Turkish Union Party (Northern Cyprus)
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The Turkish Union Party (Turkish: Türk Birliği Partisi, TBP) was a right-wing political party in Northern Cyprus, led by İsmail Tezer. It represented the interest of Turkish settlers.
History[edit]
The TBP was established in 1979 by retired army officers, and was the Cypriot version of the Nationalist Movement Party in Turkey.[1] It performed poorly in the 1980 local elections and won only a single seat in Famagusta in the 1981 National Council elections, taken by Tezer. However, in villages populated by Turkish settlers it received 32% of the vote.[2]
Prior to the 1985 elections the party merged into the newly established New Dawn Party.[2]
Ideology[edit]
The TBP described itself as a national socialist party. It advocated Northern Cyprus becoming part of Turkey, and courted support from Turkish settlers.[1] Tezer himself had moved to the island from Turkey after the 1974 invasion.[2]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Vincent E McHale (1983) Political parties of Europe, Greenwood Press, p129 ISBN 0-313-23804-9
- ^ a b c Mete Hatay (2005) Beyond Numbers: An Inquiry into the Political Integration of the Turkish ‘Settlers’ in Northern Cyprus PRIO Report