The two sides of Cyprus, Greeks mourn, Turks celebrate the anniversary of the invasion that divided the island

The two sides of Cyprus, Greeks mourn, Turks celebrate the anniversary of the invasion that divided the island

Greek and Turkish Cypriots on Sunday marked the 51st anniversary of Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus in 1974, an event that divided the island and remains a source of tension between NATO partners Greece and Turkey.

Air raid sirens were heard in the southern parts of Cyprus, populated by Greek Cypriots, at 5:30 a.m., the exact time Turkish troops landed on the northern coast in a military intervention triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was expected to attend celebrations in northern Cyprus, a breakaway state recognized only by Ankara.

Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides attended a memorial service in the south to remember the more than 3,000 people who died in the Turkish invasion, which also expelled tens of thousands of Greek Cypriots from their homes.

“Despite those who want us to forget, we will never forget nor will we give up an inch of land,” Christodoulides said, calling the celebrations in the north “shameful.”

Efforts to reunite Cyprus as a bizonal and bicommunal federation have repeatedly failed due to deep mistrust and competing visions for the island’s future.

Before the invasion, clashes between Turkish and Greek Cypriots led to Turkish Cypriots withdrawing from a power-sharing government and prompted the deployment of UN peacekeepers in 1964. Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar said the invasion had brought “peace and tranquility” to the island after “the darkest years” for Turkish Cypriots.

“Their (Greek Cypriots’) goal was to destroy Turkish Cypriots,” he said in a video address posted on X. The simmering conflict complicates Turkey’s ambitions to foster closer ties with the European Union, of which both Cyprus and Greece are members.