Millions learned what happened in Cyprus thanks to TV series

THE TV series Once Upon a Time in Cyprus, later renamed Cyprus Towards Victory has come to an end, expressing the embrace of the Turkish soldiers and the freedom fighters and the joy of the Turkish Cypriot people.

Airing on TRT, Cyprus Towards Victory, the first TV series to be shot in the TRNC and about the 11-year struggle of the Turkish Cypriot people, gave important messages in its final episode. In the final episode of the series which aired on Friday [February 4] evening, it was conveyed that while negotiations were continuing in Geneva after the first phase of the Cyprus Peace Operation on July 20, 1974, preparations were being made for the second phase of the landing in case of a possible conflict.

As agreed between the Prime Minister of the time Bülent Ecevit and the Foreign Affairs Minister Turan Güneş, the second phase of the landing, code-named “Ayşe can go on holiday”, was implemented when the Geneva negotiations were inconclusive . . . The difficult hours, especially during the diplomatic traffic with the USA and while waiting patiently, of Ecevit and thenDeputy Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, who were in Turkey’s government during the Peace Operation, along with the armed forces commanders’ determined attitudes, were among the striking scenes.

Ahmet Kural, who played the character of “Kemal” in the series, said that they worked hard because the series portrayed an important [part of] history and that although it was a high production project, there was a comfortable working environment with the support of an experienced team and TRT.

Kural said: “We tried to shed light on our history with what was written in the script as much as we could. It was a very difficult job in terms of production but they handled everything so all that was left for us to do was to act.

“While portraying the Turkish Cypriots’ struggle for independence, it was a source of pride for us to be a part of it as an actor. Like any other project, it makes us sad when it ends but we tried to recount it as best we could.”

Kural also said that he received a lot of thanks for playing and portraying his character, a Turkish Cypriot who was persecuted in the series.

He added: “For me, it wasn’t just a series. There was a real historic duty here. It was an honour for me to be a part of this while showing the Turkish Cypriots’ struggle for independence and freedom. We have completed our mission, we are leaving now.

“Thank you to everyone who watched and appreciated it. We would like to thank everyone who gave their heart to the Cyprus struggle.”

Serkan Çayoğlu, who played the character of “Bereli”, said: “We were aware of our responsibilities, we shot very important scenes. There was great effort by both the producers and the TV channel . . . We did our best. I hope our audience liked it too.”

Çayoğlu noted that they were sad to leave the TRNC after one year and that they made a lot of friends here.

“My advantage here was that Bereli was a real hero,” he said. “So many heroes like Bereli . . . came from Turkey. I tried to portray this as best as I could. Overall the response was very good. The people here welcomed us really well.”

Tayanç Ayaydın, who played the role of Nikos Sampson, noted that he played a challenging character. “I believe we did a very good job,” he said. “I would like to thank our audience who watched every minute. We were far from home but we also felt at home in Cyprus. We will miss this place very much. Once we have Cyprus in our blood, now we will come to visit from time to time.”

The leading roles in the series were played by Ahmet Kural, Serkan Çayoğlu, Pelin Karahan, Tayanç Ayaydın, Gülper Özdemir and Devrim Saltoğlu.

The series’ director was initially Hakan İnan, then Osman Taşçı and Barış Erçetin, and Hüseyin Tunç was the cinematographer. The screenplay bringing the Turkish Cypriot people’s struggle for existence and freedom to the screen was written by Emre Özdür and Başar Başaran.

The TV series portrayed the Turkish Cypriot people, Dr Fazıl Küçük’s and Rauf Denktaş’s difficult days and nights, getting those who were injured in the Greek Cypriot attacks to hospitals with scarce resources, the mass murders and the happy ending achieved thanks to the freedom fighters’ resistance and the Turkish soldiers.

Thus, the people of many countries from the Balkans to Australia witnessed the Turkish Cypriots’ suffering from December 21, 1963 to July 20, 1974.

Thanks to this series, millions of people learned what happened and the facts that were tried to be covered up. As such, it is necessary to thank TRT and the cast.