Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Turkey cannot join the EU without a settlement in Cyprus, and that would mean recognising the Greek Cypriot
government.
New Republic
The independent Republic of Cyprus was realised on 16 August 1960. Transition from
colony to independent nation was difficult, with sporadic violence and protest, as extrem-
ists from both sides pushed opposing agendas.
Serious sectarian violence broke out in 1963, further dividing the Greek and Turkish
communities. Turkish Cypriots withdrew from government, claiming that President Arch-
bishop Makarios was pro-
enosis,
and wasn't doing enough to control radicals.
In 1964 the UN sent a peacekeeping force to the island headed by British Major Gener-
al Peter Young. The general drew a green line on a map of Nicosia separating the Greek
and Turkish areas of the capital, thus forming the 'Green Line', that would go on to divide
the entire island. Many Turkish Cypriots moved to enclaves around the island, separating
themselves from the Greeks.
With the Cold War at its peak, Cyprus had strategic value for the British and Americans
in monitoring Soviet activity. Makarios sought a position of political nonalignment, and
was suspected of being a communist. The Americans and their British allies feared anoth-
er Cuban crisis - only in the Mediterranean - which added urgency to their interference.
While the island was still politically unstable, the situation on the ground quietened
between 1964 and 1967, as Turkish Cypriots withdrew to consolidated areas. This in-
cluded setting up a provisional government in northern Lefkosia (North Nicosia).
While Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots may be separated by physical barriers, they share the notion of a
single god - even though they worship two different religions, Sunni Islam and Eastern Orthodoxy.
Coup d'État & Invasion
Discussion of segregating the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities stepped up again in
1967. A coup in Greece installed a right-wing military junta, and Greece's relations with
Cyprus cooled. Makarios had a number of diplomatic meetings with the Soviets, in keep-
ing with his policy of nonalignment. Both the Greek junta and the Americans were suspi-
cious of this, and were fearful that the island would lean towards communism.
In July 1974, the CIA sponsored a Greek junta−organised coup in Cyprus, with the in-
tention of installing a more pro-Western government.
On 15 July, a renegade detachment of the National Guard (numbering a mere 180), led
by officers from mainland Greece, launched an attempt to assassinate Makarios and estab-
