Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the context of "Assembly of the Republic (Northern Cyprus)"

A buffer zone, also historically known as a march, is a neutral area that lies between two or more bodies of land; usually, between countries. Depending on the type of buffer zone, it may serve to separate regions or conjoin them.Common types of buffer zones are demilitarized zones, border zones and certain restrictive easement zones and green belts. Such zones may be comprised by a sovereign state, forming a buffer state.

Buffer zones have various purposes, politically or otherwise. They can be set up for a multitude of reasons, such as to prevent violence, protect the environment, shield residential and commercial zones from industrial accidents or natural disasters, or even isolate prisons. Buffer zones often result in large uninhabited regions that are themselves noteworthy in many increasingly developed or crowded parts of the world that unintentionally create a de facto wildlife sanctuary.

Taksim (Turkish: [takˈsim], lit. 'division') is a Turkish nationalist and secessionist movement of Turkish Cypriots advocating for the independence and recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus under a two-state solution. It was the primary ideology of supporters of the 1974 invasion, with the concept being articulated as early as 1957 by Vice President Fazıl Küçük.

Turkish Cypriot nationalism developed mainly in response to Greek nationalism and the desire for enosis, union of the whole island with Greece. Initially, Turkish Cypriots favoured the continuation of British rule. However, they were alarmed by the Greek Cypriot calls for enosis, as they saw that the union of Crete with Greece had led to the exodus of Cretan Turks, which was a precedent to be avoided, and they took a pro-partition stance in response to the militant activity of EOKA. Turkish Cypriots also viewed themselves as a distinct ethnic group of the island and believed in their having a separate right to self-determination from Greek Cypriots. Meanwhile, in the 1950s, Turkish leader Adnan Menderes considered Cyprus an "extension of Anatolia", rejected the partition of Cyprus along ethnic lines and supported the annexation of the whole island to Turkey. Nationalistic slogans centred on the idea that "Cyprus is Turkish", and the ruling party declared Cyprus to be part of the Turkish homeland and vital for its security. Upon realising that Turkish Cypriots were only 20% of the islanders and so annexation was unfeasible, the national policy was changed to favour partition. The slogan "Partition or Death" was frequently used in Turkish Cypriot and Turkish protests in the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s. Although after the Zurich and London Conferences, Turkey seemed both to accept the existence of the Cypriot state and to distance itself from its policy of favouring the partition of the island, the goal of Turkish and Turkish Cypriot leaders remained that of creating an independent Turkish state in the northern part of the island. In the 21st century, the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has expressed support for a two-state solution.

The declaration of Independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was a unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) from the Republic of Cyprus by the Turkish Cypriot parliament on 15 November 1983.

Eight years after the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus was proclaimed (in 1975), the declaration of North Cyprus was presented to the Turkish Cypriot parliament in North Nicosia by Turkish Cypriot Leader and Northern Cypriot State President Rauf Denktaş on 15 November 1983. Containing text espousing human rights and a desire to live side-by-side with the Greek Cypriot population, it ended with a declaration that Northern Cyprus was an independent and sovereign state, naming the entity the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The Turkish Cypriot Parliament passed a unanimous resolution later that day ratifying the declaration.

The Nicosia District, or simply Nicosia (also Lefkosia and Lefkoşa), is one of the six districts of Cyprus. Its main town is the island country's capital city, Nicosia. The de facto TRNC-controlled northern part of the district is the Lefkoşa District of the unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

TRNC-controlled areas of the Larnaca District of the Republic of Cyprus are administered as part of Nicosia District, while western parts of the Nicosia District under de facto TRNC control are administered as part of the new Güzelyurt and Lefke Districts.

The Security Forces Command (Turkish: Güvenlik Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı, GKK) is the military and security force of the unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

It is a 15,000 strong force primarily made up of conscripted Turkish Cypriot males between the ages of 18 and 40. It is a combined arms force, with land, air and naval arms, plus police and fire elements.

The Turkish Federated State of Cyprus (TFSC) was a state in Northern Cyprus, declared in 1975 and existed until 1983. This state was not recognised by the international community. It was succeeded by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

Rauf Raif Denktaş (27 January 1924 – 13 January 2012) was a Turkish Cypriot politician, barrister and jurist who served as the founding president of Northern Cyprus. He occupied this position as the president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus between the declaration of the de facto state by Denktaş in 1983 and 2005, as the president of the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus between 1975 and 1983 and as the president of the Autonomous Turkish Cypriot Administration between 1974 and 1975. He was also elected in 1973 as the Vice President of the Republic of Cyprus.

35°20′N 33°52′E / 35.333°N 33.867°E / 35.333; 33.867

Famagusta District, or simply Famagusta, is one of the six districts of Cyprus. While the entire district covers an area of 1,985.3 km (766.5 sq mi), only about 244 km (94 sq mi) is under the actual control of the Republic of Cyprus. Most of the district including the capital and largest city of Famagusta is under the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus since the 1974 invasion. The region under Cypriot control is isolated from the other districts, and a district administration in exile exists on the Cyprus-controlled part of the island with the seat at Paralimni. The Northern Cyprus has a separate district of Iskele which includes the Karpass Peninsula, and is not recognized by the Republic of Cyprus.