Today marks the 52nd anniversary of the second phase of the brutal Turkish invasion of Cyprus, in the summer of ’74, with political parties honoring the victims of Turkish brutality and sending messages about the struggle for the island’s reunification.
The parties’ statements, verbatim
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
DISY
August 14, 1974, is one of the darkest chapters in the modern history of Cyprus. With the launch of the second phase of the Turkish invasion, Turkey’s military operation was completed, resulting in the occupation of a large part of our homeland, the uprooting of thousands of our compatriots, and the division of the island.
Our Cyprus remains divided. The occupation and division of our homeland cannot and must not become the new reality that we will bequeath to future generations. The memory of the fallen, the missing, the refugees, and all the victims of the invasion serves as a constant reminder of our responsibility.
As the Democratic Rally, we remain steadfastly committed to the goal of reunifying our homeland. Efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem have no expiration date, and our goal remains a viable and functional solution that will restore the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Cypriotsand will create the conditions for peace, security, and stability.
Today we honor the memory and sacrifice of those who defended our homeland and even gave their lives in the face of the Turkish invasion. We honor the heroic dead, the missing, the refugees, and the innocent victims of the tragedy.
It is our responsibility to keep their memory alive and to continue the struggle for the reunification of Cyprus. We owe this to the people who sacrificed themselves for our homeland, as well as to future generations.
AKEL
Unity and Struggle to End the Occupation and Reunify Cyprus
The anniversary of the start of the second phase of the 1974 Turkish invasion—August 14—adds to the dark anniversaries that have marked the modern history of Cyprus. AKEL pays tribute and honors the sons and daughters of the Cypriot people who fell on the battlefield defending our homeland against the Turkish invasion. It expresses its solidarity with the refugee community, the men and women who suffered during the war, the victims of rape, the families of the missing, and our people trapped in the occupied areas.
The second phase of the Cypriot tragedy began when Turkey, taking full advantage of the betrayal of the fascist coup of July 1974, caused the Geneva Conference to collapse and, with the approval of the U.S. and NATO, launched a new offensive on August 14. The Turkish “Attila” operation reached as far as Morphou in the west and Famagusta in the east, occupying nearly 37% of Cyprus’s territory, uprooting tens of thousands of Greek Cypriots from their land and imposing, by force of arms, the partition of the island and the separation of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. The Turkish army and the Turkish Cypriot chauvinists who joined forces with it spread death and destruction, committing mass crimes, rapes, destruction, and atrocities against Greek Cypriots. The Cypriot people remember that the July betrayal by the Junta and EOKA B continued into August. Even at those moments when our homeland was drowning in blood, the junta officers and EOKA-B members, instead of being on the battlefields to repel the invasion, they remained in the rear and engaged in the massacre of Turkish Cypriot civilians, women, children, and prisoners of war. In fact, they ordered the evacuation of the city of Famagusta, surrendering it without a fight to the Turkish invaders, even though this was not part of their plans.
The dark and painful anniversaries of modern Cyprus serve as a reminder of the tragedy of 1974. At the same time, they serve as a reminder that as long as Cyprus remains partially occupied and divided, there can be no true and lasting peace and security. AKEL declares, on this occasion as well, that only freedom and reunification can bring justice and redemption to Cyprus. We send a message of unity and unyielding struggle to end the occupation, free Cyprus from foreign guardians and guarantors, and reunite our island and our people. We call on every Cypriot to unite in the struggle for a solution to the Cyprus problem on the agreed basis of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with a political solution; and for this reason, AKEL consistently supports the goal of resuming negotiations from the point where they were suspended in 2017, while preserving the negotiating acquis, including the convergences and the Guterres Framework.
AKEL is holding a symbolic event to mark the anniversary on Friday, August 14, 2026, at 9 a.m. at the Monument to the Fallen and Missing in Deryneia, followed by the delivery of a resolution to the UN Secretary-General at the Deryneia roadblock.
