Cyprus-Forum.com

[CopperLine]

It was once said - I forget by whom now - that war was too important a matter to be left to the military. All invasions, whether 'successful' or 'unsuccessful' are initiated as a matter of policy (politics) and are ultimately resolved by politics.

It is questionable whether most power politics, including the making of empires, was done primarily through invasion and war. Commerce, industry, dynastic marriage, cultural spread, language and so on probably account for the growth of power more than military policy.

[Expatkiwi]

What I mean is - once the military objectives have been achieved, what are the long term consequences for the invading nation? There are so many examples where the invader has had initial military success, but the long term consequences for that nation have been disastrous.

For example:
Napoleon-led French invasion of Russia (1821) - loss of 90% of the invading forces, French humiliation.
German invasion of Poland (1939) and Russia (1941) - destruction and division of Germany for decades afterwards.
More recently Argentinian invasion of the Falklands (1982), and the US/UK invasion of Iraq (ongoing).

Invasion and occupation lasting decades or even centuries can still result in non-acceptance by the the indigenous population, and ultimate defeat and exclusion of the occupier e.g. Turkish occupation of Greece, 1458 - 1821.

In 1974 Turkey may have won the battle in Cyprus, and achieved some military (and political?) objectives, but has it been worth it? Has Turkey won the war? What are the advantages to Turkey in maintaining its occupation - a financial drain on a developing nation, the target of condemnation by the international community, exclusion from the EU and the opportunities afforded upon membership, etc?

Seems to me, that the longterm consequences of ill-advised invasion can be negative for the invader.

Anyone got any comments on this?

TRNC is not a large country, plus it is very close to Turkey, so when you think of it, the financial 'drain' of maintaining the Tturkish Military there is not going to be overly great... Plus, the population in TRNC is not hostile to the military presence, so you don't see an Irag or Afghanistan-like situation.

[Big Al]

Turkey's intervention in Cyprus had one goal, and that was to save the lives of the TC community which were being targetted by the GC community. Within a matter of weeks it was able to defeat the GC's army, establish a safe zone for TC's and ultimately it was able to stop the violence on the island....the financial cost is no issue to the Turkish government as the cost for supporting other cities and states within Turkey are also no issue. So to answer your question, Yes the military intervention did work and was successful by all accounts.

[Tim Drayton]

The Republic of Turkey has allocated 600 million Turkish lira in subsidies towards the TRNC budget this year - and the TRNC government is trying to get more. This is just to keep the economy going and is over and above the direct cost of maintaining the military presence. I am sure that Turkey could put this money to far better use. I have been to Kars in the far east of Turkey and have seen the deplorable living conditions there. It would be better if the Turkish government devoted these resources to tackling some of the pressing problems faced by its own poorest and most neglected citizens.

[Nikitas]

"and that was to save the lives of the TC community which were being targetted by the GC community"

LIES!

Not one single TC was harmed during the coup. Denktash stated that the coup was a GC affair and did not concern the the TCs. Turkey found an opportunity to gain a military foothold on the island and grabbed it. Now it does not know how to extricate itself.

The TCs numbers on the island have dropped by 50 per cent during this period, proving that their welfare is not a Turkish priority. The disappearance of TC culture might even be a goal for Turkey sinc eit would complete its conquest of the north of the island.

[Tim Drayton]

"and that was to save the lives of the TC community which were being targetted by the GC community"

LIES!

Not one single TC was harmed during the coup. Denktash stated that the coup was a GC affair and did not concern the the TCs. Turkey found an opportunity to gain a military foothold on the island and grabbed it. Now it does not know how to extricate itself.

The TCs numbers on the island have dropped by 50 per cent during this period, proving that their welfare is not a Turkish priority. The disappearance of TC culture might even be a goal for Turkey sinc eit would complete its conquest of the north of the island.

The famous Turkısh Cypriot left-winger, the late Özker Özgür, long ago prophetically forecast that the Turkish Cypriot community had performed its historic role for Turkey and as such had outlived its usefulness for the motherland and would henceforth be replaced with a much more docile population from Anatolia.

[Nikitas]

Ozgur was a great Cypriot personality who was not appreciated by the GC community as he ought to have been. I saw some interviews he gave to Greek TV channels.

I had not come across the warning posted by Tim above. It is amazing that now that we see the prophecy materializing we are still talking about re unifying the island and a federal system for Cypriots. We Cypriots really know how to fool ourselves, and this goes for both GCs and TCs. Is it so hard to see that settlers make the goal unattainable and that is why they are there!

[Tim Drayton]

Ozgur was a great Cypriot personality who was not appreciated by the GC community as he ought to have been. I saw some interviews he gave to Greek TV channels.

I had not come across the warning posted by Tim above. It is amazing that now that we see the prophecy materializing we are still talking about re unifying the island and a federal system for Cypriots. We Cypriots really know how to fool ourselves, and this goes for both GCs and TCs. Is it so hard to see that settlers make the goal unattainable and that is why they are there!

I will try to track down that quote. I think he made this prophetic statement many years ago.

[Tim Drayton]

Ozgur was a great Cypriot personality who was not appreciated by the GC community as he ought to have been. I saw some interviews he gave to Greek TV channels.

I had not come across the warning posted by Tim above. It is amazing that now that we see the prophecy materializing we are still talking about re unifying the island and a federal system for Cypriots. We Cypriots really know how to fool ourselves, and this goes for both GCs and TCs. Is it so hard to see that settlers make the goal unattainable and that is why they are there!

I will try to track down that quote. I think he made this prophetic statement many years ago.

True to my word, but rather late, I have managed to dig these quotes up. They are mentioned in the following ten-year old insightful article about the Turkish Cypriots:

http://mondediplo.com/1998/09/07cyprus

It seems that Özker Özgür made these comments in article published on 9 April 1998 in the Avrupa newspaper. The report to which I have given the link contains the following two quotes from Özgür's article:

"Until 1974, we were needed. Once the Turkish intervention was over, we had served our purpose."

"They’re importing a population that’s more useful and more submissive than the Turkish Cypriots."

[Nikitas]

Interesting perspective on the issue and for once they call the invasion what it really was, extension of Turkish territory in the easter Mediterranean.