Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly Numan Kurtulmuş, as well as members of the Cabinet of Ministers, representatives of political parties and numerous parliamentarians will participate in the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the peacekeeping operation in Cyprus.
Warships of the Turkish Naval Forces Command will anchor in the ports of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) as part of the 50th anniversary of Peace and Freedom Day on July 20, according to the TRNC Security Forces Command.
Patrol boats, rescue vessels and frigates will be open to the public at the tourist port of Girne (Kyrenia) and the port of Gazimagus on Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00 local time. On 20 July, the TRNC will host grand celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation.
The island of Cyprus has been in conflict between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots for decades, despite several diplomatic efforts to reach a comprehensive settlement. Ethnic attacks that began in the early 1960s forced the Turkish Cypriots into enclaves to ensure their security.
A Greek Cypriot coup aimed at the annexation of the island by Greece led to the military intervention of Turkey as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence in 1974. As a result, the TRNC was formed in 1983. The Greek Cypriot administration was admitted to the EU in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted a UN plan to end the long-running dispute.
