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Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti

Flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyrpus - Image by Željko Heimer & Ivan Sache, 8 September 2005

History of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Coat of arms of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Flag of the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Flag reportedly used in 1983-1984
Use of flags on mosques

See also:

History of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

The Republic of Cyprus was proclaimed on 16 August 1960 as a compromise solution between the Greek and Turkish communities of the island. The Greek aspiration to enosis (incorporation of the whole island to Greek) as well as the Turkish aspiration to taksim (sharing of the island between Greece and Turkey) were rejected. According to the Constitution, the Greek community (82% of the population of Cyprus) elected the President of the Republic, Archbishop Makarios III (1913-1977), whereas the Turkish community (18% of the population of the island), elected the Vice-President of the Republic, Fazil Küçük.
In November 1963, President Makarios proposed to Vice-President Küçük a radical modification of the Constitution, which would restrict the rights of the Turkish community. Supported by Turkey, the Turkish community rejected Makarios' proposal and an open conflict broke out between the two communities. This conflict is still unresolved.
In April 1967, a military dictatorship took the power in Greece and imposed the so-called Colonels' regime. On 15 July 1974, Makarios was overthrown by a coup stirred up by the colonels, who openly supported Makarios' enemies in Cyprus. Makarios left the island and was replaced by the extremist Nikos Sampson. On 20 July, Turkish troops landed in Kyrenia, in the north of the island, in "accordance" with Article 4 of the 1960 treaty, which allowed the responsible parties (including Turkey) to intervene if the independance, territorial integrity or security of Cyprus was threatened. The Council of Security of the United Nations obtained a cease-of-fire on 22 July, after the Turkish troops had occupied a significant part of the island. The Colonels' regime collapsed on 24 July and democracy was restored in Greece.
In February 1975, the leader of the Turkish community Rauf Denktaş unilaterally proclaimed the Turkish Cypriot Federate State, which he presented as the first component of a future Cypriot federal state. Denktaş was elected President of the self-proclaimed state in 1975.
In the next years, no agreement could be found between the two communities. There was a rise in tension in 1983 when Greece broke the bilateral discussions and submitted the Cypriot question to the General Assembly of the United Nations. Denktaş reacted by proclaiming on 15 November 1983 the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The new state was recognized only by Turkey and condemned by the international community. The Constitution of the new state was adopted on 5 May 1985, and presidential and general elections took place on 9 and 23 June 1985, respectively.

Source: Encyclopaedia Universalis

The proposal for a new status of Cyprus drafted by the United Nations was rejected by referendum on 24 April 2004. Accordingly, Cyprus is still de facto divided into two parts, the Republic of Cyprus, internationally recognized, except by Turkey, as sovereign over the whole island but exerting power only on its southern part; and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognized by Turkey only, and exerting power on the north of the island. The capital city of Cyprus, Nicosia, is also divided between the two powers.

Ivan Sache, 10 September 2005

Flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

The flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is designed on the model of the Turkish national flag. It is white with the a red crescent and star and two thin red stripes near the top and the bottom of the flag.
The flag was adopted by Law n°15/1984, enacted by the Assembly on 7 March 1984 and published in the Official Gazette on 9 March 1984.

Construction sheet for the flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus - Image by Željko Heimer, 8 September 2005

The diagram exactly matches the precise instructions contained in the First Schedule ("The Flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus") and accompanying diagram attached to the law. These read as follows with all sizes given as proportions of the width:

A. Distance of the centre of the external circle of the crescent from the hoist (the translation I have actually says "from the string seam") = 1/2
B. Diameter of the external circle of the crescent = 1/2
C. Distance between the internal and external centres of the crescent = 1/16
D. Diameter of the internal circle of the crescent = 2/5
E. Distance between the star's circle and the internal circle of the crescent = 1/3
F. Diameter of the star's circle = 1/4
L. Length = 1 1/2
M. Width of the sleeve (again the translation actually says "string seam") = 1/30
N. Width of red stripes = 1/10
O. Width of white stripes = 1/10

The diagram confirms the above visually, and of course, shows all the centre points mentioned on the horizontal meridian.

