The first picture is a good representation of Cyprus, as confusing as it is. Cyprus has a crazy history, marred by fighting, and the demographic map certainly tells that story. While there is a high greek population in Cyprus, it is spotted throughout by pockets of turkish cypriots. Having these pockets of the turkish obviously causes some tension, which we learned about in lecture. The north, which is Turkish Cyprus has a very high Greek population which is strange. It makes me wonder how the greek population has been unable to push out the turkish population, or at least neutralize them and control the territory for themselves.The picture below shows two UN peacekeeping team members riding around on bikes. I guess this represents that they have not only been in cyprus for a while, but will continue to be there. This could also show how things have changed. They, unlike the picture below, are acting very casually. The picture on the bottom left with the soldiers holding the turkish flag is sort of the opposite of the picture above. They are standing there behind the turkish flag, and they are heavily suited for fighting. The Turks in cyprus have been trying to not so much gain territory, but maintain what they have. Back when I assume this picture was taken they were still trying to fight to not be overrun by the greeks, and help themselves. A big difference between it, and the above picture is that in the below, they are soldiers, more than likely turkish, and are there to fight. In the above picture there are two UN peacekeepers. They are not there to fight, they are more just there to maintain. The top right picture looks like it is not just a UN “office” but also a border. This is probably the dividing line between greek cyprus and turkish cyprus. There is not much to say about this picture. Compared to other contested borders, like the one between North and South Korea, this one seems pretty relaxed. The relations between the two in the past may have been tense, but there has not been as much fighting, especially since they have joined the EU. That is an extremely interesting case for a number of reasons. The most important being that they have an internal border dispute. One of the main clauses to accession to the EU is not having an open border dispute, which Cyprus has. This also creates the question of how Greek-Cypriot relations will be shaped in the future, especially as Greece is currently in less that perfect standing with the EU. Not only that, but the fact that the greek cypriots have wanted to join Greece, like some of the other islands have, is also interesting because of the relatively high turkish population in Cyprus. Not only that, but the long history between Greece and Turkey and their rocky relations.
The pictures work together to show the history of Cyprus.
Before it became independent, Cyprus was a British colony. However, the island was first ruled by the Ottoman Empire, which invaded in 1570. As a result of the Ottoman invasion, thousands of Turkish settlers migrated to the island. This sizable and enduring Turkish community would cause Cyprus many political problems throughout its history, especially when the desire for enosis with Greece was at its peak.
The top left picture shows the ethnographic map of Cyprus prior to the 1974 Turkish invasion. While most of the population on the island was Greek, there were several Turkish communities scattered throughout the island. Those Turkish communities could not be ignored when Cyprus became independent from Britain in 1960, so the international community tried to create a constitution that would be agreeable to both Greek and Turkish residents on the island. In the ensuing Zurich Agreement, the parties agreed that the island would be governed by a Greek president and a Turkish vice president. A governing cabinet would have seven Greek Cypriot members and three Turkish Cypriot members. Additionally, taksim and enosis were forbidden. However, Greek Cypriots immediately pushed for constitutional changes in their favor and formed the Akritas Plan, which aimed to weaken the Turkish Cypriot wing of government and achieve enosis with Greece. By 1963, Turkish Cypriots were forced out of government, and they retreated to protective conclaves in the north. The division of the Greek and Turkish populations remains intact today because of the creation of the Green Line.
The Green Line was created after the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The Turkish invasion, as depicted in the bottom right picture, was the result of a Greek invasion of Cyprus to achieve enosis. When the international community failed to act, Turkey invaded on the grounds that the Treaty of Guarantee, which required outside parties to respect the independence and territorial integrity of Cyprus, had been broken. The Turks captured one-third of the island, which caused many Greeks to flee south and many Turks to move north. The mass migration of the two populations created the ethnic divide that remains today. When the Turkish Cypriots established the Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983, Turkey was the only country to recognize it as a state. As a result, the Republic of Northern Cyprus cannot issue passports or operate international ports. Additionally, all trade from Turkish Cyprus must be funneled through Turkey, which inhibits the true free movement of goods and makes trade less efficient.
