19.07.2026 14:50
MHP Leader Devlet Bahçeli made important statements regarding the security and sovereignty of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Emphasizing that the destinies of Turkey and the TRNC are inseparable, Bahçeli reacted to those who question the presence of Turkish soldiers on the island. Bahçeli said, "Those who question the presence of Turkish soldiers on the island are deliberately sweeping under the rug the oppression caused by the Greek-Greek Cypriot duo."
Devlet Bahçeli, Chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), reacted to the European Parliament's approach to the Cyprus issue, stating, "The will to determine the direction of Turkish Cypriots is not in Brussels. This will lies in the island soil watered with the blood of our martyrs and in the power of Turkish Cypriots who founded the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus."
MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli made a written statement on the 52nd anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation. Stating that he commemorated the martyrs with mercy and gratitude and the veterans with appreciation and respect, Bahçeli emphasized that July 20, 1974, is a historic turning point where the Republic of Turkey demonstrated its power to the whole world against those who mistook the Turkish nation's desire for peace as submission.
Bahçeli stated that the plans aiming to expel Turkish Cypriots from their homeland and annex the island to Greece were thwarted by the Cyprus Peace Operation, saying, "That day, the Turkish soldier confined the century-old annexation obsession of the Greek-Greek Cypriot mentality to the dark pages of history; burying the expired Enosis dream and expansionist ambitions in the waters of the Mediterranean."
"Cyprus is a Turkish homeland made a vatan with the blood of martyrs"
Drawing attention to the strategic and national importance of Cyprus for Turkey and the Turkish nation, Bahçeli noted:
"Cyprus is the southern security line of Anatolia, the key point of our national rights and interests in the Eastern Mediterranean, a Turkish homeland sanctified with the blood of martyrs, a legacy of the past, and the continuity of our national existence. Just as the fates of Ankara and Nicosia cannot be separated, the security of Turkish Cypriots and the order of the Republic of Turkey, the sovereignty of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the prestige of the Turkish nation in the Mediterranean are inseparable."
Emphasizing that Turkish Cypriots are the native owners of the island, Bahçeli stated that Turkish presence took root on the island with the conquest of Famagusta in 1571. Bahçeli evaluated, "Turkish Cypriots are a sovereign people with the will to determine their own future, an inseparable and indispensable part of the great Turkish nation."
"TMT kept the passion for independence and freedom alive in hearts"
Stating that Turkish Cypriots suffered great pain for many years against Greek-Greek Cypriot attacks, Bahçeli said, "During the years when Hellenistic expansionism targeted the lives, property, honor, and national identity of Turkish Cypriots; villages were besieged, hearths were sought to be extinguished, civilians including women and children were targeted, and the Turkish nation was subjected to genocide on the island."
Stating that the Turkish Resistance Organization (TMT) was born under these conditions, Bahçeli continued his statement as follows:
"The Turkish Resistance Organization, born out of such a grave situation, became a national resistance headquarters that created a common ideal from scattered national will, combined that ideal with military discipline, prevented the Turkish nation from getting lost in the corridors of despair on the island, and kept the passion for independence and freedom alive in hearts through struggle."
"The Cyprus Peace Operation is a steel fist struck into the heart of Nicosia"
Bahçeli described the Cyprus Peace Operation carried out by the Turkish Armed Forces as "a steel fist struck by the Republic of Turkey into the heart of Nicosia against the invasive mentality aimed at destroying Turkish Cypriots, annexing the island, denying Turkish presence, and reviving Greek-Greek Cypriot domination."
Pointing out that the operation was carried out in line with Turkey's rights and obligations arising from international treaties, Bahçeli stated, "The fact that the Cyprus Peace Operation brought peace and stability not only to Turkish Cypriots but to the entire island; however difficult it is to digest for the Greek-Greek Cypriot mentality and their patrons, is the indisputable truth of over half a century of tranquility."
Stating that those who question the presence of Turkish soldiers on the island deliberately ignore the attacks and oppression experienced before the operation, Bahçeli said, "The presence of Turkish soldiers on the island is the sole guarantee of the deterrence preventing new attacks, the security of Turkish Cypriots, and the climate of peace in the Eastern Mediterranean."
"The will to determine the direction of Turkish Cypriots is not in Brussels"
Reacting to the 2025 Türkiye Report adopted by the European Parliament on June 17, 2026, Bahçeli stated that the report reveals Europe's biased stance on the Cyprus issue and its influence by Greek-Greek Cypriot theses.
Stating that the report defines Turkish Cypriots not as a sovereign people but as a "legitimate community" of the island and imposes the exhausted federation model as the only solution option, Bahçeli noted:
"The will to determine the direction of Turkish Cypriots is not in Brussels! This will lies in the positions the TMT fighter never abandoned for years, in the island soil watered with the blood of our martyrs, in the decisive intervention of the Republic of Turkey in Cyprus, and in the power of Turkish Cypriots who founded the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus."
Bahçeli stated that the assessments of the European Parliament, which ascribes minority status to Turkish Cypriots, targets Turkey's legitimate presence on the island, and is disturbed by the TRNC's developing relations with the Organization of Turkic States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, are "politically flawed and null."
"Federation dreams have grown stale"
Arguing that the federation model aims to subject Turkish Cypriots to Greek Cypriot administration, Bahçeli said, "The federation dreams, put into circulation for years under different names and packages but essentially aiming to make Turkish Cypriots an element subject to Greek Cypriot administration, have grown stale."
Emphasizing that no approach ignoring the acquired rights and sovereign equal status of Turkish Cypriots can serve a fair and lasting solution, Bahçeli continued:
"Just as it is unthinkable for Turkish Cypriots to bow to minority status under Greek Cypriot administration, the confirmation and registration of their sovereign equality is an inalienable right and historical responsibility. The unconditional and indisputable acceptance of the existence of two separate states in Cyprus, and the recognition of the international status of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus before other states, is the sole key to lasting peace."
Bahçeli celebrated the 52nd anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation and July 20 Peace and Freedom Day, commemorating the Founding President of the TRNC, Rauf Denktaş, the martyrs, and the deceased veterans.
Remembering the then Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit and Deputy Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, who made the decision for the operation, with mercy and gratitude, Bahçeli stated, "I extend my gratitude to our glorious Turkish Armed Forces, who carried this decision to victory on the field with unparalleled heroism and love of country. Cyprus is Turkish, it is the true homeland of Turks, and it will remain Turkish forever."
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