NORTH CYPRUS CELEBRATES PEACE, CALLS FOR SOLUTION

After the Turkish Cypriots’ yes vote on the Annan peace plan in 2004, the secretary-general of the U.N. Security Council recommended that all unnecessary isolation of Turkish Cypriots be ended. The United Kingdom and the United States supported this report, while Russia and France were against it. China was unwilling to take a stance.

However, the report still has not even been debated. The trust of Turkish Cypriots, of whom 90 percent still want a solution, toward the U.N. is decreasing. There is serious demoralization and disappointment. One of the international community’s biggest mistakes was to let Greek Cyprus enter the EU without a comprehensive solution on the island. This is also the reason trust eroded among Turkish Cypriots. The international community has not done its task.

Turkish Cyprus today celebrates the 35th anniversary of Turkey's peace operation on the island in July 1974. Celebrations include an official reception in Kyrenia, as well as parades and air shows around Turkish Cyprus.