Friday marks 41 years since the illegal declaration of the north of Cyprus as a separate republic.

The declaration of the occupied areas as the ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ (TRNC) was made on November 15, 1983.

The so-called ‘TRNC’ is recognised as a state only by Ankara, having been declared illegal by the international community through UN Security Council resolutions 541 and 550, which condemned the event as an arbitrary act of secession after an act of aggression.

The UN wording said it “condemns the attempted secession of part of the Republic of Cyprus, considers this action legally invalid and requests its revocation. At the same time, it calls on all states not to recognise it and to respect the independence, territorial integrity and unity of the Republic of Cyprus.”

Various gatherings are being organised island wide in protest of the unilateral declaration while the event is being celebrated in the north.