Weaponising Rhetoric, Ignoring Reality: Confronting the One-Sided Narrative

Introduction: A Familiar Chorus from the Halls of Capitol Hill

On May 10, 2025, the Cyprus Mail published an article titled “Trump urged to ‘bring up’ Cyprus with Erdogan by US congressmen”. It recounts how 22 members of the U.S. Congress, primarily Greek-speaking or aligned, sent a letter urging former President Donald Trump to confront President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Türkiye about a laundry list of grievances. Among the many allegations in the letter was this extraordinary claim:

“President Erdogan also continues to wrongfully and illegally occupy the Republic of Cyprus. 51 years ago, Turkey invaded Cyprus and embarked on a gruesome campaign to ethnically cleanse parts of the island, destroy religious landmarks, and kidnap and disappear Greek Cypriots living there.” Cyprus Mail

Such inflammatory language is not only historically misleading but dangerously one-sided. It echoes the tired talking points of an entrenched lobby, one that routinely misrepresents Türkiye’s role in Cyprus while conveniently forgetting the atrocities and systemic exclusion carried out by the Greek Cypriot leadership since 1963.

This narrative relies not on objective history, but on politically expedient myth-making, aimed at preserving Greek Cypriot hegemony and obstructing the equal status of Turkish Cypriots. It is a form of rhetorical colonisation, where Turkish Cypriot voices are silenced and their legitimate institutions dismissed. This article sets the record straight, fact by fact, principle by principle, exposing not only the double standards of the U.S. congressmen's letter, but the broader Western complicity in perpetuating injustice under the guise of diplomacy.

The Myth of an “Invasion”: Treaty of Guarantee and International Legitimacy

Contrary to the baseless accusation of an "invasion," Türkiye’s 1974 intervention was a legal response to an illegal coup, orchestrated by the Greek junta and carried out by EOKA-B, aiming to forcibly annex the island to Greece. This not only violated Cyprus’ independence and sovereignty but also gravely endangered Turkish Cypriots, who had already been subjected to systematic violence since 1963.

Türkiye acted under Article IV of the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, which grants it the right to intervene unilaterally to restore the constitutional order. The Athens High Court ruling of March 23, 1979, case no. 2568/79, officially described Türkiye’s intervention as:

“A legal intervention according to the founding agreement of Cyprus.” The Athens High Court ruling of March 23, 1979, case no. 2568/79

This legal clarity is ignored in the congressmen’s letter — perhaps because acknowledging it would dismantle the entire narrative they are attempting to sustain.

A Glaring Omission: Turkish Cypriots and Their Right to Exist

Nowhere in the congressmen's letter is there a single reference to Turkish Cypriots, their rights, safety, political representation, or aspirations. It is as though the island belongs solely to Greek Cypriots. This erasure is not new. Since 1963, Turkish Cypriots were violently pushed out of the power-sharing Republic established in 1960. More than 100 Turkish Cypriot villages were attacked or destroyed, with families forced into enclaves under siege.

Yet, instead of international outrage, the response was silence, a silence that still echoes today.

Who Really Has a Human Rights Problem? Let’s Talk About Greece

The congressmen’s lecture on human rights in Türkiye is a remarkable exercise in projection. Their statement reads:

“Distribution of aid after the February 2023 earthquakes failed to adequately address the rights and needs of people with disabilities; and violence and [against] women and girls remains widespread.”

One might ask: do these same lawmakers ever address the abysmal human rights record of Greece, their supposed democratic bastion? A brief look tells a sobering story:

• Press Freedom: Greece ranks last in the entire European Union for press freedom, according to Reporters Without Borders (2025 Index), due to government surveillance, abusive SLAPP lawsuits, and media intimidation.

• Treatment of Migrants: Documented pushbacks at the Türkiye-Greece border have become systematic. Refugees are illegally expelled, often violently, with the European Court of Human Rights ruling against Greece multiple times for violating asylum rights.

• Police Conduct: Reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have documented beatings, arbitrary detentions, and harassment, particularly targeting migrants, Roma communities, and demonstrators.

• Civil Society Harassment: Human rights defenders and NGOs in Greece regularly face smear campaigns, defamation suits, and regulatory threats for exposing abuses.

And yet, these issues receive little attention from Western lawmakers — because Greece enjoys diplomatic immunity under the guise of being a NATO and EU member. The hypocrisy is palpable.

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Blue Homeland: Maritime Security, Not Regional Aggression

The letter paints Türkiye’s “Blue Homeland” doctrine as:

“A political and military justification for dominating the Eastern Mediterranean.”

This is a gross distortion. Blue Homeland is a maritime security concept aimed at safeguarding Türkiye’s legitimate sovereign rights, particularly against unilateral claims by Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration that seek to turn the Mediterranean into their private estate. Under international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which Türkiye has not signed, and thus is not bound by, island nations cannot automatically deprive neighbouring states of fair maritime access.

This is not “aggression.” It is strategic survival in an increasingly hostile geopolitical theatre.

Demonising Türkiye, Erasing TRNC: A Colonial Mentality in New Clothes

The TRNC has maintained democratic institutions, free elections, civil order, and peaceful co-existence for over 40 years. Turkish Cypriots vote, protest, build institutions, and maintain a vibrant civil society, despite facing international embargoes, economic isolation, and diplomatic invisibility.

These embargoes, enforced not because of any wrongdoing but as a result of political pressure from the Greek Cypriot leadership and their international allies, are a direct assault on the principle of self-determination. Still, Turkish Cypriots have persevered with remarkable resilience, demonstrating a steadfast commitment to peace, cooperation, and coexistence. The existence of the TRNC is not a political anomaly but a reflection of political will and democratic endurance in the face of global neglect and regional hostility. What these congressmen truly oppose is not illegality, but legitimacy. They fear the rising international calls for sovereign equality and the two-state solution, which is the only viable alternative to 50 years of failed negotiations.

The congressmen claim that:

“Since then, the ‘TRNC’ has been deemed illegal by numerous successive UN security council resolutions…”

Yet legality is not just a function of recognition; it is also grounded in effective governance and the will of the people.

Selective Outrage: Where Were These Lawmakers When…

It is worth noting the utter absence of outrage from these same U.S. lawmakers over the following:

• The Greek Cypriot glorification of EOKA terrorists, responsible for the murder of British servicemen and Turkish Cypriots.

• Five known Turkish Cypriot mass graves, with no prosecutions or truth commissions ever launched by the Greek Cypriot leadership.

• The fact that since 1963, all Greek Cypriot presidents have been elected from a 100% Greek Cypriot electorate, in violation of the 1960 Constitution, which mandated joint governance between the two communities.

• Ongoing use of anti-Türkiye propaganda in education, media, and public ceremonies across South Cyprus.

This pattern is not accidental. It reflects a systemic refusal to accept that Turkish Cypriots are equal co-owners of the island — not a minority to be tolerated, but a people with inalienable rights.

TCE Conclusion: Enough with the Double Standards

The letter sent by these U.S. congressmen represents more than just diplomatic interference. It is a stark symbol of a deep-seated double standard, where one side is romanticised and forgiven, while the other is vilified regardless of fact, law, or history.

Turkish Cypriots have lived in limbo long enough. They deserve recognition, respect, and a future based on diplomatic reality, not ideological nostalgia.

And as for the idea that Donald Trump, or any U.S. president, will dictate terms to President Erdoğan, one TCE members words capture the sentiment best:

“Do they really think that Trump is going to tell RTE what to do, or if he does, that RTE will?”

It’s time to move past the empty theatre of letters and lobbies and begin building a solution grounded in truth, justice, and sovereign equality.