The name that inspired the slogan "Let Ayşe go on vacation" spoke for the first time in 50 years!

Prof. Dr. Ayşe Güneş Ayata, the daughter of former Minister of Foreign Affairs Turan Güneş, who inspired the slogan "Let Ayşe go on vacation" during the Cyprus Peace Operation, spoke on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the operation. Prof. Dr. Ayata said, "My father Turan Güneş and Bülent Ecevit decided to determine a password for the start of the Second Operation with the thought that 'other countries may be listening to us'. The slogan 'Let Ayşe go on vacation' became a sign from my father to Ecevit."

Turkey initiated the Cyprus Peace Operation on July 20, 1974, using its guarantee rights and taking into account the security of the Turkish Cypriots on the island. Turkey called on the United Kingdom and Greece to "start negotiations to restore peace" with a decision of the United Nations Security Council, and stopped the operation on July 22. The guarantor countries started negotiations for the solution of the Cyprus issue. The 1st Geneva Conference, held on July 25, 1974, ended with the Geneva Declaration on July 30. In the second phase of the conference, which started on August 8, Greece rejected all proposals for the establishment of a new constitutional order in the island and demanded the withdrawal of Turkish troops as a precondition for a compromise on the constitution. When no result came out of the negotiations of the 2nd Geneva Conference, the second phase of the Cyprus Peace Operation started with the slogan "Let Ayşe go on vacation" on August 14, and a ceasefire was declared on August 16.

BECAME THE PASSWORD OF THE OPERATION

Prof. Dr. Ayşe Ayata, whose name was mentioned in the password, was a 19-year-old student in the Department of Social Sciences at METU. The conversation she had with the Minister of Tourism Orhan Birgit, not for Ayşe to go on vacation alone, but to travel with a reliable family, suddenly became the password of the Cyprus Peace Operation on the Geneva-Ankara line.

SPOKE FOR THE FIRST TIME AFTER 50 YEARS

After retiring from the Chairmanship of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at METU, and continuing her duty as a visiting faculty member at the same university, Prof. Dr. Ayata, who did not speak to the press for 50 years with the thought that the slogan "Let Ayşe go on vacation" was a symbol and she was not the real hero of the Cyprus Peace Operation, spoke to AA on the importance of the 50th anniversary of the operation. Ayşe Güneş Ayata, who reminded that her father Turan Güneş was the Minister of Foreign Affairs when the Cyprus Peace Operation took place in 1974, said that her father made an official visit to China at that time, her mother accompanied her father, and she stayed in Ankara with her grandmother and younger brother.

Prof. Dr. Ayata, stating that during this time the end-of-term exams at METU were over, continued her words as follows:

"Of course, we do not know about the operation, so I am making holiday plans for myself and thinking of going to my grandmother's modest summer house in Istanbul. They inform my father in China when the Sampson Coup happens. My father returns to Turkey urgently. I am not aware of the seriousness of the issue yet. Maybe no one in Turkey is aware of it either. In fact, the night my father was going to return, I went to Istanbul to my grandmother's house because I felt that I could go on vacation. My father called the next morning and said, 'You are coming back immediately.' A friend's car was coming to Ankara, so I went to Istanbul at night and returned to Ankara the next morning. Thus, my vacation was cut short, and I was a little upset, let's say."

Ayşe Güneş Ayata, stating that after the first phase of the Cyprus Peace Operation on July 20, 1974, her father participated in the Geneva Conference with a large delegation, said that Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit and CHP ministers came to see off the delegation to show their support.

