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The Turkish-Cypriots

Alexander-Michael Hadjilyra
katoomba@cytanet.com.cy
etween July 1570 and August 1571, the
243.000-strong Ottoman army invaded and
conquered the entire island of Cyprus, after
the sieges of Nicosia and Famagusta, both followed
by countless massacres, unspeakable tortures and
indescribable pillages; thereafter, a large number of
churches were converted into mosques. After Lala
Mustafa Pasha, chief commander of the invading
forces, departed in October 1571, he left about 2.000
infantrymen and 2.000 horsemen (spahis) to guard Cyprus, presumably with their families; between
1.000-1.500 of these soldiers were janizaries, i.e. of Christian origin.

By 1596, it was estimated that there were about 12 to 13.000 Turks in Cyprus, of which 4 to 5.000
resided in Nicosia and the majority of them were Islamised Christians, the result of the onerous
taxation and the harshness of the Ottoman administration. Due to these adverse circumstances, over
the years more and more Christians embraced Islam or chose to become Linobambaki (CryptoChristians), especially after the bloody 1821 events; the Linobambaki appeared as Muslims, outwardly
practicing circumcision and other Mohammedan customs, however covertly they held church
services, venerated icons and carried two names, a Christian and a Muslim one, in the hope that one
day the Ottomans would leave Cyprus and that they would be allowed to return to Christianity.
Between 1691-1695, the population comprised of 32.000 Muslims (22%) and 112.000 Christians,
while in 1738 Muslims numbered 24 to 30.000 (30%) and Christians 48 to 60.000. According to the
1841 record of population by muhassil (governor) Talt Effendi, there were 32 to 33.000 Muslims
(30%) and 75 to 76.000 Christians. By 1862, there were 34.200 Muslims (21%) and 126.900 Christians.
The increase in the number of Turkish-Cypriots was due to the oppression and harsh taxation of the
Ottoman administration, which forced numerous Christians to embrace Islam. In fact, the majority of
todays Turkish-Cypriots are in fact Islamised Christians or Linobambaki, who had originally been
Greek-Cypriots, Armenian-Cypriots, Maronite-Cypriots or Latin-Cypriots, which explains their
physical differences with mainland Turks, their regular visits to monasteries and churches, the
consumption of wine and pork, the fact that the majority of their villages did not have Turkish names
- some even carried the name Ayios (Saint) - and the fact that the majority of them did not speak
Turkish until the mid-20th century (with the exception of the ones who resided in the cities).
With the arrival of the British in July 1878, Turkish-Cypriots were granted various political privileges
and were favoured in becoming civil servants and policemen. They were allowed to elect 3 of the 12
(1882-1925) or 15 (1925-1931) elected members of
the Legislative Council (1882-1925); the Executive
Council comprised of 4 British, 2 Christians and 1
Mohammedan, and the Administrative Council
(abolished in 1920) consisted of 3 British members,
2 Christians, 2 Mohammedans, as well as the Kadi
(Islamic Chief Judge), the Mufti (Islamic Religious
Leader), a Delegate of Evkaf (Islamic Pious
Foundations) and the Archbishop.

According to the population censuses, the TurkishCypriot population during the British Era, was as
follows: 45.458 in 1881 (24,42%); 47.926 in 1891
(22,90%); 51.309 in 1901 (21,65%); 56.428 in 1911
(20,59%); 61.338 in 1921 (19,74%); 64.238 in 1931
(18,46%); 80.548 in 1946 (17,90%); 92.642 in 1956
(17,52%). In 1960 there were 102.756 TurkishCypriots (17,79%), 1.594 Turks and 502 Gypsies. See
the next pages for their geographical distribution.
Under the guidance and, very often, pressure of the terrorist organisation TMT (Trk Mukavemet
Tekilti - Turkish Resistance Organisation) - formed in mid-1957 by young Turkish military officers
who came to Cyprus clandestinely from Turkey and Turkish-Cypriot extremist nationalists -,
Turkish-Cypriots were forced to sever their social, commercial and other ties with Greek-Cypriots
and were prevented from speaking Greek, thus causing a rift between the two major communities.
With the Independence of Cyprus, on 16 August 1960, Turkish-Cypriots were recognised by the
Constitution as one of the two communities. Despite being only 18% of the population, they were
given disproportionate representation in the new state: a Vice-President with veto rights, 30% of the
Ministers, the MPs, the civil servants and the security forces and 40% of the army. They were also
granted the Turkish Communal Chamber, responsible for educational, religious and other community
matters, thus increasing their autonomy. It was euphemistically said, President Makarios was
holding the steering wheel, but Vice-President Kk was in control of the gears and the pedals.
Turkish-Cypriot leaders began causing the new Republic numerous problems, exploiting the
constitutional provisions for separate majorities in the House of Representatives, often rendering it
ineffective. Driven by nationalism and Turkeys guidance and using President Makarios 13-points
proposal - aiming at eliminating impediments to the smooth operation of the government - as a
pretext, the Turkish-Cypriot Vice-President, Ministers, MPs and civil servants mutinied against the
common Republic on 21 December 1963. Inter-communal troubles continued until March 1964,
when the UNFICYP contingent was stationed in Cyprus to prevent further bloodshed.
By the late spring of 1964, Turkish-Cypriots were ghettoised in land pockets of varying size scattered
across Cyprus and had set up a self-proclaimed Autonomous Civil Administration (renamed on 28
December 1967 to Provisional Turkish-Cypriot Administration), controlling the 39 enclaves (nearly
4% of the islands total area, containing about 60% of the total Turkish-Cypriot population); the
largest and most important one was the Nicosia-Aghirda enclave. Thus, the Turkish-Cypriots isolated
themselves from the normal life of the Republic and withdrew into numerous enclaves around the
island, where the authority of the legal government of Cyprus was not respected.
Following the Turkish invasion in summer 1974, 63% of the Turkish-Cypriot population (116.000)
was uprooted and moved to the Turkish-occupied areas (34,85% of Cyprus), suffering oppression by
the regime and the Anatolian settlers. As a result, over 58.000 Turkish-Cypriots have emigrated
abroad, thus becoming a minority. On 13 February
1975 the Turkish Federative State of Cyprus was
self-proclaimed and on 15 November 1983 the socalled Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was
unilaterally declared, recognised only by Turkey.
Today about 90.000 Turkish-Cypriots live in the
occupied areas, while about 500 T/C reside in the
government-controlled areas, especially in Limassol.

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