Cyprus dispute

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The "Cyprus dispute" refers to the dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots over Cyprus, an island in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. This dispute led to the de facto separation of the island into a mostly Greek speaking southern and a mostly Turkish speaking northern part, the latter having been occupied by Turkish troops since 1974.

Enosis or Taksim? The starting point of the conflict

Under Ottoman Rule: 1821 - 1914

The idea of Cyprus' union with Greece - enosis (Ένωσις) dates back to the Greek War of Independence (1821 - see History of Modern Greece). The mid-19th century European attention on the new Kingdom of Greece and the excitement over the Megali Idea crystalized the idea among many prominent Greek Cypriots that they could anticipate eventual unification with the "motherland."

The Ottoman Empire ceded Cyprus to Great Britain in 1878 as part of an agreement with the British to deter Russian expansion into areas occupied by the Ottoman Empire. At the reception for the first British High Commissioner held in Larnaka, the bishop of Kition delivered a welcome speech in which he asked the British to expedite enosis for Cyprus as it had done with the Ionian Islands in 1864.

Cyprus had been largely ignored by the Sublime Porte, and the quality of life on the island was not very high. In the late 19th century, Cyprus technically remained the sovereign territory of the Ottomans while under the administration of the British. Turkish Cypriots were very skeptical of enosis as they feared retaliation and oppression once the island came under Athens' administration.

British Colonial Rule: 1914 - 1948

When the First World War began in 1914, Britain annexed Cyprus and offered it to Constantine I of Greece on condition that Greece enter the war on the side of the British. Although the offer was declined in favor of Greece's remaining neutral, this close brush with enosis galvanized both Greek and Turkish Cypriots to support or oppose the policy. After the foundation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, the new Turkish government formally recognized Britain's ownership of Cyprus. Part of the agreement stipulated that the outstanding "rent" that London had never paid to the Ottomans for its lease of Cyprus between 1878 and 1914 should be paid off. In turn, Britain raised taxes on the Cypriots in order to cover the cost of its payment.

These policies, in addition to the brewing tensions between the two communities, led to open rebellion in 1931. A riot resulted in the death of six civilians, injuries to others, and the burning of the British Government House in Lefkosia. About 2,000 people were convicted of crimes in connection with the violence.

Britain reacted by imposing harsh restrictions. Military reinforcements were dispatched to the island, the constitution suspended, press censorship instituted, and political parties banned. Two bishops and eight other prominent citizens directly implicated in the riot were exiled. In effect, the governor became a dictator, empowered to rule by decree. Municipal elections were suspended, and until 1943 all municipal officials were appointed by the government. The governor was to be assisted by an Executive Council, and two years later an Advisory Council was established; both councils consisted only of appointees and were restricted to advising on domestic matters only. In addition, the flying of Greek or Turkish flags or the public display of portraits of Greek or Turkish heroes was forbidden.

In 1946, the British government announced plans to invite Cypriots to form a Consultative Assembly to discuss a new constitution. As a demonstrating of good will, the British also allowed the return of the 1931 exiles. Instead of reacting positively, as expected by the British, the Greek Cypriot hierarchy reacted angrily because there had been no mention of enosis. The Orthodox Church of Cyprus had expressed its disapproval, and twenty-two Greek Cypriots declined to appear, stating that enosis was their sole political aim.

The idea of "enosis and only enosis" became more attractive to the general population. The Church of Cyprus solidified its control over the Greek Cypriot community, intensifying its activities for enosis and opposing communism. Prominent among its leaders was Bishop Makarios, spiritual and secular leader of the Greek Cypriots. The Church's main opposition came from the Cypriot Communist Party (officially the Progressive Party of the Working People; Ανορθωτικό Κόμμα Εργαζόμενου Λαού; or AKEL), which viewed itself as the alternative political voice to the Orthodox Church of Cyprus, also shifted its own platform from backing full self-government to supporting enosis, even though the right-wing government in Greece was hostile to communism.