Prof. Dr. Ayata explained how the slogan "Let Ayşe go on vacation" was created:

"My father says to the Minister of Tourism Orhan Birgit at that time, 'If there are familiar people going on vacation, let Ayşe go with them. These things will take a long time.' After the First Operation, the place where the Turks were in Cyprus was extremely small, Girne, a crowded area around Girne... It seems very difficult for a Turkish population living in that area to live there. Probably, the desired thing is to reach an agreement. But when that agreement is not reached, it is thought that the military operation can be carried out in a more expansive way, and for that reason, they say, 'let's determine a password'. Since I am not an intelligence officer, I don't know exactly, but they probably think like this; My father Turan Güneş and Bülent Ecevit decide to determine a password for the start of the Second Operation with the thought that 'other countries may be listening to us'. The slogan 'Let Ayşe go on vacation' becomes a sign from my father to Ecevit. Since my father just talked about my vacation a while ago, he says, 'Let's say "Let Ayşe go on vacation"' and understand that these negotiations will not go very far, and let's start preparing for the operation in some way."

"MY FATHER IS VERY WORRIED"

Prof. Dr. Ayata reminded that Turkey, the United Kingdom, and Greece were the guarantor countries, and the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots were the parties at the Geneva Conference, and said, "In those days, Orhan Birgit's sister and mother were also going on vacation. Uncle Orhan says, 'Ayşe also wants to go somewhere. Take Ayşe with them.' and sends a message to my father while he is in negotiations. My father gets very worried. He asks where the phrase 'Let Ayşe go on vacation' came from while negotiations are ongoing. Prof. Haluk Ülvan brings this news to my father from Orhan Birgit. 'Where does Haluk come up with this? Is it Ayşe's turn for vacation now?' he says. But in this way, there is a connection between the vacation of an Ayşe within the delegation and this password."

Prof. Dr. Ayata continued her words as follows:

"On the last night, that is, the night before the start of the second operation, it becomes clear that there is no longer a side to negotiate. But there is something like this, they do not want Turkey to have planned this in advance tactically, because that would be a serious problem diplomatically.While negotiations were ongoing, they didn't want to say "Turkey has started the operation". This time, my father sends a message through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, encrypted as "Ayşe should go on vacation", to Bülent Ecevit. "

"THE MESSAGE GOES TO THE ARMED FORCES AROUND 02.00 AT NIGHT"

Ayşe Güneş Ayata stated that she would tell the next part of the events as she heard from others and said:

"At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there was a career officer named Ertuğrul Apakan sitting at the telex desk at that time. Apakan, who later became closely involved with the Cyprus issue and served as the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, decrypts the code. The code is: 'Ayşe should go on vacation'. Wars and negotiations are going on, and then the minister's daughter is going on vacation. Ertuğrul Apakan hesitates a bit about this situation. However, he receives the message and takes it to the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Undersecretary says 'oh, what are you saying' and takes the message and goes to Bülent Ecevit. Thus, the preparations for the operation begin. The message goes to the ministry and then to the Armed Forces around 02.00 at night, signaling the start of the operation. On the one hand, they don't want to cut off the negotiations and start at that hour. They will cut off the negotiations, but they don't want to cut them off early because the negotiations need to be cut off at a point where the operation starts as soon as they are cut off.

According to what my father later told the Turkish Cypriots in London, he said to Rauf Denktaş, 'Now you go out and talk about the atrocities that the Turkish Cypriots have seen since Lala Mustafa Pasha. ' During the negotiations, there is no interruption, everyone speaks as much as they want. Denktaş speaks for 2 hours, but when he finishes, my father starts the same speeches. Extending the issue a little more. After a while, representatives of other countries say 'The Turks are prolonging this matter'. Then the negotiations are interrupted. Immediately after the negotiations are interrupted, the second operation in Cyprus begins. "

Ayşe Güneş Ayata, while her mother called her the next morning and said, "We always talk about you here. " she said she didn't understand why she was being talked about at that time.

