The following letter was sent to 146 federal MPs and 62 Senators.

July 24, 2009

Re: The Turkish Cyprus Peace Operation of July 20, 1974.

Dear Member of the Federal Parliament/Senate Senator:

I am writing to you to draw your attention to the long running issue of Cyprus.

July 20, 2009, was the 35th anniversary of the Turkish Cyprus Peace Operation.

The Turkish Australian community celebrates Cyprus' Turkish heritage, which has been present on the island since 1571 when the Ottomans defeated the Venetians. The Venetians had ruled the island since 1483 after defeating the Third Crusade which had held the island since 1190 AD.

The Turkish Australian community supports the recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Australian foreign policy to solve conflict in the island.

The Turkish Australian community commends the 1974 Turkish Cyprus Peace Operation, which stopped the massacres of Turkish Cypriots, preserved the island's diversity, and arrested the illegal unification of the island with Greece. For eleven years prior, Greek and Greek Cypriot political and religious leaders had lead massacres against Turkish Cypriots to jerrybuild a homogenous Hellenic Orthodox Christian island state, as United Nations peacekeepers on the island watched helplessly in horror. Please visit www.acts.org.au to read more about the Cyprus issue.

The Turkish Australian community urges the Australian government to support United Nations efforts to bring a lasting solution to the Cyprus dispute, because the EU's handling of this matter in the context of Turkey's and Cyprus' EU accession has proven unsuccessful. In 2003, the Turkish Cypriots voted in favor of and the Greek Cypriots voted against a bi-communal, bi-zonal unified Cyprus under a U.N. plan. Greek Cypriots had nothing to lose in rejecting the U.N. plan, as Greek Cyprus joined the EU unconditionally.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Halit Sindi
Director
Australian Centre for Turkish Studies