The Makarios era begins: 1948 - 1960

On June 13, 1948, Bishop Makarios was consecrated as Archbishop Makarios III in the Cathedral of Larnaka. In his inaugural speech, he vowed not to rest until union with "mother Greece" had been achieved.

In Athens, enosis was a common topic of conversation, and a Cypriot native, Colonel George Grivas, was becoming known for his strong views on the subject. In anticipation of an armed struggle to achieve enosis, Grivas visited Cyprus in July 1951. He discussed his ideas with Makarios but was disappointed by the archbishop's reservations about the effectiveness of a guerrilla uprising. From the beginning, and throughout their relationship, Grivas resented having to share leadership with the archbishop. Makarios, concerned about Grivas's extremism from their very first meeting, preferred to continue diplomatic efforts, particularly efforts to get the UN involved. The feelings of uneasiness that arose between them never dissipated. In the end, the two became enemies.

In August 1954, Greece's UN representative formally requested that self-determination for the people of Cyprus be included on the agenda of the General Assembly's next session. Turkey rejected the idea of the union of Cyprus and Greece. The Turkish Cypriot community had consistently opposed the Greek Cypriot enosis movement, but had generally abstained from direct action because under British rule the Turkish minority status and identity were protected. The expressed attitude of the Cypriot Turks was that, when Britain withdrew, control of Cyprus should simply revert to Turkey -- although Turkey gave up all rights and claims to Cyprus in the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne.

Turkish Cypriot identification with Turkey had grown stronger, and after 1954 the Turkish government had become increasingly involved as the Cyprus problem became an international issue. In 1957 the Turkish Resistance Organization (Türk Mukavemet Teskilati -- TMT), a guerrilla group that fought for Turkish Cypriot interests was founded. In response to the growing demand for enosis, a number of Turkish Cypriots became convinced that the only way to protect the interests and identity of the Turkish Cypriot population in the event of enosis would be to divide the island - 'taksim' ("division" in Turkish) into a Greek sector and a Turkish sector.

In the late summer and fall of 1954, the Cyprus problem intensified. On Cyprus, the colonial government threatened advocates of enosis with up to five years' imprisonment. In December, the UN General Assembly announced the decision "not to consider the problem further for the time being, because it does not appear appropriate to adopt a resolution on the question of Cyprus." Reaction to the setback at the UN was immediate and violent, resulting in the worst rioting in Cyprus since 1931.

In January 1955, with Makarios' blessing, Grivas founded the National Organization of Cypriot Fighters (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston -- EOKA). On April 1, 1955, EOKA opened a campaign of violence against British rule in a well-coordinated series of attacks on police, military, and other government installations in Lefkosia, Famagusta, Larnaka, and Lemesos.

A bombing incident at the Turkish consulate in Thessaloniki, Greece, in June led to serious rioting in İstanbul and İzmir. It was later learned that the bombing had been carried out by a Turk, and that the riots had been prearranged by the government of Turkey to bring pressure on the Greeks and to show the world that Turks were keenly interested in Cyprus. Greece reacted by withdrawing its representatives from the NATO headquarters in Turkey, and relations between the two NATO partners became quite strained.

Beginning in December 1958, representatives of Greece and Turkey opened discussions of the Cyprus issue. Participants for the first time discussed the concept of an independent Cyprus, i.e., neither enosis nor taksim. Subsequent talks yielded a compromise agreement supporting independence, laying the foundations of the Republic of Cyprus. The scene then shifted to London, where the Greek and Turkish representatives were joined by representatives of the Greek Cypriots, the Turkish Cypriots, and the British. The Zurich-London agreements that became the basis for the Cyprus constitution of 1960 were the Treaty of Establishment, the Treaty of Guarantee, and the Treaty of Alliance.

