II. The Turkish Cypriot Experience of Endurance
The Turkish Cypriot experience of the second half of the twentieth century was marked by a succession of crises that severely tested the community’s political, legal, and social resilience. The gradual breakdown of the 1960 constitutional order, escalating intercommunal tensions, episodes of targeted violence, and the erosion of the bi-communal power-sharing arrangements created a setting in which basic security and political representation could no longer be taken for granted. In parallel, the community was increasingly subjected to international isolation and to a growing asymmetry in how its claims and concerns were reflected in external narratives. In this environment, endurance was not an abstract virtue, but a daily requirement for collective survival and self-respect.[1]
Rauf Denktaş’s leadership emerged and took shape within precisely this context of accumulated uncertainty and pressure. His frequently recalled anecdote about İsmet İnönü’s words – “If you are a Turk, you will endure” – and his own affirmation, “We are Turks, we endure,” should thus be understood less as a personal motto and more as a condensed expression of a wider communal stance. The appeal of these sentences lay in their articulation, in simple language, of a determination that many Turkish Cypriots already held: not to relinquish their rights, their status as a political community, or their sense of dignity, despite unfavorable circumstances.[2]
In this setting, “enduring” carried at least three interrelated meanings. First, it meant holding on to legal rights derived from the founding treaties and constitutional arrangements, and insisting that these commitments could not be unilaterally set aside. Second, it meant maintaining political agency and identity under adverse conditions, refusing to accept a position of permanent marginality or dependence. Third, it meant preserving historical continuity and community self-respect by safeguarding memory, institutions, and symbols that affirmed the Turkish Cypriot presence on the island. Together, these dimensions gave the notion of endurance a concrete content that went far beyond rhetorical insistence.[3]
[1] Teoman Ertuğrul Tulun, “60th Anniversary of the Defunct ‘Republic of Cyprus,’” Center for Eurasian Studies (AVİM), Analysis No. 2020/10, September 30, 2020, accessed January 15, 2026, https://avim.org.tr/en/Analiz/60TH-ANNIVERSARY-OF-THE-DEFUNCT-REPUBLIC-OF-CYPRUS ; Tugay Uluçevik, “The Solution Inherent in the Nature of the Cyprus Dispute,” Center for Eurasian Studies (AVİM), Blog Commentary, March 16, 2021, accessed January 15, 2026, https://avim.org.tr/Blog/THE-SOLUTION-INHERENT-IN-THE-NATURE-OF-THE-CYPRUS-DISPUTE-16-03-2021
[2] Teoman Ertuğrul Tulun, “50th Anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation: What Proposal Did the Greek Side Make to Rauf Denktaş Immediately after the Operation?” Center for Eurasian Studies (AVİM), Analysis No. 2024/11, July 25, 2024, accessed January 15, 2026, https://avim.org.tr/en/Analiz/50TH-ANNIVERSARY-OF-THE-CYPRUS-PEACE-OPERATION-WHAT-PROPOSAL-DID-THE-GREEK-SIDE-MAKE-TO-RAUF-DENKTAS-IMMEDIATELY-AFTER-THE-OPERATION ; Tugay Uluçevik, “Millî Kahraman Rauf R. Denktaş,” Avrasya İncelemeleri Merkezi (AVİM), Blog, January 18, 2024, accessed January 18, 2012, https://avim.org.tr/Blog/MILLI-KAHRAMAN-Rauf-R-DENKTAS
[3] Sean Patrick Smith, “Is an Alternative for Turkish Cypriots on the Cards?” AVİM Blog, November 6, 2017, accessed January 15, 2026, https://avim.org.tr/Blog/IS-AN-ALTERNATIVE-FOR-TURKISH-CYPRIOTS-ON-THE-CARDS ; Center for Eurasian Studies (AVİM), “Cyprus Talks in Geneva: A Geopolitical Stalemate amid Deepening Divides,” AVİM Bulletin, March 12, 2025, accessed January 15, 2026, https://avim.org.tr/en/Bulten/CYPRUS-TALKS-IN-GENEVA-A-GEOPOLITICAL-STALEMATE-AMID-DEEPENING-DIVIDES