ELAM
Today marks fifty-two years since the day Turkey completed its crime against our homeland by occupying Famagusta and a total of 37% of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus.
The brutal Turkish invasion, its tragic consequences, and the ongoing occupation remain open wounds for the Greek Cypriot people, who patiently await justice.
Today underscores the need to put an end to appeasement policies and constant concessions, and to replace them with policies that will restore the Cyprus issue to its proper framework—as a problem of invasion and occupation—with Turkey bearing the consequences as long as it refuses to comply with international law.
Our non-negotiable goal and steadfast position is the liberation of all our occupied territories from Attila’s boot, the complete withdrawal of the occupying forces, and the return of all refugees to their ancestral homes.
I WILL NOT FORGET, AND I WILL FIGHT
DIKO
On August 14, 1974, while a ceasefire was officially in effect, Turkey rejected diplomatic channels and launched the premeditated second phase of the invasion. “Attila II” aimed to occupy Cypriot territory, forcibly alter its demographic character, and create the geographical facts on the ground of partition.
Famagusta, Morphou, Mesaoria, and Karpasia were violently occupied by the Turkish military machine. People were executed or went missing, families were uprooted, property was looted, and a large part of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus came under Turkish military occupation.
Fifty-two years later, the consequences of this crime remain: occupying troops, illegal settlement, the confiscation of Greek Cypriot property, missing persons, enclaved residents, and refugees who continue to be denied the right to return to their ancestral homes.
Famagusta remains captive to Turkish designs, despite the clear Security Council resolutions. Turkey continues to violate international law and to attempt to transform the illegality of its occupation into a permanent political settlement. We will not allow this to happen.
Historical memory serves as a safeguard against the falsification of history and as a guide for today’s decisions.The Cyprus issue remains, first and foremost, a matter of invasion, occupation, violation of a state’s sovereignty, and the trampling of fundamental human rights.
Amid the new momentum surrounding the Cyprus issue, the Democratic Party supports the efforts of the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, and the continued active engagement of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the European Union to resume substantive negotiations.
We honor our heroic fallen and those missing in action. We stand in solidarity with the refugees, those trapped in the buffer zone, and all those who continue to suffer the consequences of the invasion.
We continue the struggle for liberation, reunification, and return with consistency and determination.
We do not forget.
We will not compromise with the occupation.
EDEK
On August 14, 1974, the Turks confirmed that, in addition to being barbaric and inhumane criminals and murderers, they are also proverbially untrustworthy.
They violated the agreed-upon ceasefire, threw all political efforts to the wind, and proceeded without warning to the second phase of their invasion of Cyprus.
Despite the valiant resistance of the betrayed Greek Cypriot and Greek forces, our beautiful Greek regions—Carpasia, Famagusta, Morphou, and Mesaoria were occupied by the invaders.
In the second phase of Turkey’s crime against the Republic of Cyprus, Turkish soldiers and unruly, uncontrolled fanatical Turkish Cypriots murdered, executed, raped, and tortured soldiers and civilians with unbelievable fury.
After fifty-two years of obsessive adherence to a spectacularly failed model of so-called “negotiation,” they are calling on us:
-To trust that Turkey will allow a “solution” of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation to function—even though it interprets the basis of the “solution” as a confederation of two states
-To supposedly build “trust” with those who ceaselessly provoke, threaten, and violate everything
Whether some people like it or not, whether they take it into account or not, EDEK warns that:
-It will not accept the “locking in” of so-called “convergences” from the past or “safeguarding” of the so-called “negotiating acquis,” which would not be consistent with the European acquis, European law, and the four freedoms of the European Union
-We will not accept the slightest ambiguity regarding the withdrawal of the Turkish occupation army and the abolition of the guarantees
. We will not accept Turkey to continue making gains while we continue to make concessions.
The message is directed at many recipients: EDEK can mobilize people—both its own supporters and others. It has done so before.
