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Tag: KKTC

  • Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) / Israel’s Strategic Land Acquisitions

    Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) / Israel’s Strategic Land Acquisitions

    Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) 

    A Warning from History /  Admiral Cihat Yaycı Rings the Alarm on Israel’s Strategic Land Acquisitions in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). 

    On August 22, 2025,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S91PLP5FCzQAdmiral Cihat Yaycı issued a grave warning that must not be dismissed. According to his findings, since 2021, Israeli and Zionist-linked individuals have quietly purchased 6,173 acres of land within the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) an amount equal to approximately 1–2% of TRNC territory. At first glance, this may seem marginal. Yet history teaches us that the most profound territorial transformations often begin with small, seemingly innocuous acquisitions. The Palestinian tragedy stands as the most striking precedent: beginning with incremental land purchases in the early 20th century, Zionist movements gradually established a territorial foothold which, step by step, culminated in the displacement of an indigenous population and the creation of new geopolitical realities.

    Admiral Yaycı is not engaging in conjecture but presenting a strategic analysis consistent with patterns observed in the past century. His assessment highlights that the acquisition of land in Cyprus is not a benign economic investment, but rather a long-term geopolitical stratagem aimed at altering the demographic, territorial, and political balance of the island. The warning echoes the very tactics employed in Palestine—incremental land purchases, disguised as private transactions, that over time result in demographic domination and territorial displacement. Lest take a look at the Geopolitical Chessboard: Why Cyprus? The question arises: why would Israel prioritize Cyprus, particularly the TRNC? Admiral Yaycı provides the answer. Cyprus is not merely an island—it is a strategic naval, intelligence, and energy hub at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Israel recognizes that Türkiye and the TRNC stand as the primary obstacles to its regional designs. Türkiye’s UAV and UCAV technologies, growing missile capabilities, intelligence infrastructures, and its nuclear power initiatives represent a formidable counterweight to Israeli strategic interests.

    Israel’s geopolitical maneuvering has already been evident in the Eastern Mediterranean gas disputes, where it aligned with Greece and the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus (GCASC). This triangular alignment is not coincidental but part of a broader containment strategy aimed at limiting Türkiye’s influence in the region. By embedding itself through land purchases in the TRNC, Israel extends its leverage into the very heart of the island, giving itself future claims and logistical advantages.

     Cross-References: Admiral Yaycı’s Consistent Warnings : Admiral Cihat Yaycı’s analyses over the last five years provide a consistent body of warnings regarding Israel’s long-term designs: In 2020, he warned that Israel’s expanding intelligence footprint in Cyprus, in cooperation with Greece, was part of a broader effort to surround Türkiye’s maritime jurisdiction zones (Mavi Vatan). In 2021, Yaycı documented Israel’s increasing maritime patrols and naval exercises with Greece and Southern Cyprus as preparatory steps for long-term presence in the Eastern Mediterranean. In 2022, he underlined Israel’s covert strategy of land acquisitions in key maritime and aerial logistics zones, foreshadowing the very revelation he has now made public. In 2023 and 2024, Yaycı repeatedly drew attention to the Andreas Papandreou Air Base in Paphos, warning that if Israel were to establish a permanent presence there, it would represent a direct military threat to both Türkiye and the TRNC. Now, in 2025, his revelations confirm the trajectory he has been charting for years: Israel is not acting spontaneously, but following a calculated, multi-decade strategy designed to weaken Türkiye’s regional standing and potentially alter the status of the TRNC.

     Echoes of Concern from the Greek Cypriot Administration has expressed unease at the scale of Israeli land acquisitions. Several political figures in Southern Cyprus have warned that the influx of Israeli capital is creating imbalances in real estate and ownership patterns, particularly in coastal and strategic areas. This suggests that concerns are not limited to the Turkish side of the island; rather, they reveal a broader recognition that Cyprus itself risks becoming a pawn in a wider Zionist-Israeli geostrategic agenda.

     Let’s look at the Legal and Strategic Imperative The 1960 Treaty of Guarantee an internationally binding agreement signed by Türkiye, Greece, and the United Kingdom provides Türkiye with both the right and obligation to intervene in order to safeguard the territorial integrity and balance of the island. This treaty is not a historical relic; it remains in force and must now serve as a legal instrumant and strategic shield. Türkiye, as a guarantoor power, must recognize that land acquisition on this scale is not a simple commercial activity, but a creeping annexation by stealth.

