The Turkish Ministry of Defense responded to the European Parliament’s resolution on crimes against women in Cyprus in 1974, arguing that the presence of the Turkish army on the island “has been a guarantee of peace, security, and stability for more than half a century.”
In a statement, the Ministry rejected as “baseless, absurd, and outrageous” the European Parliament’s allegations against the Turkish armed forces regarding the 1974 Turkish invasion, which it characterizes as a “Peacekeeping Operation” that, it claims, saved the Turkish Cypriots from “extermination.”
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The Turkish Ministry of National Defense further argues that the European Parliament’s resolution ignores the “massacres, mass graves, and years of inhumane attacks” against Turkish Cypriots and is a sign of a “loss of reason” and the adoption of “Greek Cypriot propaganda.”
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At the same time, it reiterates Turkish claims that since 1963, EOKA, “with the aim of unification,” destroyed 103 Turkish Cypriot villages and displaced approximately 30,000 Turkish Cypriots, while referring to massacres in areas such as Maratha, Santalaris, and Aloa.
“It is tragicomic that those who ignored these massacres are now trying to blame the Turkish Armed Forces,” he states.
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In conclusion, the Turkish Ministry of Defense states that Turkey, as a guarantor power, will continue to safeguard the rights, interests, and security of the pseudo-state and the “Turkish Cypriot people,” adding that the Turkish armed forces are “more determined than ever” to respond to any action that, according to Ankara, threatens the security of the Turkish Cypriots.
Source: CNA