As illustrated by the photo on the middle left and the two photos on the right, United Nations peacekeepers continue to patrol the Green Line to ensure peace between the Greek Cypriot southern region and the Turkish Cypriot northern region. The UN buffer zone stretches across the whole island except for a small portion of land on the eastern coast that is home to a British military base. Peacekeepers keep permanent watch over the zone with patrols on foot, in vehicles, by bike, and by helicopter. Additionally, a mobile unit stands ready to respond to emergencies along the buffer zone. About 1,000 incidents of varying severity occur along the buffer zone each year, according to the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus.
Since Cyprus’ accession in the European Union, relations between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots have improved. Multiple points along the buffer zone have been opened to civilians for inter-community travel. Furthermore, ESPN reported that the president of the Cyprus Turkish Football Association said he plans on joining the internationally recognized Cyprus Football Association in an effort to end decades of isolation. Additionally, the Associated Press reported that halted negotiations to reunify the ethnically divided island are set to resume in May. While it may be impossible to reunify the island, many support the possibility of a two-state solution to the conflict.
The overall theme of this week’s blog post is the division of Cyprus. Through several lectures we have learned that Greece and Turkey have taken hold on the South and North of Cyprus, respectively. While Turkey may make their own claims, no one other than Turkey recognizes “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” as a sovereign nation. This means that Northern Cyprus must operate their economy completely through Turkey, while being unable to do such simple tasks as issuing passports to their citizens.
While there has always been tensions between Greeks and Turks, the division of Cyprus did not occur until the coup d’etat in 1974. In an attempt at enosis, or the unification of Greece from the local governments up, Greece intended to annex the island to itself. While much of the population of Cyprus at this time was Greek, there was also a large portion of Cyprus of Turkish heritage. As an effect, Turkey invaded to defend their people, claimed one third of the island in the north. Once separating regions had been established, the flight of Greeks to the south, and Turks to the north ensued. The image on the bottom left is that of Turkish soldiers defending their populations.
Because there are residual tensions between Northern Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, the United Nations has installed the demilitarized Green Zone, a buffer zone, to minimalize strain. The two images on the right are in regards to this buffer zone. It stretches 180 kilometers across the whole island of Cyprus, and is patrolled by UN soldiers as seen in the left middle photo. Although the zone is filled with fencing, towers, and minefields, the soldiers are not there to carry out war, but rather to prevent it between the two conflicting cultural regions.
The image that has me puzzled in that of the top left. It is clear that the image is a map that depicts the many pockets of Turkish populations throughout the nation of Cyprus, but what is confusing is that they are scattered throughout. We have learned that the Turkey made claim upon the Northern third of the island, and therefore one would expect that the Turkish population would be more centered in the north rather than the map’s depiction of them being evenly dispersed. Perhaps this is a map of the Cypriot dispersion before the division of the two populations, but if it is a current map, this is, indeed, befuddling.
Although tensions on the island is clear, the tensions between the nations of Greece and Turkey have become more and more relaxed due to what is known as the “earthquake diplomacy.” In 1999, Turkey was hit with a massive earthquake, and one of the first to act in aid was Greece. Shortly after the Turkish earthquake, Athens was hit by another earthquake, and Turkey reciprocated by providing aid back to Greece. It would seem that while they are intent on keeping their claimed lands, a peaceful relation between the two countries both on and off the island of Cyprus may be possible.
The Cyprus Question is certainly a problem for Turkey’s accession to the European Union. It is such a small landmass, yet it will undoubtedly play a huge part in the future of Turkey. The question, of course, is what to do with the ongoing border dispute that splits Cyprus in half. Although Cyprus itself is a member of the EU, Turkey recognizes Northern Cyprus as a distinct entity and has maintained a Turkish military presence in the region since its 1974 invasion. The line between Northern and Southern Cyprus is drawn by the Green Line set Up by Turkey following its invasion and is referenced in the bottom-right picture as it is now, a United Nations buffer zone. Internationally, Northern Cyprus is only recognized by Turkey.
