History of the Turkish Cypriot People’ symposium held in UK

By Behlul Cetinkaya

LONDON (AA) - A symposium titled "History of the Turkish Cypriot People" was held Thursday in the UK, exploring the past of Turkish Cypriots and the historical names given to them.

The symposium, held at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London, was attended by Türkiye's Ambassador to the UK, Osman Koray Ertas, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' (TRNC) Representative to London, Cimen Keskin.

Mustafa Kureysi, president of the Cezire Association, and former chairperson of the British Turkish Cypriot Association (BTCA) Ersu Ekrem also participated as speakers.

Kureysi discussed the arrival of Arabs in the region following the rise of Islam, noting that Central Asian Turks joined Islamic armies during the Umayyad and Abbasid periods.

He suggested that descendants of these Turks may have settled in Cyprus during Islamic military expeditions.

He also pointed out the presence of Turkish slaves in Cyprus before the Ottoman period, some of whom converted to Christianity and became ancestors of some present-day Greek Cypriots.

Kureysi shared historical documents indicating the existence of mosques and madrasas in Cyprus prior to the Ottoman conquest, noting that Turks from Anatolia were settled on the island after the conquest, alongside Ottoman-era internal migration.

He noted that British records referred to Turkish Cypriots as "Turkish-Muslims," while Greek records referred to all Muslims as "Turks."

Ekrem examined the status of Turkish Cypriots during the process that began with the emergence of the modern Cyprus issue.

In his closing speech, Ertas emphasized the importance of teaching and narrating the history of Turkish Cypriots for a shared future.

The ambassador further highlighted the current peaceful atmosphere on the island, noting that there is a unique opportunity for cooperation between the two communities.

- Decades-long Cyprus problem

Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.

In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island led to Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was founded in 1983.

It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece and the UK.

The Greek Cypriot administration entered the European Union in 2004, the same year that Greek Cypriots single-handedly blocked a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.

*Writing by Merve Berker