Kokkina exclave
Encyclopedia
Kokkina is an exclave of the internationally unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
. It was one of the Turkish Cypriot enclaves
prior to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus
in 1974. It is hemmed in on three sides by mountainous territory controlled by the Republic of Cyprus with the Mediterranean sea (Morphou Bay
) on its northern flank. The exclave sits several kilometres away from what constitutes the main area of the TRNC and is a place which has special symbolic significance for the Cypriots because of the events of August 1964.
and Turkish Cypriot
communities during the inter-communal struggle of 1963-1964. On 4 April 1964, armed groups originating from both communities had fought over a strategic location overlooking the region's only highway. There had also been several sporadic incidents of gunfire between villages of the region. On 8 April 1964, the United Nations
Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) managed to arrange a ceasefire
which was enforced by stationing UNFICYP troops at several critical points.
The government of the Republic of Cyprus viewed Kokkina as a point of insertion for Turkish paramilitaries and weaponry in Cyprus because about 500 Turkish Cypriot volunteers who had been trained and armed in Turkey had landed there. So, on 6 August 1964, elements of the Greek Cypriot National Guard and Greek Army units led by General George Grivas
attacked the area around Kokkina and surrounded the village forcing its defenders and the civilian population to retreat to a narrow beachhead. The defenders consisted of elements of the Turkish Resistance Organization
and a number of the volunteers mentioned above. A heavy artillery
barrage (with naval support) of the beachhead followed causing a number of casualties and heavy damage to the village.
The defenders, while completely out-powered and lacking supplies, managed to hold their positions until 8 August when Turkey decided to intervene. Turkish jet fighters bombed military and civilian targets. Among the civilian targets, most notable was the bombing of a nearby hospital resulting in many deaths and horrific injuries to a number of civilians. The threat of a Turkish military escalation and a resolution of the United Nations Security Council
calling for a ceasefire, ended the stand-off. The intervention of the Soviet Union
prevented any military escalation by warning Turkey that if they invade Cyprus, the USSR will respond in an appropriate fashion. The President of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios, a Greek Cypriot, also issued an ultimatum
to Turkey, threatening to attack every Turkish Cypriot village in Cyprus if the air raids were not stopped. A ceasefire was declared on 9 August 1964 and UNFICYP forces were once again deployed to the area.
Turkey claimed that the aerial attack and threat of further intervention were justified by her right to protect the Turkish Cypriot population under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee. The village was heavily damaged by the artillery barrage and UN forces declared it a disaster area
and brought in much-needed supplies for the civilians.
). Kokkina was one of the last port areas under Turkish Cypriot control and a vital supply link with Turkey
for Turkish Cypriot fighters.
In the eyes of the Greek Cypriot authorities, Kokkina was a threat to the nation's security posed by Turkish Cypriot paramilitaries, and cutting it off would have severed Turkish Cypriot armed groups from resupply and reinforcement.
When the Turkish military staged their invasion in Cyprus in 1974, Kokkina was a specific objective. The exclave became part of the Turkish Federative State of North Cyprus in 1975, then the TRNC when it declared UDI
in November 1983. However, this declaration of independence was declared to be illegal by United Nations Security Council Resolution 541
(1983) and has yet to be recognized by any sovereign state except Turkey
.
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Northern Cyprus or North Cyprus , officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus , is a self-declared state that comprises the northeastern part of the island of Cyprus...
. It was one of the Turkish Cypriot enclaves
Turkish Cypriot Enclaves
The Turkish Cypriot enclaves were enclaves inhabited by Turkish Cypriots before the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus.-Events leading to the creation of the enclaves:...
prior to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus
Turkish invasion of Cyprus
The Turkish invasion of Cyprus, launched on 20 July 1974, was a Turkish military invasion in response to a Greek military junta backed coup in Cyprus...
in 1974. It is hemmed in on three sides by mountainous territory controlled by the Republic of Cyprus with the Mediterranean sea (Morphou Bay
Morphou Bay
Morphou Bay , is a part of the Mediterranean Sea, located on the North Western side of the island of Cyprus. It is named after the nearby inland town of Morphou . The bay forms the westernmost seaboard of the break-away Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which claims the bay as its own...
) on its northern flank. The exclave sits several kilometres away from what constitutes the main area of the TRNC and is a place which has special symbolic significance for the Cypriots because of the events of August 1964.