The bottom-left picture of soldiers holding the Turkish flag is certainly a reference to the failed 1974 coup d’état and impending Turkish invasion. The EOKA B, led by General Grivas, sought to unify Cyprus with Greece and rejected President Makarios III’s decision to not pursue enosis. The coup ousted Makarios and prompted Turkey to act. The international community simply refused to intervene in the issue, so Turkey chose to invade in order to protect the Turkish Cypriot population. Turkey argues this was an acceptable action based on the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee. While this invasion did protect the Turkish Cypriots in some ways, it has also caused unending troubles with Turkey and the EU. Ethnic violence also escalated between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots as a result of the invasion, and the United Nations has maintained a peacekeeping presence while establishing a buffer zone. The middle-left picture is presumably a picture of a routine UN patrol.
The problem in Cyprus is not so easily solved. As one can see in the top-left picture, Cyprus has a significant mixture of both Turkish and Greek Cypriots, with some Maronites thrown into the mix as well. Further research on this picture concluded that this was taken from the 1960 census, and is not indicative of Cyprus today. Certainly, the UN buffer zone led to Greek Cypriots in the north fleeing south to avoid the Turkish occupation. Towns and villages were simply abandoned by the Greek Cypriots. All of the resources left behind allowed for Turks and Turkish Cypriots to move in and have greater control over the region. Until relatively recently the buffer zone has been closed, but now there are seven crossings available to travel between the northern and southern parts of Cyprus.
The situation in Cyprus is difficult and is becoming even more so. Unlike the map in the top-left that shows there is intermingling of ethnicities, a new generation is emerging that has never lived in such coexistence with each other. Individuals from the north and south parts of Cyprus will inevitably continue to see themselves as different and unique; this is why only a two-state solution has the possibility of solving the dispute. The solution may come soon as Turkey has officially entered negotiations to join the EU, but if the historical record of Turkey and the EU is any indication of the kind of progress being made, then a solution is surely to take a few more decades to reach.
The History of Cyprus is a pressing issue in regards to the European Union and to the future of Turkish accession. Cyprus is a small island country in the Mediterranean Sea that was a former British Colony, within the state presides two primary ethnicities the Greeks and the Turks. In the 1960’s the international community worked together to create a constitution that would include both ethnicities in the government, the president would be Greek and the vice president would be Turkish also there would be 7 Greek cabinet members and 3 Turkish members. Years later the Turkish government members we expelled and the Greeks began invading Turkish Cyprus regions. When Turkey felt that the international community failed to respond to the violation of the Treaty between the two ethnicities they invaded Greek Cyprus is retaliation. During their invasion they captured most of Northern Cyprus which is displayed in the first image showing the string of Red zones on the Ethnic map of Cyprus. In the 1983 Turkish Cyprus created its own independent state and was unrecognized by any other state with the exception of Turkey. The Middle left photo depicts the peacekeeping UN forces riding bikes within a Turkish region of Cyprus. The UN are present in order to patrol what is known as the Green Line which was created in 1974 after the Turkish invasion. The white buildings in the top right picture appear to be a UN outpost, likely along the buffer zone so as to control conflicts that could arise between military forces of the two regions. The UN success within Cyprus has been good considering their other Peacekeeping records which were too late such as Rwanda, or Sudan. Unlike in these regions we did not see mass genocide of populations because of the UN’s intervention. Also the Green Line has remained relatively peaceful thanks in part to the UN buffer zone which, as the bottom right picture shows, prohibits military vehicle encroachment.
The issue with Cyprus within the EU however is largely an issue of why Greek Cyprus was permitted entry while they have an ongoing boarder dispute, which is a clearly stated as one of the criteria that must be met to join the EU. Turkeys support for the Northern Turkish Cyprus is also an issue that causes tension for in their strides to join the European Union which is not innately wrong but the fact that Greek Cyprus is a member of the EU means that by supporting the North they are defying Greek Cyprus’s sovereignty.