     Thus far, Türkiye and the TRNC have taken steps to monitor and regulate property transfers, yet Admiral Yaycı’s revelatians underscore that current measures are insufficient. Immediate, additional steps must include: Imposing stricter land purchase regulations that prevent foreign ownership in critical strategic zones or location on the Northern side. Launching a full land registry audit to trace the origins of acquisitions since 2020.Diplomatic engagement with third parties to expose the longterm risks of Israeli encroachment. Strengthening military and intelligence cooperation between Türkiye and the TRNC to counter potential foreign militarization.

     A Final Warning  by Admiral Yaycı’s words resonate with the gravity of historical memory: what occurred in Palestine must not be allowed to repeat itself in Cyprus. The TRNC cannot afford to underestimate the implications of incremental land sales that, once accumulated, may lay the groundwork for political, demographic, and territorial claims in the future. Türkiye today is not the Türkiye of a century ago. As Admiral Yaycı rightly states, this is not Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, or any other state vulnerable to foreign manipulation. Türkiye has the capacity, strength, and legitimacy to act decisively. But action must come not tomorrow, nor in distant years, but today.

    If left unaddressed, this gradual strategy threatens to turn Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)  into a new epicenter of crisis a “slow motion annexation” that, in hindsight, will appear painfully obvioous. The warnings sounded by Admiral Cihat Yaycı must not be dismissed in Ankara as if they were minor concerns now I write about , similar to how we have seen the voices  ignored in matters such as the lack of community engagement ,lack of communication, vis text message or email or other under what many  and a quite majority consider the most ineffective worst Consulate General of the Republic of Türkiye in New York in the past 35 years. Returning to the heart of the issue: the question is no longer whether Israel is purchasing land in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)  the evidence is undeniable. 

    The pressing question is whether Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) will act with more boldness, urgency, and decisiveness required to halt this process before it is irreversibly too late.

    Ibrahim Kurtulus 

    Community Activist  

  • UN envoy De Soto urges EU to end KKTC’s isolation

    UN envoy De Soto urges EU to end KKTC’s isolation

    Former UN envoy De Soto urges EU to end KKTC’s isolation;

    Alvaro de Soto, the UN secretary-general’s former special adviser on Cyprus, has said the European Union should, as promised, end the isolation of Turkish Cypriots to help find a lasting solution to the problems on the long-divided island.
    Mr de Soto stated that it would only be fair for the EU live up to its promises to the Turkish inhabitants of northern Cyprus. Noting that he believes that the EU should comply with its commitments to the Turkish Cypriots, he said this would drive Turkey to open its ports to traffic from Greek Cyprus. Turkey refuses to do so as long as theTurkish Cypriots continue to be subjected to isolation, which the EU had promised to end following the Greek Cypriot rejection of the Annan plan in 2004 while the Turkish side overwhelmingly approved it.
    The former UN envoy argued that one reason that prompted the Greek Cypriots to reject the Annan plan aimed at reunifying the island six years ago could be that they felt they were in an advantageous position because they were going to join the EU. He added that another reason was that the Greek Cypriots did not study the plan as carefully as the Turkish Cypriots and were therefore not completely aware of what it would have meant for them.
    De Soto also assessed the prospects of resolving the issue through the bilateral talks initiated by Greek Cypriot leader Dimitris Christofias and former Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC) President Mehmet Ali Talat on Sept. 3, 2008. Talat was unseated by Dervis Eroglu at the presidential elections held a month ago.
    He said both sides have agreed to a bi-communal, bi-zonal federal state solution as a compromise, though it was not either side’s preference. Stating that the parties have agreed to terms of reference for the talks, he said:“There is a new basis. I see that even Mr. Eroglu has agreed to continue on the same basis. They are pursuing a bi-zonal, bi-communal federal solution, the results of which would have to be a state of single international legal personality and sovereignty, and that is in conformity with the Annan plan as far as I can tell.” He added that it is a “good thing” to see Eroglu pledge to continue the talks from where they left off. Christofias and Eroglu are scheduled to hold the 72nd meeting of the reunification talks on May 26.
    De Soto lastly discussed the reason for his resignation from his last post at the UN in 2007 as the special coordinator for the Middle East peace process. He said he resigned because the UN refused to talk with Hamas.“In the Quartet, the UN decided not to deal with Hamas even though Hamas had been democratically elected in an election that has been praised by the observers, including the EU observers. Even though this was the case, the UN stopped dealing with the government of the Palestinian authority, and that was a mistake. I tried to get things changed, and when I was not successful, I left the UN,” he said.
    17 May 2010, Monday

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