In The Development of Turkey's Relations with African Countries The Cyprus Issue and The Role of Goodwill Committees

Countries that wanted to benefit from the peace environment that emerged after the end of World War II and that have not yet gained their full independence, strengthened their struggle for independence with the idea of self-determination. On the island of Cyprus, where the Turkish and Greek people live together, a separation movement started in these years in partnership with the Greek people and the Greek government. With the support of the Greek government, the issue grew in a short time and became an international issue by being brought to the UN agenda in 1954. The Greek Cypriot people and the Greek government, led by Archbishop Makarios, who insisted on independence, were determined to get what they wanted by bringing the issue to the international platform through the UN. In this context, the fact that Makarios wanted to get in touch with the "Non-Aligned Movement" and get their support is very important in terms of announcing the Cyprus issue to the international community and gaining supporters. In the face of these attempts by the Greek Cypriot side and the Greek government, Turkey, which has not been able to put forward an effective foreign policy program until now, started to seek international support when it could not find the support it expected from the USA and NATO. The goal of improving relations with African countries, which was first included in the government program in 1963, was the first reflection of the effort to seek support in the international arena regarding the Cyprus issue. In 1965, the government commissioned seven separate goodwill delegations of politicians, diplomats, academics and journalists to visit the countries of the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Latin America. The delegations will convey the president's message to more than seventy states they will visit, examine the possibilities of developing and strengthening relations between these states and Turkey, and explain their views on Cyprus. In this study, the contribution of these goodwill delegations, which were sent to many countries of the world, especially African countries, in order to seek international support for the Cyprus issue, to the solution of the Cyprus problem and to the development of relations between Turkey and Africa were examined.