It is important to understand that the ethnic map on the top left is not a current map of Cyprus, but is in fact a map from the 1960’s, now that the two have lived separately for 30 years it is unlikely that a single state solution is possible and will need to be divided into two distinct international entities. Whether Turkish Cyprus would then be accepted into the EU is another issue because of the difficulty that Turkey has had getting into the EU. Though with the growing disinterest against Turkey and Islamic societies I believe that they will not be recognized in the near future.
The small island of Cyprus has experienced either foreign rule or occupation of it, for the majority of its history, from the times of Byzantium to the Twentieth century with British and Ottoman control during the Great War. The top left image depicts the ethnographic layout of the state of Cyprus, of Greek and Turkish Cypriots and other pockets of minority populations. It also shows how even though there is a great disparity in land occupied and numbers of Turkish Cypriots have they are still able to keep a foothold in the Northern areas of Cyprus.
The bottom left picture shows several soldiers holding up a Turkish flag in a grassy field. This was most likely taken after the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, and the soldiers being that of the Turkish force deployed there. This invasion came after a coup in the government by Greek Cypriots whom were pushing for Enosis to the homeland and at the time denounced the right of veto in the government and subsequently removed the Turkish Cypriots from government. This was then used as pretext for Turkey to invade, which they did in 1974 although it was concluded that they broke the Treaty of Guarantee, between Turkey, Britain, and Greece, that there should be no military intervention,.
Underneath the map is and image of two UN peacekeepers riding bicycles down a road with a Turkish flag in the background, alluding to the sectarian struggles that have plagued the small state since its recognition and relatively easy acceptance into the EU for the southern part of the island. UN peacekeepers have been stationed on the island since 1964, in order to help quell any strife between the two communities. However it can be seen that these troops are traveling relatively light without any heavy gear, this could be in part to the situation becoming more stable as the years have gone on in Cyprus. The top right image also shows the presence of a UN force on the island in the form of a base camp overlooking the Cyprus coastline, again this helps further shows how intertwined the United Nation forces have become over the last fifty years there.
Lastly the bottom right picture comes directly from the most prevalent image of the divided nation, that being the Green-Line. The Green-line was established after the Turkish invasion of 1974 and divided the state in half from east to west. The Green-line emulates similarities to the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, however overtime it has become less and less militarized and as of recent traffic flow is becoming increasingly more common and becoming easier for both Greek and Turkish Cypriots to travel between the opposing sides. This is also is a reminder though of how the area at times was heavily divided, and how the need for a solution between the two communities is needed whether through a two-state solution like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or through another compromise between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
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These images all deal with Cyprus, which has become one of the largest obstacles on Turkey’s path to EU accession, especially after the accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the EU in 2004. Cyprus has a long history and has been controlled by many different powers, from the Byzantines, to the Crusaders, Venetians, Ottomans, and British. This historical diversity of control has led to Cyprus having a non-homogenous population in the modern day. Before the island was divided in the 1970s, the Cypriot population was largely Greek Cypriot, with pockets of Turkish Cypriots scattered across the whole island, as can be seen in the top-left image.
During the early days of its independence in the 1960s, the Cypriot government was supposed to implement a power-sharing plan, where Greek and Turkish Cypriots would both have power. However, the Greek Cypriots almost immediately began making changes to give themselves more power and exclude the Turkish Cypriots from the government. Many Greek Cypriots, including the EOKA-B, longed for enosis, or unification with mainland Greece. A coup in 1974 created the Hellenic Republic of Cyprus, with the goal of annexation by Greece. A few days later, Turkey invaded Cyprus in response to the coup, which had supposedly been supported by Greece, thus violating the Treaty of Guarantee, which prohibited such intervention. Turkish troops, like the ones in the bottom left image, eventually captured about one-third of the island and created a green line between the Turkish and Greek sections of the island. The Turks established the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus on their half of the island, which would later become the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
UN peacekeepers like those in the middle-left image have been present in Cyprus for decades. Before the coup and Turkish invasion, UN peacekeepers arrived to prevent violence after the implementation of the Akritas Plan in 1963, which removed all Turkish Cypriots from the government. Since the division of the island into the Greek Cypriot Republic of Cyprus in the south and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the UN has administered the buffer zone (shown in the two right images) between the two halves of the island.
