July 20 marks the 50th anniversary of Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus. Ankara initially justified it on the grounds of protecting the island’s Turkish minority and preventing its annexation by Greece. That justification, however, when the Greek junta fell ended less than a week later, Greece reverted to democracy and dropped all claims to Cyprus. Against this backdrop, Turkey invaded a second time, seizing in all nearly 40 percent of the island’s territory.

The status quo is increasingly untenable. Turkey created a puppet government, stations troops on the island, and transfers its own citizens to settle the occupied zone. Energy companies discover nearby gas deposits which Ankara claims for itself, even threatening to attack Americans workers. Hezbollah increasingly uses the occupied zone to plot attacks. Money laundering thrives and Iran increasingly sinks roots.

This special, hour-long podcast looks at Cyprus since July 20, 1974, issues arising from Europe’s oldest unresolved occupation, and future prospects.

Mine Balman worked in 2006-20 as first assistant to the Turkish Cypriot member of the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus. As a filmmaker, she has produced films and documentaries that contribute to peace-building, reconciliation, and conflict-resolution between Cypriot Greeks and Turks. She holds a BS from Essex University and a MS from the University of Surrey.
Marios Lyssiotis is a former Cypriot ambassador to the United States. He also served as ambassador to France, Austria and the Council of Europe. He holds a BA and an MA, both from the Institute d’Études Politiques, Grenoble, France.

Michael Rubin is director of policy analysis at the Middle East Forum and a past editor of the Middle East Quarterly. He also serves as a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Mr. Rubin has lived and traveled legendarily throughout the Middle East, including Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. He holds a BS in biology and history and an MA and PhD in history, all from Yale University.