A growing number of Turkish Cypriots have openly accused Turkey of committing ethnic cleansing in the northern part of Cyprus, calling on the Republic of Cyprus to take legal action against Ankara at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
In a six-point letter delivered to President Nikos Christodoulides, the Movement of Cypriots for Peace and Solidarity urges the Cypriot government to submit a formal complaint to international institutions, including the United Nations, the European Union, and the Council of Europe. The complaint centers on what the movement describes as Turkey’s systematic transfer of population into the northern, occupied part of the island.
Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides arrives to attend the European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium June 26, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman
The Turkish Cypriots behind the letter argue that this demographic manipulation amounts to ethnic cleansing and directly undermines the prospects for a peaceful resolution to the Cyprus issue. They also urge the United Nations to carry out a formal population census in northern Cyprus, under international supervision, to establish the true scale of the demographic changes and identify what they term as “illegal settlers.”
Allegations of Ethnic Cleansing and Occupation
The letter states that Turkey has long overstepped its responsibilities as a guarantor power on the island. Rather than restoring constitutional order, the Turkish military intervention in 1974 resulted in a divided island, the creation of a de facto border, and widespread displacement. The signatories accuse Ankara of plundering Greek Cypriot properties and violating the Geneva Conventions of 1949 through the transfer of populations and establishment of a puppet regime.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar attend a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, October 26, 2020. Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE.
They name both Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the leader of the unrecognized administration in northern Cyprus, Ersin Tatar, as central figures responsible for implementing these policies.
According to the letter, Turkey’s occupation and demographic engineering aim to alter the political will of the Turkish Cypriot community and maintain control through a dependent, separatist political structure.
Discrepancies in Voter Data
One of the letter’s key claims highlights the widening gap between official Turkish Cypriot voter numbers and the actual citizens of the Republic of Cyprus. While 103,000 Turkish Cypriots were eligible to vote in the recent European Parliament elections, authorities in northern Cyprus announced 216,000 registered voters as of July 2025—a figure the authors see as further evidence of population manipulation.
Greek Cypriots protest at Deryneia checkpoint after Turkish Cypriot authorities opened up part of a fenced off area of Varosha, a suburb of the town of Famagusta in Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus, October 8, 2020. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou
The letter warns that following the upcoming “elections” in October, Turkey—not Turkish Cypriots—will effectively be represented in negotiations about Cyprus’s future.
A woman holds a placard as Cypriots take part in a demonstration in Dherinia against Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s visit in Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus, July 19, 2021. REUTERS/George Christophorou NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.
Five Key Demands by the Turkish Cypriot Movement
The signatories list five concrete requests to President Christodoulides:
- Appeal to the International Criminal Court
The Republic of Cyprus should submit a case to The Hague against Turkey, citing systematic population transfer in violation of the Geneva Conventions and efforts to change the island’s demographic structure. - UN-Supervised Population Census
The United Nations should be formally asked to conduct a population census in the occupied north to identify Turkish Cypriots who are citizens of the Republic of Cyprus and to determine the scale and identity of settlers. The movement stresses that this is not just a statistical exercise, but a vital step toward safeguarding the island’s demographic integrity. - Condemnation of Systematic Colonization
The movement calls on Cyprus to denounce Turkey’s colonization policies, which it says violate democratic principles and human rights, particularly through interference in local electoral processes. - End to Colonial Electoral Practices
The movement urges action to stop what it calls a rigged electoral system in northern Cyprus, manipulated by illegal settlers and Turkish officials. It asks the Cypriot government to ensure future elections are supervised by the United Nations to reflect the genuine will of Turkish Cypriots. - Rejection of Fraudulent Election Results
Finally, the group calls for the Republic of Cyprus to reject the legitimacy of elections held under current conditions in the north, arguing that only by doing so can the sovereignty of the Republic and the democratic rights of all Cypriots be preserved.
A Turning Point in Turkish Cypriot Sentiment?
The timing of the letter, just before an informal diplomatic conference in New York, is politically significant. As noted by Cypriot media, this move undermines Ankara’s long-standing justification that its actions are in defense of Turkish Cypriots. In fact, Turkish Cypriots themselves are now calling on the Republic of Cyprus to defend their rights and identity against Turkey.
This Sept. 19, 1974, photo provided from the Cyprus’ press and informations office shows the Ledra Palace Hotel in the background during the exchange captive soldiers and civilians between Turkish and Cypriots after the 1974 Turkish invasion, in the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus. This grand hotel still manages to hold onto a flicker of its old majesty despite the mortal shell craters and bullet holes scarring its sandstone facade. Amid war in the summer of 1974 that cleaved Cyprus along ethnic lines, United Nations peacekeepers took over the Ledra Palace Hotel and instantly turned it into an emblem of the east Mediterranean island nation’s division. (Press and informations Office, via AP)
The initiative signals a notable shift in political sentiment among sections of the Turkish Cypriot community and adds pressure on the international community to address longstanding concerns over the status of Cyprus’s north.
As the October “elections” approach and diplomatic efforts intensify, these demands may reshape not only the internal dynamics of the island, but also the broader international discourse on Cyprus’s division.
