Turkish actor admits Cyprus war crimes

In this post last week, I tried to make it clear that the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 was a land-grab, an excuse for looting, theft and mass murder. That the invasion of Cyprus was an act of savage aggression is confirmed by this report (in Greek) in yesterday's Kathirmerini in which a prominent Turkish actor, Attila Olgac, a star in the popular Valley of the Wolves series, which spawned a notorious anti-American and anti-Israeli film of the same name, admits while being interviewed on Turkish Star television, that during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 he cold-bloodedly murdered 10 Greek prisoners.

Below is Olgac's story as published by Kathimerini (my translation), while the video clip above is from yesterday's RIK news, which led on Olgac's confession that he is a war criminal. That Olgac makes out that he was a reluctant war criminal leads us to wonder, of course, how those less imbued with his artistic sensitivities went about their business on defenceless Cyprus 35 years ago. It's worth reiterating that some 4,500 Greeks were slaughtered in Cyprus in 1974, while another 1,600 are regarded as missing, and must be presumed dead. Indeed, Olgac's confession reveals to us how many of those 1,600 missing must have met their fate.

Turkish actor 'reveals' how many he killed during the Attila invasion

'I killed 10 prisoners,' said a well-known Turkish actor, referring to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, where he fought during his national service.

'The first one I killed was a 19-year-old prisoner,' said Attila Olgac.

Speaking on the Turkish television channel Star, the actor said that while the 1974 invasion was being prepared, he was one day away from being discharged, but once the operation started he left from Mersin for Cyprus.

During the television programme, the actor said: 'I said to our commanding officer that I'm an artist and I can't kill. "This is where art ends and real life – war – begins. I've given you an order and you will kill", the commanding officer told me.'

Olgac continued: 'The first one I killed was a 19-year-old soldier taken prisoner. As I extended my gun towards him, he spat at me. I shot him in the head and he died. Later, I killed nine more. And every time I killed, I went to the barracks and cried but, the next time, I killed again. I can't get these images out of my dreams. For a long period, I was in psychotherapy and as a result of what happened I still can't eat meat or look at blood, because I immediately remember the boys I killed.'

The actor said he was revealing the truth for the first time and stressed: 'The war affected me for a long period – in my professional life too. I couldn't do anything. Even today I remember my commanding officer telling me, "you think killing is only for the stage; take a gun and kill someone for real, to see how it feels".'