Today marks the date in 1983 when a third of Cyprus declared independence to become the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
Founded seven years after Turkish troops landed on the island, days after the July 15 Greek Cypriot coup, this almost totally unrecognised state is part of a conflict which has blocked Turkey’s path to EU membership and led to warships being mobilised in the East Mediterranean.
Recognised only by Turkey, the TRNC will mark the day with military parades and speeches but the island’s ongoing partition and decades of political stalemate have left this corner of Europe with an intractable problem.
