Documents of Cyprus Peace Operation that was carried out by Turkish Armed Forces in 1974 housed in state archives

The process that led Türkiye to the Cyprus Peace Operation is meticulously preserved in documents. The documents that alerted the state before the operation carried out in 1974 are housed in the State Archives.

According to information obtained from the Presidency's Directorate of State Archives on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation, the documents stored in the archives include details of the oppression, persecution, and embargo imposed on Turkish Cypriots by the Greeks between 1963 and 1974, as well as the details of the process leading to the peace operation.

Details of the atrocities committed by the Greeks against the Turkish Cypriots are elaborated in a report sent to the then-Prime Minister on August 11, 1964.

The report highlights incidents such as "Greeks firing at Turkish villages, food shortages in Poli and Baf villages, the martyrdom of a truck driver carrying supplies, and Greeks firing at Turkish positions with silenced weapons at the Baf gate of Nicosia."

The report also includes other details depicting the chaos on the island, such as the burning of Turkish-owned businesses by the Greeks and the destruction of food supplies sent to Turkish villages by the Red Crescent.

Faced with increasing inhumane massacres in Cyprus, Türkiye exercised its right as a guarantor state to intervene on July 20, 1974, and the Turkish Armed Forces launched the Cyprus Peace Operation by land, sea, and air.

The decree, signed by President Fahri Korutürk and members of the Council of Ministers on July 19, 1974, the day before the operation, stated:

"Due to recent developments in Cyprus, with the permission granted by the Grand National Assembly on 17.11.1967 with decision No. 148, and pursuant to Article 3 of the Guarantee Treaty and Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, the Council of Ministers decided on July 19, 1974, to authorize the Prime Minister to order the Turkish Armed Forces to intervene in Cyprus and, in case of an aggression by Greece, to take action against that state as well."

Another decree published on the same day stated that due to the situation compelled by the events in Cyprus, the necessary measures were taken to put into effect the simple, reinforced, and general alarms of the official alarm system, as deemed appropriate by the General Staff, starting from 00:01 on July 19, 1974, to advance the war preparations of the Turkish Armed Forces.

The decree issued on July 20, 1974, the day the operation began, declared general mobilization to meet the potential needs arising from the situation that necessitated war due to developments in Cyprus. It decided that the personnel needed at the beginning of the operation would be provided according to the special call plans to be implemented by the orders of the General Staff, and that the necessary articles of the National Defense Obligation Law would be enforced by the orders of the General Staff.