Turkish Cypriots protest UNFICYP, chanting 'not peacekeepers but occupiers'

Turkish Cypriots gathered for a protest outside the Houses of Parliament in London, expressing their opposition to a UN Security Council resolution passed 60 years ago, which called for the creation of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).

Resolution 186 was adopted on March 4, 1964.

The rally was jointly organised by the British Turkish Cypriot Association (BTCA) and a civil society organisation named Embargoed on Monday.

Also criticising the British government, members of the crowd held various signs that included slogans such as "UNFICYP: Not peacekeepers, but invaders and occupiers of Cyprus," "UK government has failed Turkish Cypriots and has denied them their human rights" and "UN’s 60 years in Cyprus are enough."

Decades-long dispute

Speaking at the event, BTCA chairperson Kenan Yaman said the Cyprus issue cannot be resolved without returning Turkish Cypriots’ rights.

He said the isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is one of the usurped rights of the Turkish Cypriots.

“So direct flights to the TRNC should be launched in order to end this isolation," added Yaman.

Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.

In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island led to Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983.

It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece and the UK.