Why Cyprus is Important to Me

The Cyprus problem from the view of a Cypriot American

Fifty years ago, Cyprus, the birthplace of Aphrodite and a crossroads of civilization, was brutally invaded and divided by the Turkish Armed Forces in violation of seven U.N. resolutions, the U.S. Military Sales Act, and the rule of international law.

This summer, I had the opportunity to visit Cyprus and Greece and to discuss foreign policy initiatives with their key leaders as part of the American Hellenic Institute Foundation College Student Foreign Policy Trip. Although many pertinent foreign policy issues were discussed on this trip, I was particularly affected by the pathos of the illegal Turkish invasion of Cyprus.  

During the July 20, 1974 invasion of Cyprus, over 4,500 Greek Cypriots were killed, and another 1,500 went missing as a result of Turkish aggression. Countless women were raped and brutalized, and the Turkish Armed Forces forcibly seized the ancestral homes of over 200,000 Greek Cypriots under the pretext of bringing “peace” to the island.

The invasion of Cyprus is a blight upon the European continent and a disgrace to the civilized world. Yet, despite the well-documented atrocities committed by the Turkish Armed Forces, the invasion and occupation are largely ignored by the European community. The status quo, though hardly accepted, continues fifty years later, while other international crises, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas War, garner front-page news throughout the Western world.

As the grandson of a Greek Cypriot from the village of Karavas, I found this trip had a profound effect on me. When we visited the occupied area of Cyprus, I was overcome with an unsettling feeling. As we drove through the region, I imagined what it looked like before it was stripped of life by the invading Turkish forces. As we toured the deserted towns, we saw desecrated Greek cemeteries and religious sites with the crosses destroyed; entire towns once vibrant with life and culture now abandoned, and areas once radiant with life and commerce, now idle and listless in the summer day.

When we met with the Committee of Missing Persons, we heard stories about Cypriot families with familial or otherwise close connections to missing persons from the 1974 invasion. Fifty years later, the pain and sorrow of the missing still haunt the faces of the living.

This was a particularly impactful experience for me. My uncle, Kyriacos Yettimis, a Second Lieutenant with the 120th Heavy Infantry unit of the Cypriot National Guard, went officially missing on July 22, 1974. He was last seen in the Saint Georgios region, guarding the road to Kyrenia in the face of the Turkish assault on the city. In 2018, his remains were recovered in a mass grave recovery operation by the United Nations. This recovery brought closure to my family, who had no idea of his whereabouts for several decades.

As a child, I had previously visited Cyprus. However, I did not fully understand the brutality of the armed invasion of 1974 at the time. During this trip, I gained greater knowledge about the invasion, and it was an emotionally poignant and eye-opening time for me.

The first-hand inspections of the occupied territories, meetings with key officials such as the President of Cyprus and the Greek Cypriot representative of the Committee of Missing Persons, as well as meetings with several business leaders around Cyprus, provided me with valuable insight into the complex problems the nation will continue to face as it grows economically and develops trade relationships around the globe. These meetings also helped me contextualize Cyprus’ strategic value as an economic and defensive partner for the United States.

As a Cypriot American, I will advocate for the strategic importance of Cyprus to the U.S. and the unreliability of Turkey as an ally. Turkey has shown consistently to be a malign actor by perpetuating genocide against its neighbors (such as the Kurds) and by threatening the seizure of the Greek Islands. Furthermore, Turkey has been unreliable to its Western allies in the past.

On the contrary, Cyprus has shown itself to be a reliable geostrategic partner. It has worked with the U.S. to facilitate the transport of aid into the Gaza Strip and on the state-of-the-art Cyprus Center for Land Open Seas and Port Security (CYCLOPS) training facility. Additionally, it is a stable country with Western values in a region embroiled in instability and military conflict. It would be in the United States' best interest to reevaluate its relationship with Turkey and facilitate the removal of Turkish troops from the occupied region of Cyprus.

Ultimately, this trip highlighted the impact of the Turkish invasion on Cyprus and the multifaceted, complicated nature of foreign policy. I discovered how critical it is for people to become informed on foreign policy issues like the Cyprus problem, even if they do not dominate the Western news cycles.

If the public becomes more informed, movements can galvanize over underrepresented conflicts like the occupation of Cyprus, creating potential for meaningful policy change. Until then, it is the job of Greek and Cypriot Americans to educate our peers on the conflict, persuade our elected officials, and never give up on pursuing justice for Cyprus.

[The opinions expressed in this magazine are the author's own and do not reflect the official policy or position of The Spectator, or any students or other contributors associated with the magazine. It is the intention of The Spectator to promote student thought and civil discourse, and it is our hope to maintain that civility in all discussions.]