The general tone of the agreements was one of compromise. Greek Cypriots, especially members of organizations such as EOKA, expressed disappointment because enosis had not been attained. Turkish Cypriots, however, welcomed the agreements and set aside their demand for taksim. According to the Treaty of Establishment, Britain retained sovereignty over 256 square kilometers, which became the Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area, to the northwest of Larnaka, and the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area to the southwest of Lemesos.

Cyprus achieved independence on August 16, 1960.

A Troubled Republic: 1960 - 1974

The constitution and its consequences

According to constitutional arrangements, Cyprus was to become an independent republic with a Greek Cypriot president and a Turkish Cypriot vice-president; a council of ministers with a ratio of seven Greeks to three Turks. A House of Representatives of fifty members, also with a seven-to-three ratio, were to be separately elected by communal balloting on a universal suffrage basis. The judicial system would be headed by a Supreme Constitutional Court, composed of one Greek Cypriot and one Turkish Cypriot and presided over by a contracted judge from a neutral country. In addition, separate Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot Communal Chambers were provided to exercise control in matters of religion, culture, and education. The entire structure of government was strongly bicommunal in composition and function, and thus emphasized the distinctiveness and separation of the two communities.

EOKA, TMT, and the Akritas Plan

Underground organizations of both communities revived during 1961 and 1962. Officially disbanded in 1959, EOKA, along with the TMT, began training again, smuggling weapons in from Greece and Turkey, and working closely with national military contingents from Greece and Turkey that were stationed on the island in accordance with the Treaty of Alliance.

Some Greek Cypriots believed the constitutional impasse could be ended through bold action. Accordingly, a plan of action -- the Akritas Plan -- was drawn up sometime in 1963 by the Greek Cypriot minister of the interior, a close associate of Archbishop Makarios. The plan's course of action began with persuading the international community that concessions made to the Turkish Cypriots were too extensive and that the constitution had to be reformed if the island were to have a functioning government. Another of the plan's goals was the revocation of the Treaty of Guarantee and the Treaty of Alliance. If these aims were realized, enosis would become possible. If Turkish Cypriots refused to accept these changes and attempted to block them by force, the plan foresaw their violent subjugation "in a day or two" before foreign powers could intervene. When the documents were leaked, many Turkish Cypriots saw them as proof that the Greek Cypriots were aiming for the extermination of the Turkish population on Cyprus.

The events of 1963 and their consequences

On November 30, 1963, Makarios advanced a thirteen-point proposal designed, in his view, to eliminate impediments to the functioning of the government. The thirteen points involved constitutional revisions, including the abandonment of the veto power by both the president and the vice president. Turkey rejected it on December 16, declaring the proposal an attempt to undermine the constitution.

In this politically charged atmosphere, violent unrest erupted, leading to the deaths of 1000 Turkish and 200 Greek Cypriots. At the same time, Greece and Turkey (NATO member countries at the time) were on the brink of military confrontation. Following the armistice of December 24, 1963, the UN established the United Nations Peace-keeping Force on Cyprus (UNFICYP), and the two ethnic groups separated themselves.

Most of the Turkish Cypriots, including Vice-President Fazil Küçük, withdrew from the government, and Turkey withdrew diplomatic recognition of Cyprus' government. Most of the Turkish Cypriot population withdrew to enclaves, with Lefkosia being completely divided in two. This relocation was and still is viewed by Turkish Cypriots as a forced expulsion from their homes, while most Greek Cypriots claim it happened out of free will. The enclaves formed an separate administration centering around Vice President Küçük, and demands for complete separation of the two communities began.