Article 3(1) of the Law states that:

The Flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus shall be flown from buildings occupied by the Security Forces, by Government Departments, from (the) premises of public institutions and establishments, from the premises of the people's representatives abroad and from vessels owned by persons and corporate bodies and it shall be displayed on motor-cars, in and outside the Republic, of persons authorized by regulations to display the flag on their motor-cars

None the less, Article 5(1) stipulates that:

The Turkish Flag shall continue to be the national flag of the Turkish People of Cyprus.

Christopher Southworth, 5 February 2005

This flag appears in the Flags of Aspirant Peoples chart [eba94], #34, with the following caption:

NORTH CYPRUS
Turkish Republic

Ivan Sache, 13 September 1999

Coat of arms of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Coat of arms of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (obsolete) - Image by Onur Özgün, 20 September 2001

The coat of arms shown above was slightly modified by the law passed by the Parliament on 12 March 2007.

Jens Pattke, 1 March 2008

The date on the coat of arms is the year of foundation of the state and de facto loss of authority by the government of Republic of Cyprus on the northern part of the island.

Onur Özgün, 20 September 2001

Smith [smi82] shows a very similar coat of arms, also in black line-drawing only. The coat of arms is vertually a variation of the coat of arms of Cyprus, black and white and with added crescent and star and changed dates. In Smith, there are two dates in the coat of arms, 1960 inscribed below the dove in the shield (just as it is on the Cyprus coat of arms) and 1975 inscribed above the shield, below the crescent - in the same place where is in the above image is inscribed 1963.
This was the coat of arms of Kıbrıs Turk Federe Devleti or Turkish Cypriot Federated State, in use from 1975 to 1984. That government was using Turkish flag as its own in the same period of time.

Željko Heimer & Chris Kretowicz, 20 September 2001

Flag of the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Flag of the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus - Image by Pascal Vagnat, 9 March 1999

The President's flag is the same as the flag of the Republic but has a golden star fimbriated (big) red fimbriated gold on white in the canton. This was adopted by the Law #36 of 1989. The golden star in the canton (same size as the star near the crescent) is at a distance from the top and the left of the flag equal to 1/14.5 of the width of the flag. There is no mention of the size of the red and golden inner stars. I have drawn them according to an official picture I have. The golden border around the flag has a width equal to 1/80 of the width of the flag.

Pascal Vagnat, 9 March 1999

Car flag of the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus by Pascal Vagnat & Ivan Sache

According to Michel Lupant, the upper red stripe is re-activated to the hoist of the star, making a short 2.5 x 6.5 cm red rectangle (in line with the big red stripe 6.5 cm wide).

Armand Noël du Payrat, 12 March 1999

The flag with this small rectangle is only a wrongly manufactured flag; it is used as the car flag of the President.

Pascal Vagnat, 9 October 1999

Flag reportedly used in 1983-1984

Reported flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, 1983-1984 - Image by Santiago Dotor, 18 December 2002

In 1983, two white stripes were added to the Turkish flag used until then. The colours were reverted the next year.

Andreas Birken, 18 December 2002

Use of flags on mosques

Flags on the Selimiye Mosque, Nicosia - Photography by Colin Dobson, 13 October 2005

The Ledra Museum - Observatory, on the eleventh floor of the Ermes department store, on the corner of Ledras and Arsinoes, in the Greek sector of Nicosia has a very helpful information leaflet in a number of different languages. This features a large photograph entitled "A panorama of occupied Nicosia", which shows one of the most prominent buildings in the Turkish sector of Nicosia, the Selimiye Mosque, which was until circa 1570, the Cathedral of Saint Sophia. Hung between the two minarets at the front of the building is an arrangement of two horizontal wires and two vertical wires, so that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus flag and the Turkish flag are almost seen to be 'floating' in the air. In the same leaflet, there are a number of close up photographs of some of the city's main buildings, including a close up of the "Ayias Sofias Church (occupied)", where the flags are not visible!

Flags in the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque, Famagusta - Photography by Colin Dobson, 13 October 2005

Smaller versions of both flags are also often to be found inside mosques, at the pulpit, where the preacher speaks to the congregation from (I am very sorry, I do not know the correct English terminology for the respective locations in a mosque). The above picture was taken inside the Lala Mustafa Pasha Mosque in Famagusta, (former Cathedral of Saint Nicholas), with the permission of the mosque authorities.

Colin Dobson, 13 October 2005