"ECEVİT SHOWED ME TO THE JOURNALISTS BY SAYING 'AYŞE IS HERE'"

Prof. Dr. Ayata, who stated that they went to Esenboğa Airport to welcome the delegation with Bülent Ecevit and all government officials after the conference, said, "Orhan Birgit, who was not from journalism, told the journalists about this password incident. Suddenly there was a commotion around me. Then Bülent Ecevit said to the journalists, 'Our Minister of Foreign Affairs Turan Güneş and I have agreed on a password. Our Minister of Foreign Affairs Turan Güneş's daughter Ayşe is also here. ' He showed me and that's when I learned that my name was the password. "

"MY NAME IS A SYMBOL BUT I'M NOT THE HERO OF THE INCIDENT"

Ayşe Güneş Ayata, when asked about what changed in her life after Bülent Ecevit pointed out that Ayşe in the password "Ayşe should go on vacation" was her, said:

"There is no doubt that it is a subject that I am very proud of and very happy about. 50 years have passed. It is still remembered as a symbol even after 50 years, and it is sometimes repeated, appearing in newspapers, and people come and ask me, 'Are you the Ayşe who went on vacation?' All of these are very nice, very happy and proud. My name is a symbol, but I am not the hero of this incident. The heroes of this incident are the then Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit, my father, Minister of Foreign Affairs Turan Güneş, and the Turkish Armed Forces, but not me. It is an important event in which we have martyrs, and it is not possible for me to claim them. The owners of that honor are not me, they are known. "

Prof. Dr. Ayata, who stated that after the operation, she asked journalists to call her and make a statement, especially in July for 50 years, said that she made two decisions regarding this issue and explained them as follows:

"First, I wanted to separate a series of symbols associated with my name from my identity as a political scientist. My second decision was not to speak until the 50th anniversary of the operation, and if I don't die and survive, to speak on its 50th anniversary. I think the 50th year is a very important symbol. There are very few people left who have experienced that atmosphere. There were apparently two surviving ministers from that government, and there is one more person, me, who is known by name. After that, there is no one else. It is important to be able to keep that symbol alive in some way. I decided to speak for that reason. "

Prof. Dr. Ayata, when asked about the meaning that the password "Ayşe should go on vacation" attributed to the operation, said:

"My father used to say that if her name wasn't Ayşe, we couldn't make her name a symbol. Yes, Ayşe is me, and the Ayşe who went on vacation is also me, but on the other hand, Ayşe is one of the most well-known female names in Turkey. When you shout Ayşe on the street, 5-6 people look at you. If my name wasn't such a widespread name and a name used by various segments of the people, maybe it wouldn't have been known for so long. So there is no doubt that one of the important reasons for the survival of this symbol is related to my name being Ayşe. "

"MY FIRST VISIT TO CYPRUS WAS VERY IMPRESSIVE"

Ayşe Güneş Ayata, who shared her memories about the years she went to the TRNC after the operation, said:

"I first went in the New Year's Eve that connects 1974 to 1975. The government had already fallen, but we went with my father, Bülent Ecevit, and the delegation. We went by ferry because the airport was military. It was Bülent Ecevit's first visit too. That's why an incredible crowd and rally.Apparently all Turkish Cypriots are there, the crowd is so big. I mean Famagusta Port is packed. After Bülent Ecevit, my father and I got off the ferry using the stairs. Then the whole Cyprus population started shouting 'Ayşe' and I was so embarrassed that I threw myself down the middle of the stairs. My parents were very scared, thinking I might have hurt myself. No, I didn't. That was my first trip to Cyprus. At that time, I visited all the martyrs' cemeteries and war zones. It was very impressive, very emotional. The families of the martyrs came with us. They were all emotionally intense. The emotional intensity was different on my second trip. After I got married, Mr. Denktaş invited us to Cyprus for our honeymoon and we went. He hosted us in his modest house. After that, I went to Cyprus a few more times. METU has a campus in Cyprus, and I went there as a faculty member. "

Ayşe Güneş Ayata, stated that she will go to the TRNC with the CHP delegation to attend the official ceremonies on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation. Prof. Dr. Ayata said, "The CHP Chairman invited me, along with two ministers who were on duty during the operation and survived. I will go to the TRNC on the 18th of the month. After attending the official ceremony on the 20th, I will return. It is a very exciting and important process for me."