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It has been 50 years since Turkey launched an operation on Cyprus. The island, which was divided into north and south after the operation, remains a frozen issue in the middle of the Mediterranean. Like many geopolitical issues in history, this issue has a complicated past. After 307 seven years of Ottoman rule, the island came under British rule in 1878. At that time, Greeks and Turks lived on the island in a scattered manner. In the 1950s, the EOKA guerrilla movement, which was organized for the unification of Cyprus with Greece, was gaining strength on the island. Violence had increased. The Turkish side was also demanding that a part of the island be annexed to Turkey with the slogan “Either division or death.” In 1960, the Republic of Cyprus, which was based on the equality of both peoples on the island, was established under the guarantors of England, Turkey and Greece. However, the Greek Cypriots, who were the majority on the island, were uncomfortable with this outcome. They were against Turks having equal rights. The rights granted to the Turks in 1963 were abolished by President Makarios and talk of unification with Greece began to rise again in the Greek Cypriot side. Mutual violence peaked during this period. On July 15, 1974, a coup took place on the island. The coup was carried out by EOKA leader Nikos Sampson, who was supported by the Greek military junta, and he wanted to connect Cyprus to Greece. This incident changed the fate of the island, perhaps irreversibly. 5 days later, Turkey launched a military operation citing the security of the Turks on the island as the reason, and at the end of the operation, 37% of the island came under Turkish control. It later declared its independence in 1983. However, no country recognized this state, which was declared the 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus'. In fact, Bangladesh did recognize it, but withdrew its decision 24 hours later under pressure from the US. So why did the North declare independence; and why does no country recognize the state in the North? We sought the answer to this question with Prof. Dr. Serhat Güvenç's comments. BBC Turkish website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/turkce Facebook: / bbcturkceservisi Twitter: / bbcturkce Instagram: / bbcturkce