Turkey has rejected a European Parliament resolution on alleged crimes committed against Cypriot women and girls during the 1974 Turkish military intervention, calling the measure “null and void,” Turkish Minute reported.
The non-binding resolution, adopted Wednesday by 575 votes to 33 with 43 abstentions, recognizes Cypriot women and girls for the first time as victims of alleged crimes during the 1974 operation, including sexual violence, and calls for reparations, survivor support and accountability from Turkey under international law.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey sent troops to the island after a coup backed by the military junta then ruling Greece and aimed at uniting Cyprus with Greece.
The internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus controls the south, while a Turkish Cypriot administration recognized only by Turkey controls the north.
In a statement Thursday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the resolution contained “baseless and preposterous allegations against the heroic Turkish Armed Forces.”
It also expressed full support for a statement by the foreign ministry of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC), which accused the European Parliament of distorting the events of 1974 and targeting Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot community.
The Turkish ministry said the resolution was the latest example of what it called the European Union’s “biased and distorted approach” to the Cyprus dispute.
“It is concerning that European Union institutions are increasingly approaching the Cyprus issue in a manner that departs from historical realities and impartiality,” it said.
Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) spokesperson Ömer Çelik also condemned the resolution in a statement on X on Friday, calling it a “despicable slander” of the Turkish Armed Forces.
Çelik said the measure had no factual basis and that his party “categorically rejected” it.
The resolution, drafted by Greek New Democracy lawmaker Eleonora Meleti and submitted by the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, recognizes sexual violence as a weapon of war.
It calls for the official recognition and rehabilitation of survivors, financial reparations and psychological and social support.
It also urges the immediate and complete withdrawal of Turkish troops from northern Cyprus, describing Turkey’s military presence there as unlawful and an obstacle to EU-Turkey relations.
Speaking in Strasbourg, Meleti cited testimony from survivors she met during a committee visit to Cyprus, saying the effects of rape had continued through “stigma, isolation, marginalization, rejection, loneliness.”
The allegations have also been examined by international human rights bodies.
A 1976 report by the European Commission of Human Rights, based on victim and eyewitness testimony, found that abuses including repeated sexual assaults had occurred and amounted to inhuman treatment under the European Convention on Human Rights.
The report did not determine the criminal responsibility of individual soldiers.
Turkey says its 1974 intervention was carried out under rights granted by the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee and was intended to protect the Turkish Cypriot community.
Ankara calls the intervention a “peace operation” and says its military presence on the island has a legitimate legal basis.
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was unilaterally declared in 1983 and is recognized only by Turkey.
The dispute has long complicated Turkey’s relations with the European Union and remains an obstacle to its membership bid.
Turkey began accession talks in 2005, but the negotiations have been at a standstill since 2018. Eight negotiating chapters remain blocked and no chapter can be provisionally closed because Ankara has not extended an agreement governing its customs relationship with the EU to the Republic of Cyprus.
The EU has also tied closer cooperation with Ankara to progress toward a settlement on the divided island, while Turkey does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member state since 2004.