Historically, travel between the Republic of Cyprus and TRNC has been extremely limited. In recent years, however, there has been an increase in Cypriots crossing over to the other side of the island. Some Greek Cypriots have begun to make claims on the property that they abandoned after the Turkish invasion forced them south in 1974.
Prior to the Republic of Cyprus’ EU accession in 2004, the EU required them to implement the Annan Plan to settle the dispute between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The plan would have created a federation, settled property claims (and compensated property owners), and demilitarized the island. In a referendum, the Turkish Cypriots approved the Annan Plan, while the Greek Cypriots overwhelmingly rejected it. Because the referendum was conducted so close to the official EU accession date, the EU let Cyprus enter as a single unit, but with the acquis communautaire suspended in the north. In order for Turkey to join the EU, the Cyprus issue must first be fully and successfully dealt with.
The top left image shows the ethnic diversity in Cyprus. The image shows that Greeks clearly take up the majority of Cyprus. The next largest group in Cyprus are the Turks. They account for a small portion however. Moronites account for a tiny portion. After there was much tension between the Greeks and Turkish citizens in Cyprus, the Zurich Agreement was made. The treaty said that the president would be Greek and would be accompanied by a Turkish vice president. In 1963 the Greeks wanted amendments added to the constitution but Turkey found them unreasonable. This highlights the lack of communication between the Greeks and Turks in Cyprus. The Greeks violated the treaty and began infringing upon the Turkish sides. These pictures represent the big problem of the Cyprus dispute. The border is split in half and is a reason why Turkey is not being let into the EU. Cyprus is in the EU but Turkey is not. Turkey does not view it as fair that Cyprus is in the EU while Turkey still is not allowed in. They both applied around the same time but Cyprus was granted access quickly. They didn’t have to go thorough the same stuff that Turkey now has to go through. After Turkey invaded Cyprus the green line was set up as a buffer between the two areas. The green line illustrates the gap between the Greeks and the Turks. They view each other at opposing ends and will not cooperate unless they can seek a common ground together. It is for this reason many seek a two state solution. This way they both have their own identity and are more independent, which is what many citizens want. The middle photo on the left shows UN guards patrolling. They are most likely on the Green Line. The Green Line is actually well maintained as you can see in the picture on the right. Although it is a problem that has to be addressed, the UN is doing a good job at maintaining it. It is also safe since military vehicles cannot approach it. Lately, talks between Greeks and Turkish Cypriots have had more success. The Annan Plan was the last attempt at talks between Greeks and Turks. The Turkish voted to accept it but Greeks declined it. I am hopeful that with the new talks, the Greeks and Turks will be more cooperative in the future.
The pictures above are all centered on a single issue: Cyprus. Cyprus has had a complicated history with foreign rule and occupation for much of its existence, and thanks to this rocky past, the island still has to overcome many conflicts today. Cyprus is also one of the largest obstacles that Turkey has to overcome in order to enter the European Union, due to their involvement in Cyprus’s conflicts. The photos together represent the current condition of Cyprus with the UNs involvement, as well as the conflicts that has brought it to where it is today.
Cyprus, which is a reasonably small island off the coast of Turkey, is home to two primary nationalities: Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. Cyprus has also had close ties with Greece through much of its history, even being part of the Greek Orthodox Church. This all changed in 1571 however, when it was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire kept Cyprus under the millet system, as they did with many of their conquered territories. However, the fact that it was still a territory of the Ottoman Empire explains the state of the populations currently living in Cyprus. The Turkish and Greek communities both have separate ideas on the future of Cyprus, even while they were still under the Ottoman Empire. The Greek Cypriot community originally wanted Enosis with the Greek State, and while they are now content with just being Greek Cyprus, the Turkish Cypriots are not happy with any of the ideas that the Greek Cypriots have had. Unfortunately for the Turkish community, they are the minority. This can be seen in the top right image, which depicts the diversity of Cyprus around the 1960s census when Cyprus was just breaking away from British rule. According to the map, not only were the Turkish Cypriots the minority, but they were also randomly spaced within the country. This lack of harmony within the state has lead to many conflicts and other hostilities as each side has fought for their own rights. The photo on the bottom left depicts one of these fights, with soldiers proudly carrying the Turkish flag. This flag is also very similar to the one seen in the center left photo, which represents the Republic of Northern Cyprus.
