Turkish Cypriot diaspora - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Turkish Cypriot diaspora is a term used to refer to the Turkish Cypriot community living outside the island of Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

History

In 1914, Britain annexed the island of Cyprus

Cyprus

when the Ottomans joined World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

against the Allied Forces. Cyprus' Muslim inhabitants were asked to choose between adopting British nationality and retaining their Ottoman subject status; this resulted in 4,000-8,500 Muslim Turks choosing to leave the island and move to Turkey. By July 1923, 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...

accepted that Cyprus

Cyprus

had become a British territory under the Treaty of Lausanne

Treaty of Lausanne

The Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 July 1923, that settled the Anatolian and East Thracian parts of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The treaty of Lausanne was ratified by the Greek government on 11 February 1924, by the Turkish government on 31...

and almost 15% of the Turkish Cypriot community, approximately 20,000, immigrated to Turkey.

Between 1820-60 Turkish Cypriots were fleeing to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

due to religious or political persecution. Furthermore, the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

of 1929 brought economic depression to Cyprus

Cyprus

with unemployment and low wages, thus, Turkish Cypriots

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...

started to immigrate in small numbers to the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

and the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. By 1958 the number of Turkish Cypriots in the UK was 8,500. Their numbers increased each year as rumours about immigration restrictions appeared in much of the Cypriot media.

During the 1950s Turkish Cypriots started to leave Cyprus for political reasons, this was first visible when the Greek Cypriots

Greek 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...

held a referendum in 1950 in which 95.7% of eligible Greek Cypriot voters cast their ballots in supporting enosis

Enosis

Enosis refers to the movement of the Greek-Cypriot population to incorporate the island of Cyprus into Greece.Similar movements had previously developed in other regions with ethnic Greek majorities such as the Ionian Islands, Crete and the Dodecanese. These regions were eventually incorporated...

, the union of Cyprus with Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. Thus, the 1950s saw many Turkish Cypriots who were fleeing the EOKA

EOKA

EOKA was an anticolonial, antiimperialist nationalist organisation with the ultimate goal of "The liberation of Cyprus from the British yoke". Although not stated in its initial declaration of existence which was printed and distributed on the 1st of April 1955, EOKA also had a target of achieving...

terrorists.

In 1963, inter-ethnic fighting broke out in Cyprus, with Turkish Cypriots bearing the heavier cost in terms of casualties and some 25,000 Turkish Cypriots became internally displaced accounting to about a fifth of their population. This led to more Turkish Cypriots emigrating because of the Greek Cypriot oppression in the mid-1960s.
By the late 1960s, tension continued to grow in the island and approximately 60,000 Turkish Cypriots left their homes and moved into 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:...

. This resulted in an exodus of more Turkish Cypriots from Cyprus with the majority migrating to the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

whilst others went to 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...

, North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

and Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

With the rise to power of the Greek military junta in 1967, a group of right-wing extremists supporting the union of Cyprus with Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

created an organisation called EOKA B

EOKA B

EOKA-B was a Greek Cypriot paramilitary organisation formed in 1971. It followed a right-wing nationalistic ideology and had the ultimate goal of achieving the enosis of Cyprus with Greece...

and staged a coup in 1974 against the islands President. This led to a military offensive by 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...

who used its right as one of the guarantor states and divided the island.

By 1983, the Turkish Cypriots unilaterally proclaimed

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...

the establishment of their own state, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which has since remained internationally unrecognized except by Turkey. The internationally recognized government of the Greek Cypriot-controlled Republic of Cyprus has led an economic, political, cultural, and sporting embargo

Embargo

An embargo is the partial or complete prohibition of commerce and trade with a particular country, in order to isolate it. Embargoes are considered strong diplomatic measures imposed in an effort, by the imposing country, to elicit a given national-interest result from the country on which it is...

on Northern Cyprus, followed by the entire international community, with the exception of 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...

(though recently, some parts of the embargo have been softened

Foreign relations of Northern Cyprus

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, due to its unrecognized status internationally, is dependent on Turkey to facilitate its contacts with the international community...

). Thus, since the division of the island, the Turkish Cypriot economy

Economy of Northern Cyprus

The economy of Northern Cyprus is dominated by the services sector , which includes the public sector, trade, tourism and education. Industry contributes 22% of GDP and agriculture 9%. The economy operates on a free-market basis, with a significant portion of administration costs funded by Turkey...

remained stagnant and undeveloped because of the economic embargo

Embargo

es which have been imposed on the north. Due to the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots an estimated 130,000 have immigrated from Northern Cyprus to the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

since its establishment. Turkish Cypriots are forced to emigrate, as a result of unemployment, economic, social and moral degradation and the pressures from Turkish settlers who are given undue privileges. Due to the 'Turkeyfication' policies administered in the north, Turkish Cypriots responses to such policies of nationalisation have been to leave the island and moved to Britain, Australia, and Canada.

Demographics

Country	TRNC Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2001 estimate)	Other estimates	Further information
Turkey	500,000	300,000-500,000
United Kingdom	200,000	300,000-400,000	British Cypriots British Turks
Australia	40,000	60,000	Turkish Australian
North America North America North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas... United States Canada	10,000 N/A N/A	10,000	Cypriot American Cypriot American A Cypriot American is a citizen of the United States of America of Cypriot heritage or descent. The majority of Cypriots speak either Greek or Turkish, while a minority speak Arabic or Armenian. In general, Greek-speaking Cypriot Americans are members of the Greek Orthodox Church, whilst... Turkish American Turkish American Turkish Americans are people who have Turkish ancestry and are citizens of the United States.-History:Early Turkish immigrants to the United States were predominantly from Turkey's rural community. They settled in large, industrial cities and found employment as unskilled laborers... Turkish Canadians
Germany
Other	5,000

External links

Reassessing what we collect website – Turkish Cypriot London History of Turkish Cypriot London with objects and images
Turkish Cypriots of Australia - Historical Book
Oral Histories - Turkish Cypriots of Australia

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History

Demographics

See also

External links