The general who put Famagusta under Turkish occupation

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By Nikos Stelgias

A few weeks before the tragic events of the summer of 1974, a member of the Turkish Armed Forces arrived in Cyprus, specializing in "special military operations" and receiving "special military training" in accordance with the latest NATO norms. 

The Turkish officer arrives in Famagusta with a fake ID, which has been prepared by the special operations unit of the Turkish army staff. The name "Santi Oguz" is written on the ID. The Turkish officer appears in the Cypriot authorities as a teacher of Turkish history and immediately settles in Famagusta, from where he launches his plans.

The real name of the supposed history teacher is Oguz Kalelioglou. The Turkish general has arrived in Famagusta to reorganize and reorganize the forces of the Turkish TMT organization, which in the early summer of 1974 faced major problems on many fronts. On the one hand, the morale of its members is low. On the other hand, there is an immediate need for military coordination of the movements of the various groups. At the same time, the Turkish staff believes that there is an urgent need to monitor the movements of the National Guard as well as the promotion of some "preparatory projects-operations", which will facilitate the advance of Turkish armor and military forces throughout the northern part. of the island.

The Turkish officer Kalelioglou "gets" work immediately. Within a few twenty-four hours he takes over the leadership of all TMT forces in Famagusta. At the same time, it organizes shifts to monitor the movements of the National Guard and pays special attention to the recruitment of young Turkish Cypriots. On July 20, Mr. Kalelioglou receives the green light from his staff and launches "military operations" in various parts of northern Cyprus.

At the beginning of August 1974, we meet the Turkish officer in Famagusta, where he coordinates the "preparatory" attacks of the TMT against the National Guard. Twenty-four hours before the advance of the Turkish forces in Famagusta, Mr. Kalelioglou coordinates the TMT forces in Famagusta and conducts a "guerrilla war-theft war" with the forces that remain loyal to the Republic of Cyprus. TMT inflicts "deadly blows" and the Turkish army, with its planes and armor, comes to finish the "project"… In mid-August 1974, Mr. Kalelioglou has become the "national hero" of all nationalist Turkish Cypriots forces of Famagusta. Today, on the other side of the green line, in the center of the old town of Famagusta, a statue of him has been erected…

After 1974, the "national hero" returns to his country and participates in very important secret operations of the Turkish staff. In the late 70s, he took part in the military junta, which overthrew the legitimate government of Turkey and established a regime of "military terrorism" in the neighboring country. In the mid-80s, Colonel Kalelioglou took a leading role in various operations of the Turkish army, which had as their ultimate goal the "neutralization" of the forces of the Kurdish separatist movement.

According to the Turkish law enforcement authorities, the "action" of Mr. Kalelioglou continues in the mid-90s. He then organizes a new military junta, which is gradually ousting Necmettin Erbakan's Islamist movement from power.

Last week, Turkish police raided the "national hero"'s home. Turkish judges decided to remand him in custody pending trial in the 1997 coup. He denied the allegations. In his defense, he claimed that his military career focused exclusively on action against Turkey's three enemies: Greece, Cyprus and the Kurdish separatist movement. "I did not take part in the political action of the Turkish army," the Turkish colonel said.

What does the life and state of Colonel Kalelioglou teach us? Why is it of such special historical and political interest? Why are we interested? Why should it bother us?

The "work" of the colonel sheds light on a very important aspect of the Cyprus problem: Our "problem" is part of a broader problematic context. This framework is nothing but the "Turkish problem". The Turkish invasion of Cyprus is inextricably linked to the intervention of Turkish generals in Turkish politics. The same Turkish generals who divided Cyprus also overthrew Turkish governments and prevented the democratization of one of the largest countries in the Eastern Mediterranean.

After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, nation-states emerged in the Balkans, Anatolia and the Eastern Mediterranean, which secured political legitimacy in the name of limiting the territory and scope of action of "rival" nation-states. Opposing nationalisms created many impasses, which deprived the peoples of the former Ottoman Empire of material wealth (economic development) and democratization. Opposing nationalisms prevented the establishment of western-bourgeois democratic institutions in the Eastern Mediterranean countries and plunged their peoples into economic disrepute.

In this geography we have never learned to manage our political and economic problems rationally - bourgeois, capitalist and so on. Our "way out" has always been violence (military - political) and the "privileges" of customer networks (the "best man" who will promote a case to the State, the starter, the envelope and so on). And all this in the name of the supposed national ideals…

* Nikos Stelgias is the correspondent of the newspaper KATHIMERINI in Istanbul