey in its defense against Russia. This decision was formulated in Sultan Abdulhamid’s mind after the Ottoman-Russian war in 1876-1877. During the Berlin Conference, Britain forced Russians to give up the territories they captured and the Sultan wanted the support of Britain to continue the war. Before that the British had been offered Cyprus three times in years 1833, 1841 and 1845. However this time the situation was different. “Britain and other European powers were faced with preventing Russian expansion into areas controlled by a weakening Ottoman Empire” (Solsten 20).

As a result, the expansionist policy of Tsarist Russia caused the Turks to cede Cyprus to Britain by the secret Anglo-Ottoman Cyprus Convention of June 4, 1878. According to the “Convention of Defensive Alliance” of 1878, Britain would return Cyprus when Turkey recaptured three of its eastern territories - Kars, Ardahan, and Batum, lost to Russia in the 1876-1877 war (Bölükbaşı 21).

In the mood of seeing the British administration as a step toward Enosis, Greek Cypriots welcomed the rule of the British. When the British governor came to Cyprus, Greek Cypriots asked for the union of Cyprus with Greece. Thus the “seeds of future intercommunial discord were sown on the fertile soil of Cyprus” (Denktash 19). The Turkish community protested against such talks and argued that Britain should return the island to Turks if such a possibility occurs. At the outbreak of the first World War, when Turkey joined forces with Germany and its allies in 1914, Great Britain annexed the island by renouncing the 1878 Convention. Turkey recognized the British annexation, through the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923. After the declaration of Cyprus as a British Crown Colony in 1925, the Turkish Cypriots were invited to choose between “repatriation” to Turkey or permanent settlement in Cyprus. During these years while Turkish Government encouraged the emigration, the British Government created difficulties in order to have a Turkish community in Cyprus against the Greek community. The British did not want to come across with a “pro-enosis Greek population with no Turkish community to oppose it” (Georghallides 44). In those years it had never been thought that one day this Turkish community would fight for the island’s destiny.

In the interwar years both Turkish and Greek Governments “adopted a hands-off attitude toward Cyprus” (Bölükbaşı 22). Venizelos supposed that Britain would grant self-government to Cyprus and dreamed of attaining Enosis that way. However such an expectation did not prevent 1931 uprising in Cyprus, which aimed at a union with Greece. After that event the British imposed strict restrictions on nationalistic activities. In 1948 the British offered self-government to Cyprus, but by thinking that such an action would be a “grave” to Enosis, the Greek Orthodox Church rejected the proposal. Turks, on the other hand, were willing to accept the proposal. Also in late 1940s Turks were in favor of British sovereignty over Cyprus as they believed that “British presence on the island would function as a deterrent against Soviet expansionism in the Middle East” (Bölükbaşı 25).

This state of affairs forced Greek governments to live by the Cyprus policy of Venizelos until the end of the Second World War in 1945. When the war finished the leaders of the 1931 uprising returned to Cyprus and started their activities to unite Cyprus with Greece again.
http://web.deu.edu.tr/kibris/articles/hist.html

[Piratis]

Turkey always wanted Cyprus for her own strategic geo-political interests.

.

which are ?

Ensuring that they are not surrounded by nations that they could potentially go in war with. If you know a bit of military tactics, the landings are always the hardest part. When they occupy a part of the island, it would be much easier for them to attack other positions on the island and prevent Cyprus from beign used as an airbase for attacks against Turkey. It will also be much easier to control the sea between Cyprus and Turkey, something which became even more important with the Baku - Ceyhan pipeline.

This is one reason why Cyprus is important for them, apart from their usual nationalistic ones.

[Get Real!]

Turkey always wanted Cyprus for her own strategic geo-political interests.

.

which are ?

Yeah I'd like to know too, I'm not trying to challenge anyone just asking out of curiosity, if someone could fill me in I would appreciate it, thanks.

"…we are not dealing here with a mere duty but with a mission. Our mission is to make Cyprus our motherland."
Turkish Foreign Minister Ihsan Sabri Caglayangil, 1980

"Cyprus is valuable as a right arm for a country interested in its own defence of for its own expansionist aims if it harbours such aims...
Many states to a certain extent because it suits their interests, want to see the Cyprus problem as our desire to protect the Turkish community on the island, whereas the actual problem is the security of 45 million Turks in the motherland together with the Turks in the island and the maintenance of the balance in the Middle East."
Turan Gunes, Minster of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the time of the invasion of Cyprus. 'Hurriyet', (Turkish newspaper), 1980

"One point we should never forget is that the intervention of Turkey in Cyprus was not effected solely for the 'blue eyes' of the Turkish Cypriot community... it also intervened moved by consideration of its own strategic interest."
Mehmet Ali Birand, Turkish newspaper Millyet, 13 March 1984

"The importance of Cyprus to Turkey does not arise from a single cause; it is a necessary which emanates from the exigencies of history, geography, economy and military strategy."
Turkish Foreign Minister Zorlu, 1955

"The radical solution... would be to cede one part of Cyprus to Greece and other, closest to the Turkish Asiatic coast, to Turkey."
Turkish Foreign Minister Erkin, June 1964

"Naturally Turkey has strategic interests in Cyprus. It is fortunate that the Turkish Cypriot community exists here. Even if the Turkish Cypriot community did not exist, Turkey would not have left Cyprus to Greece."
Turkish occupation representative Rauf Denktash, 23 July 1985

[zan]

Thanks for that Piratis and GR. It looks like you guys are finally seeing the lite. Turkey has great interest in Cyprus AND its Turkish Cypriot people. Greece has secured hers and you guys sing the Greek national anthem to prove it so she has no need to make a fuss.