From the conflict to the Turkish Invasion

The Greek Cypriots imposed an embargo on the Turkish Cypriots, controlling entrance to the Turkish Cypriot enclaves. The UN, however, managed to make them lift the sanctions. The living conditions in the enclaves were very poor, even though the Turkish government sent food and supplies. Following the military coup d'etat in Greece in 1967, President Makarios distanced himself from his earlier enosis convictions, and began propagating the further independence of Cyprus. The Greek junta, however, began supporting armed Anti-Makarios groups. After some armed conflicts in the course of 1967, both sides reached an agreement and lived in relative peace until 1974. In 1971, General Grivas returned to Cyprus and started a guerilla war against Makarios resurrecting EOKA (as EOKA B) which he led until his death in January 1974.

The Turkish occupation of Cyprus

During the spring of 1974, Cypriot intelligence found evidence that EOKA B was planning a coup and was being supplied, controlled, and funded by the military government in Athens. Early in July, Makarios wrote to the president of Greece, accusing the junta of plotting against his life and against the government of Cyprus. Makarios sent his letter to the Greek president on July 2, 1974; the reply came thirteen days later, not in the form of a letter but in an order from Athens to the Cypriot National Guard to overthrow its commander in chief and take control of the island. Makarios narrowly escaped death in the attack. He fled the presidential palace and went to Pafos, where the British managed to retrieve him and smuggle him out of the country.

In the meantime, the EOKA member Nicos Sampson was declared provisional president of the new government. It was obvious to Ankara that Athens was behind the coup. Fearing that the coup was a pretext for forcibly uniting Cyprus with Greece, Turkey invaded on July 20, 1974, with troops landing shortly before dawn at Kyrenia (Girne) on the northern coast. Ankara claimed that it was invoking its right under the Treaty of Guarantee to protect the Turkish Cypriot and guarantee the independence of Cyprus - a claim until the present day contested by Greeks and Greek Cypriots. By the time that the fighting stopped on August 14, Turkish troops controlled 37% of the island, from Morphou Bay in the west, through Lefkosia, to Famagusta in the east.

Negotiations and developments between 1974 and 1979

How the negotiations began

The Turkish military invasion changed the attitude of the United Nations towards the conflict on the island. In resolution No 353 (external link), the UN Security Council called upon all states to "respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Cyprus" and demanded "an immediate end to foreign military intervention" as well as the "withdrawal ... of foreign military personnel present otherwise than under the authority of international agreements" (remark: the Turkish government claimed that their intervention was within the guarantee treaties, something which is heavily contested by the Greek government). After the second military intervention of Turkey on Cyprus, right after the failed negotiations in Geneva, the UN in its general assembly resolution 3212 demanded negotiations, which eventually took place in 1975.

Results of the negotiations

During the intercommunal talks following the invasion, three agreements between the negotiating parties could be achieved. The first one was the agreement on the exchange of population, which allowed 60,000 Turkish Cypriots to settle in the North. On the other side, only a small percentage of Greek Cypriots were allowed to move to the South. They were, however, offered help from the northern administration to continue to live in relative normal conditions, including the right to practice their religion. This population exchange marked the completion of the segregation of the island's population.

On February 12, 1977, Makarios and Rauf Denktaş signed an agreement laying the basis for further negotiations. Both sides agreed on their common aim to form an independent and bicommunal federal republic, stating that the definition of respective territory should be made according to the principles of economic potential, productivity and land ownership. On March 19, 1979, Kyprianou - successor of the late Makarios - and Denktaş concluded an agreement consisting of 10 major points. In this agreement, both parties agreed that the agreement dating from 1977 and the UN resolutions should form the basis of further negotiations, and that human rights as well as the civil rights of all citizens should be respected. Both parties agreed that the independence, sovereignty and non-alignment of Cyprus should be upheld; and it was also agreed that neither the island nor part of it would search to unite with any country, and that it was one country with no room for either enosis or taksim.

Negotiations and developments between 1980 and 1997

UN Resolution No. 37/253

On May 16, 1983, the UN General Assembly passed the resolution no. 37/253, initiated by the Kyprianou (external link). The Greek Cypriots celebrated it as a victory on international level, while the Turkish Cypriots called it an "execution order". The resolution demanded "the immediate withdrawal of all occupation forces from the Republic of Cyprus", welcomed the proposal for total demilitarization made by the Greek Cypriots and considered "that the de facto situation created by the force of arms should not be allowed to influence or in any way affect the solution of the problem of Cyprus".

