Kokkina
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Kokkina
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Coordinates: 35°10′45″N 32°36′42″E / 35.17917°N 32.61167°E | |
Country (de jure) | Cyprus |
• District | Nicosia District |
Country (de facto) | Northern Cyprus[1] |
• District | Lefke District |
Kokkina (
History
The Tylliria/Dillirga region, where Kokkina is situated, had been a place of intense confrontation between
The government of the Republic of Cyprus viewed Kokkina as a point of insertion for Turkish paramilitaries and weaponry in Cyprus because about 500 Turkish Cypriot volunteers who had been trained and armed in Turkey had landed there. So, on 6 August 1964, elements of the Greek Cypriot National Guard and
The defenders, while completely out-powered and lacking supplies, managed to hold their positions until 8 August when Turkey decided to intervene. The threat of a Turkish military escalation and a resolution of the United Nations Security Council calling for a ceasefire, ended the stand-off. A ceasefire was declared on 9 August 1964 and UNFICYP forces were once again deployed to the area.
Turkey claimed that the aerial attack and threat of further intervention were justified by her right to protect the Turkish Cypriot population under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee. The village was heavily damaged by the artillery barrage and UN forces declared it a disaster area and brought in much-needed supplies for the civilians.
Significance
Since December 1963, thousands of Turkish Cypriots became concentrated in enclaves, as a result of the intercommunal fighting (see
In the eyes of the Greek Cypriot authorities, Kokkina was a threat to the nation's security posed by Turkish Cypriot paramilitaries and cutting it off would have severed Turkish armed groups from resupply and reinforcement.
When the Turkish military invaded Cyprus in 1974, Kokkina was a specific objective. The exclave became part of the Turkish Federated State of North Cyprus in 1975, then part of the
Today
Within the exclave at the village cemetery, there are 13 carefully tended graves of Turkish Cypriots who were killed at the siege at Kokkina. The village itself still carries heavy battle damage. A museum memorialising the defenders and the North Cypriot military (Security Forces Command) is also at the village. Kokkina is the site of annual memorial ceremonies attended by high-ranking dignitaries of both the TRNC and Turkish governments. On Greek Cypriot maps, the village is referred to by its Greek name of Kokkina.
References
- ^ In 1983, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus unilaterally declared independence from the Republic of Cyprus. The de facto state is not recognised by any UN state except Turkey.
- PRIO Cyprus Centre. Retrieved 14 January 2015.