Turkish Cypriot nationalism is an

ethnic nationalism Ethnic nationalism, also known as ethnonationalism, is a form of nationalism wherein the nation and nationality are defined in terms of ethnicity, with emphasis on an ethnocentric (and in some cases an ethnocratic) approach to various politi ...

supporting the independence of the

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. Recog ...

(TRNC) and mostly desires that the TRNC stay independent from Turkey while opposing the idea of a united Cyprus with the Greek-dominated

Republic of Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. The objective of '' taksim'', that is, the partition of the island of Cyprus into Turkish and Greek portions, is widespread among Turkish Cypriot nationalists. Nevertheless, a considerable number of them wish for Turkey to annex Cyprus.

History

In 1911, 3 rallies against ''

enosis ''Enosis'' ( el, Ένωσις, , "union") is the movement of various Greek communities that live outside Greece for incorporation of the regions that they inhabit into the Greek state. The idea is related to the Megali Idea, an irredentist conc ...

'' (unification of Cyprus and Greece) were made by Turkish Cypriots all around the island. These rallies were the first major incident of Turkish Cypriot nationalism in 20th century and the first organized action against ''enosis'' by the Turkish Cypriots. The 1920s was to prove a critical decade in terms of stricter ethno-religious compartments; hence, Turkish Cypriots who remained on the island gradually embraced the ideology of

Turkish nationalism Turkish nationalism ( tr, Türk milliyetçiliği) is a political ideology that promotes and glorifies the Turkish people, as either a Turkey#Demographics, national, Turkish people, ethnic, or Turkish language, linguistic group. The term "ultrana ...

due to the impact of the Kemalist Revolution. In 1950s and 1960s, Turkish Cypriot nationalism developed mainly in response to

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Greek Cypriot nationalism Greek Cypriot nationalism, also known as Cypriot Hellenism, is a form of ethnic nationalism emphasising the Greeks, Greekness of the Cyprus, Cypriot nation. It is not the same as Greek nationalism, the main goal of which is the integration of Cyprus ...

and their desire for ''enosis'', union of the whole island with Greece. Initially, Turkish Cypriots favoured the continuation of British rule. However, they were alarmed by the Greek Cypriot calls for ''enosis'', as they saw that the union of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

with Greece had led to the exodus of

Cretan Turks The Cretan Muslims ( el, Τουρκοκρητικοί or , or ; tr, Giritli, , or ; ar, أتراك كريت) or Cretan Turks were the Muslim inhabitants of the island of Crete. Their descendants settled principally in Turkey, the Dodecanese ...

, which was a precedent to be avoided, and they took a pro-partition stance in response to the militant activity of the

EOKA The Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston (EOKA; ; el, Εθνική Οργάνωσις Κυπρίων Αγωνιστών, lit=National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters) was a Greek Cypriot Greek Cypriots or Cypriot Greeks ( el, Ελληνο� ...

. The slogan "Either ''Taksim'' or Death" was frequently used in Turkish Cypriot and Turkish protests in the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s. Although after the Zurich and London Conferences, Turkey seemed both to accept the existence of the Cypriot state and to distance itself from its policy of favouring the partition of the island, the goal of Turkish and Turkish Cypriot leaders remained that of creating an independent Turkish state in the northern part of the island. On 6 August 1964, units of the

Cypriot National Guard , name2 = National Guard General Staff , image = Emblem of the Cypriot National Guard.svg , image_size = 100px , caption = Emblem of the National Guard of Cyprus , image2 = Flag of the ...

and Turkish Cypriot armed groups started to clash near

Kokkina Kokkina ( el, Κόκκινα []; tr, Erenköy or ) is a coastal exclave (pene-exclave) of the ''de facto'' Northern Cyprus, and a former Turkish Cypriot enclave in Cyprus. It is surrounded by mountainous territory, with the Morphou Bay on its ...

. On 8 August 1964, after waiting for nearly two days,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

intervened, once it had become clear that the Greek Cypriots would not withdraw from Kokkina, but simply commit more and more siege forces until the Turkish Cypriots ran out of supplies. The incident was an important turning point in both Turkish and Turkish Cypriot nationalism, and it caused a massive increase in nationalist opinions among the Turkish Cypriots. This increase was mostly in favour of idea of Turkish annexation of Cyprus. On 20 July 1974, Turkey launched an invasion of the island following a Greek Junta sponsored

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

against President Makarios, aimed at uniting the island with Greece. The second Turkish offensive, codenamed "Attila 2", took place between 14 and 18 August 1974 and extended as far west as the Kokkina enclave.

References

{{Stateless nationalism in Europe Cyprus dispute Cyprus–Turkey relations

History

See also

References