The Turkish Cypriots' reaction was to declare the independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Only three days later, the UN Security Council declared this declaration of independence to be invalid. Ever since, only Turkey has recognised the TRNC as an independent state.

The New York negotiations

In September 1984, the negotiations continued in New York. At the end of the third round of negotiations, on November 24, 1984, the Secretary General made a proposal for an independent, non-aligned, federal and bizonal republic, in which both communities were to enjoy equal political status. The proposal also included the conceding of 25% of Turkish Cypriot-administered territory to the Greek Cypriots and it also provided for the partial withdrawal of Turkish troops. Rauf Denktaş accepted the agreement with the provision that the Greek Cypriot side should accept it without any changes. A breakthrough seemed possible. In January 1985, however, when the agreement was to be signed, Kyprianou hesitated, as the agreement only provided for a partial withdrawal of the Turkish troops, not a total one. He asked for a reopening of the negotiations. Kyprianou's hesitation was not met with full support from the Greek Cypriot population. The Turkish Cypriots considered this position a rejection of the solution in form of a bizonal federal state. A new proposal worked out by the UN Secretary General Perez de Cuellar was rejected by Denktaş in April 1985, the reason being that the Turkish Cypriot side had not taken part in the working out of this plan.

The negotiations were stalled for a few years. Only when Vassiliou was elected president of the Republic of Cyprus in 1988 were negotiations reopened. On January 30, 1989, the general conditions for the foundation of a federal republic and the solution of the Cyprus issue were presented to the UN. The talks between Vassiliou and Denktaş were conducted without help of the UN, but did not produce any results, as no compromise could be achieved regarding the level of sovereignty of the two constituent states.

The set of ideas

The set of ideas, worked out by UN Secretary General Perez de Cuellar, was the most extensive and detailed proposal for the solution of the Cyprus conflict at that time. Its intention was to have both parties distance themselves from former positions. It provided for the establishment of three basic rights; it denied, however, the Greek Cypriot demands that all Greek Cypriots should have the right to return to their former homes. The treaties of guarantee dating form 1960 were confirmed, leaving both Greece and Turkey with the right to station troops "of equal force" on the island. Vassiliou agreed to the set of ideas; this time, the negotiations were blocked by Denktaş, who rejected the planned border drawing.

More measures taken by the UN

After the failure of the set of ideas, the UN put a stress on confidence-building measures on Cyprus. These included a perceivable reduction of Turkish troops on Cyprus, a reduction of Greek Cypriot military expenses, bicommunal contacts on expert level, cooperation on the issue of fresh water supply (a topic problematic for both sides) and on the reopening of the airport of Nikosia, as well as the return of the abandoned city of Varosha to the Greek Cypriots. After a promising start of negotiations, these proposals failed to produce any results. The Greek Cypriots feared that these confidence-building measures would recognise the existence of a Turkish Cypriot state. In the end, the Greek Cypriot president Glafkos Klerides aborted the negotiations, accusing the UN to have unilaterally concluded deals with the Turkish Cypriots.

The application for accession to the European Union by the Republic of Cyprus in 1990 introduced another controversial topic into the discussion of the Cyprus situation. The Turkish Cypriot government as well as the Turkish one protested, claiming that the Greek Cypriot government could not claim sole representation of the island. While the Greek Cypriots praised the positive effect the accession would have on the solution of the Cyprus issue, Denktaş rigorously rejected this argument and put forth that the conditions for his approval to the plan were EU membership for Turkey and the solution of the Cyprus question.

