Ünal Üstel: We Established Our State Thanks to the Peace Operation

Prime Minister Üstel emphasized that the Turkish Cypriots founded their state thanks to the Cyprus Peace Operation, describing July 20, 1974, as a day of great pride and happiness for Turkish Cypriots.

Üstel said, "We will take our country further."

Prime Minister Üstel responded to questions from the Turkish News Agency Cyprus on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Peace Operation.

Recalling his memories from when the guarantor Republic of Turkey landed on the island in 1974, Üstel pointed to the importance of the operation for Turkish Cypriots.

Üstel mentioned that he was injured by mortar fire during the Greek attacks and noted that 29 martyrs were lost where the bomb fell.

He described how, after the coup attempt by the Greek junta, the Greeks began attacking, besieging Turkish villages, and launching heavy assaults, recalling his experiences living in the village of Yeşilova in the Baf region at that time.

Referring to the intense attacks by EOKA against Turks, Üstel remembered the late Rauf Denktaş's calls, "Turkey will come to the rescue" and "run to the front lines." He recounted receiving militia training while attending high school during those days.

Üstel continued by describing how the Greeks, positioned on the hill, observed and struck the village of Yeşilova, which was in a lowland area, with mortars:

"The village was groaning in pain, and many villagers took refuge in their mud-brick homes. Responding to the headman's call, everyone gathered at his house. The Greeks were shelling the village. It was July, in the heat of summer. The women were inside, and the men were in the courtyard. First, a mortar shell fell to the right of the house, then to the left, and the last one hit the courtyard where 40 people were gathered. Since I recognized the sound of the mortar shell from my training, I placed my approximately one-year-old niece on the ground and covered her with my body. The mortar hit the concrete, and the place filled with dust and smoke. At first, I checked on the child; she was fine. I tried to get up but couldn't. I had been injured in my right leg. When I turned around, I saw my pants were torn and my leg was bleeding. 29 people were martyred there. There were human remains on the mulberry tree next to the concrete. Amid great panic, the Greek soldiers arrived and took us captive.

My father worked as a truck driver in the village. The wounded were taken to Baf hospital. The Greeks gathered us in the courtyard, made us lean against the wall, and my mother tried to stop the bleeding in my leg, first with her headscarf and then with scarves from neighboring women. The Greek soldiers did not even allow this despite my wound. My father transported the wounded to the hospital with his truck. I struggled to get into the truck bed because of my injured leg. As I was in pain, a Greek slapped me and threw me into the truck like a sack. We arrived at the hospital. Our house was burned down by shelling; nothing was left.

My wound was just treated with some medicine and bandaged, and I mentioned that I was a high school student during the dressing. They separated me. While hearing the sounds of aircraft in the Baf region, I remember the lights being turned off in the hospital.

I was lying on a stretcher in the hospital corridor. During this time, the blanket I was lying on was pulled from under me by someone saying 'Shillo (dog) Turk.' I fell off the stretcher and fainted.

In the dark, I heard a voice saying, 'brother help.' It was an 8-year-old boy from our village. 'I was shot in the leg, it hurts a lot, I am very scared. Pull me next to you,' he said. My leg was injured, and I couldn't stand up. We crawled towards each other, and I pulled him next to me and tried to comfort him. We writhed in pain, there was no medical treatment. We were hungry...

I thought we would die in the hospital. The EOKA members came and threatened us, and we waited helplessly. Every day, one of our friends died there.

Later, a Greek doctor took us to the village of Yeşilova, and we reached the Turkish side. My treatment was carried out in Kyrenia. During the prisoner exchange, my father and others arrived, and my treatment continued in Istanbul at Çapa."

After recounting his memories, Üstel emphasized the importance of the operation for Turkish Cypriots, likening the suffering of Turkish Cypriots between 1955-74 to that of present-day Gaza.

Stating that they fought a great struggle and that the Republic of Turkey liberated the Turkish Cypriots, Üstel commemorated the martyrs and remembered the veterans, particularly Dr. Küçük and Denktaş, who made significant contributions to the establishment of the TRNC on the 50th anniversary.

Emphasizing that July 20 is a day of great pride and happiness, Üstel stated that the state was established thanks to the Peace Operation and commemorated the coalition partners of the period, Bülent Ecevit and Necmettin Erbakan.

Prime Minister Ünal Üstel concluded with, "We will take our country further."