Türkiye slams new Netflix series for 'distorting historical facts' on Cyprus

ANKARA

Türkiye on Sunday criticized the upcoming television series "Famagusta," set to broadcast on the digital platform Netflix, accusing it of promoting Greek Cypriot propaganda by "distorting historical facts."

The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement on X expressing strong disapproval of the series, which it claims "misrepresents" the events that occurred between 1963 and 1974.

“This series constitutes a great disrespect to the sacred memories of the Turkish Cypriots who were massacred by bloodthirsty Greek Cypriot mobs between 1963-74,” the Ministry stated.

The statement added that such attempts to misrepresent facts only strengthen Türkiye's resolve to continue advocating for its national cause concerning the Cyprus issue.

Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar also slammed Netflix for its upcoming release of a series, accusing the platform of deflecting historical truth on Türkiye’s Cyprus Peace Operation and portraying it in a biased manner.

The series “Famagusta,” set to premiere on the digital platform on Sept. 20, has engaged in biased misrepresentation, thereby conducting "black propaganda" against the Turkish Cypriots, Tatar said in an interview with private broadcaster CNN Türk on Sept. 1.

Cyprus has long been embroiled in a dispute between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, despite numerous diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the conflict.

The ethnic strife that began in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots into enclaves for their safety. In 1974, following a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at annexing the island to Greece, Türkiye intervened militarily as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution, which ultimately led to the founding of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in 1983.

The Greek Cypriot administration was admitted to the EU in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted a U.N. plan to end the longstanding dispute.

“I see that there is a great reaction and backlash both in Northern Cyprus and in Türkiye, which pleases me. It is deeply disappointing that Netflix would allow itself to be instrumentalized in such a one-sided depiction of a political event.”

"The Cyprus problem did not commence in 1974. The 1974 Peace Operation was fundamentally a military intervention that rescued the Turkish Cypriots from genocide. It is universally acknowledged that the Peace Operation put an end to the bloodshed in Cyprus. For half a century, peace has been maintained in this tumultuous region,” he said.

Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz also expressed Türkiye's discomfort about the new Netflix show.

Yılmaz stated that no one can change the peaceful environment that started with the peace operation and lasted for half a century.

He also stated that the "reality of the TRNC state" cannot be changed, and that broadcasting platforms should not be a tool for propaganda.