In June 1997, Klerides and Denktaş met in New York; the talks yielded no results, however both politicians agreed on discussing humanitarian questions during the following round of talks. The last round of negotiations took part in Switzerland in 1997, again without any results: The EU in the meantime had decided to invite the Republic of Cyprus for accession negotiations.

Endeavours on reunification and accession to the EU

Four parts with a different legal status

A possible reunification of the island will affect four parts with a different legal status:

• The Republic of Cyprus, officially recognised as sole representation of the island (mostly populated by Greek Cypriots, with a small Turkish Cypriot minority).
• The Northern part of the island, occupied by Turkish troops, calling itself Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (populated by Turkish Cypriots and mainland Turkish people in equal number, with smaller Greek Cypriot and Maronite minorities).
• The sovereign military bases of the United Kingdom.
• The United Nations buffer zone.

In the case of a reunification, the UN and the UK have already announced that they would give up at least part of their territories. Simultaneously, a tripling of the UN contingent is expected. Currently, however, the EU has decided to ignore the separation of the island and has thereby allowed the free travel of persons in both directions, for the first time since 1974.

Cyprus' EU accession

On December 13, 2002, the European Union at its Copenhague summit ratified the accession of Cyprus, Malta, and eight Eastern European countries (cf. 2004 Enlargement) to take place on May 1st, 2004. The Cypriot parliament ratified the EU accession treaty on July 28, 2003. The internationally unrecognised TRNC is not a member of the EU; following international law, however, the Northern part of the island is part of the EU, because the whole island joined in 2004. Thus, the inhabitants of the Northern part (at least those that held the Cypriot citizenship in 1974 and their descendants) have the right to obtain a EU passport. Technically, the EU laws apply for the North as well as for the South. The main problem in the ongoing negotiations about the status of the island is not only the territorial and strategic situation (including the high number of Turkish troops), but also the status of the Anatolian settlers that moved to Northern Cyprus after the separation. A disputed issue is the handling of properties acquired by British, Swiss and Germans citizens in the North, who will face legitimate claims of return or reimbursement from their former Greek Cypriot owners. Both parties - the Anatolian settlers and the foreign citizens - ceded full authority to the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan for the solution of these questions, yet only the inhabitants of the Northern part responded in favor of the solution proposed at the referendum in April 2004.

The UN plan for the reunification of Cyprus (Annan Plan)

The proposed government form was a confederation of two associated states. The Northern Turkish Cypriot state should emcompass about 28.5% of the total surface, the Southern Greek Cypriot one 71.5% (currently the Turkish army holds about 36% of the total surface). Kofi Annan had presented two different maps for the partitioning.

Each part having its own parliament, with a bicameral parliament on the federal level. In the House of Representatives, each ethnic group would have a representation according to its part of the total population (one third Turkish Cypriots, two thirds Greek Cypriots). The Senate would consist of equal parts of members of each ethnic group.

A demilitarisation was envisioned: A reduction of the stationed Turkish troops from 35,000 to 6,000 was planned; the Greek state would have had the right to station 4,000 troops on the island. Both states, as well as the British Crown, would have remained guarantors of the peace.

Final negotiations and referendum

At the end of the final negotiations in Switzerland in March 2004, a consensus was not achieved. The aim of the negotiations was to reunify the island before the Enlargement of the EU in 2004. Under leadership of the UN and most especially Kofi Annan, the plan was revised several times. It provided for a confederation of the two parts according to the Swiss model, yet including a lot of constraints for the Greek Cypriots, most significantly a limited right of return to the Northern confederate state.

The referendum on April 24, 2004, put an end to the plan: While the Turkish Cypriots approved the plan with a two third majority, only one quarter of the Greek Cypriots voted in favor. For the plan to be put in effect, both parts of the island would have had to approve it. As a result, only the internationally recognised southern part of the island joined the EU on May 1, 2004.

Detailed results:

de:Zypern-Konflikt it:Problema di Cipro

External Links

The Cyprus Conflict: an educational website