History
The Tylliria/Dillirga region, where Kokkina is situated, had been a place of intense confrontation between the Greek CypriotGreek Cypriots
Greek Cypriots are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community at 77% of the population. Greek Cypriots are mostly members of the Church of Cyprus, an autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church within the wider communion of Orthodox Christianity...
and Turkish Cypriot
Turkish Cypriots
Turkish Cypriots are the ethnic Turks and members of the Turkish-speaking ethnolinguistic community of the Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The term is used to refer explicitly to the indigenous Turkish Cypriots, whose Ottoman Turkish forbears colonised the island in 1571...
communities during the inter-communal struggle of 1963-1964. On 4 April 1964, armed groups originating from both communities had fought over a strategic location overlooking the region's only highway. There had also been several sporadic incidents of gunfire between villages of the region. On 8 April 1964, the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) managed to arrange a ceasefire
Ceasefire
A ceasefire is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be declared as part of a formal treaty, but they have also been called as part of an informal understanding between opposing forces...
which was enforced by stationing UNFICYP troops at several critical points.
The government of the Republic of Cyprus viewed Kokkina as a point of insertion for Turkish paramilitaries and weaponry in Cyprus because about 500 Turkish Cypriot volunteers who had been trained and armed in Turkey had landed there. So, on 6 August 1964, elements of the Greek Cypriot National Guard and Greek Army units led by General George Grivas
George Grivas
Georgios Grivas , also known by his nom de guerre Digenis , which he adopted while in EOKA, was a Cyprus-born general in the Greek Army, leader of the EOKA guerrilla organization and EOKA B paramilitary organisation.-Early life:Georgios Grivas was born on July 5, 1898 in Trikomo, Famagusta...
attacked the area around Kokkina and surrounded the village forcing its defenders and the civilian population to retreat to a narrow beachhead. The defenders consisted of elements of the Turkish Resistance Organization
Turkish Resistance Organization
The Turkish Resistance Organisation was a Turkish Cypriot pro-taksim paramilitary organisation formed by Rauf Denktaş and Turkish military officer Rıza Vuruşkan in 1958 as a defence organisation to counter the Greek Cypriot Fighter's Organisation EOKA....
and a number of the volunteers mentioned above. A heavy artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
barrage (with naval support) of the beachhead followed causing a number of casualties and heavy damage to the village.
The defenders, while completely out-powered and lacking supplies, managed to hold their positions until 8 August when Turkey decided to intervene. Turkish jet fighters bombed military and civilian targets. Among the civilian targets, most notable was the bombing of a nearby hospital resulting in many deaths and horrific injuries to a number of civilians. The threat of a Turkish military escalation and a resolution of the United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
calling for a ceasefire, ended the stand-off. The intervention of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
prevented any military escalation by warning Turkey that if they invade Cyprus, the USSR will respond in an appropriate fashion. The President of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios, a Greek Cypriot, also issued an ultimatum
Ultimatum
An ultimatum is a demand whose fulfillment is requested in a specified period of time and which is backed up by a threat to be followed through in case of noncompliance. An ultimatum is generally the final demand in a series of requests...
to Turkey, threatening to attack every Turkish Cypriot village in Cyprus if the air raids were not stopped. A ceasefire was declared on 9 August 1964 and UNFICYP forces were once again deployed to the area.
Turkey claimed that the aerial attack and threat of further intervention were justified by her right to protect the Turkish Cypriot population under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee. The village was heavily damaged by the artillery barrage and UN forces declared it a disaster area
Disaster area
A disaster area is a region or a locale heavily damaged by either natural hazards, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, earthquakes, technological hazards including nuclear and radiation accidents, or sociological hazards like riots, terrorism or war. The population living there often...
and brought in much-needed supplies for the civilians.
Significance
Since December 1963, thousands of Turkish Cypriots became concentrated in enclaves, as a result of the intercommunal fighting (see Cyprus disputeCyprus dispute
The Cyprus dispute is the result of the ongoing conflict between the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey, over the Turkish occupied northern part of Cyprus....
). Kokkina was one of the last port areas under Turkish Cypriot control and a vital supply link with Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
for Turkish Cypriot fighters.
In the eyes of the Greek Cypriot authorities, Kokkina was a threat to the nation's security posed by Turkish Cypriot paramilitaries, and cutting it off would have severed Turkish Cypriot armed groups from resupply and reinforcement.
When the Turkish military staged their invasion in Cyprus in 1974, Kokkina was a specific objective. The exclave became part of the Turkish Federative State of North Cyprus in 1975, then the TRNC when it declared UDI
Declaration of Independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Eight years after the Turkish Federative State of North Cyprus was proclaimed , the UDI of North Cyprus was presented to the Northern Cypriot Parliament in North Nicosia by Turkish Cypriot Leader/Northern Cypriot State President Rauf Denktaş on November 15, 1983...
in November 1983. However, this declaration of independence was declared to be illegal by United Nations Security Council Resolution 541
United Nations Security Council Resolution 541
United Nations Security Council Resolution 541, adopted on November 18, 1983, after reaffirming Resolution 365 and Resolution 367 , the Council condemned Northern Cyprus' decision to declare independence....
(1983) and has yet to be recognized by any sovereign state except Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.