This republic came around due to refusal for the international community to act on the conflicts in Cyprus. With the Greek Cypriot community containing the majority of the population, Turkey finally came to the Turkish population’s rescue and occupied the upper third of the island. This eventually created a haven for the Turkish Cypriot population of Cyprus, which was named the Republic of Northern Cyprus. Currently, the Republic of Northern Cyprus is only recognized by Turkey as an actual state. Due to continued conflicts between the two territories and Greek Cyprus’ entrance into the EU, the United Nations has finally decided to act. To keep the unrest under control, they have sent in peacekeepers, which are pictured in the center left photo and are distinguishable by their blue helmets. Also, because of the continued unrest between Greek Cyprus and the Republic of Northern Cyprus, the UN has created a ‘green line’ or buffer zone between the two nations in order to keep peace on both sides. This buffer zone is depicted in both of the photos on the right.
These pictures represent Cyprus, which is one of the ongoing conflicts that Turkey has which prohibits its entry into the European Union. This issue is not only prohibiting the entry of Turkey into the EU they have also stopped all negotiation talks until the issue has been dealt with. One of the main issues with Cyprus is that there has been a long term disagreement with Turkey and Greece who have both laid claim to the island.
The top left image in the set shows the island of Cyprus with demographic representation. One of the first realizations that I had was that even though North Cyprus is Turkish there is still a very high number of Greek Cypriots living in the region. Up until I had actually taken the time to look at the graph I had a lack of understanding of the Issue because I had not realized that North Cyprus was still home to a larger percentage of Greek Cypriots. I know that in class we discussed the issue of all the Greek Cypriots that fled south, when Turkey invaded to maintain the territory, leaving all of their homes and possessions behind. In class you brought up the issue of foreigners going in buying and restoring those possessions only to find out that they were not sold legally. The case with the British couple was resolved fairly easily because they chose to just walk away from the home, but will other have the same reaction. I feel that this issue could lead to farther disagreements and issues in the upcoming years.
Also in the images you can see the image of the un buffer zone, UN base, and UN peace keeping troops on the ground. In my opinion the un buffer zone is needed on the behalf of both parties. With this zone in place it limits the ability of both sides to impose war and tragedy on the other without noticeable forces. The buffer zone has been effective and also helped lessen the immediate conflict between the two sides. With UNs help in recent years the two sides have even had successful discussions about a possibility of a two-state solution. The UN troops should be held accountable for maintaining the peace because with their presence the likely hood of physical retaliation was limited.
Also in the bottom picture you see people holding up a Turkish flag which exemplifies that those who are Turkish in Cyprus do identify with Turkey and want to maintain that connection. This has become a larger discussion since 2004 when Cyprus was allowed into the EU. Although the acquis is suspended for Northern Cyprus there is still a sense of hope that they could eventually be taken off of suspension and be considered a full member. This also creates the conversation of if they let Cyprus into the EU even with the border dispute issue why are they giving Turkey so many issues. With Cyprus already being a member of the EU, Turkey has yet another reason to back up why they belong in the EU. Although Cyprus is one of the main discussion points for whether or not to allow Turkey into the EU they are just one of the few that are causing back lash at the thought of Turkey being able to join the EU.
-Erica Kaylor
For over a century Cyprus has remained a point of contention between Turkey and Western European powers. Its close proximity to Turkey made it a natural area to conquer for the Ottoman Empire, leading to a population comprised of both Greeks and Turks. Following independence in 1960 the Republic of Cyprus faced a rapid movement, the Akritas Plan, to weaken Turkish Cypriot political influence. This exemplified the mindset which would later engender violence. The first picture, an older demographic map of Cyprus from 1960, conveys that a majority of Turk Cypriots were centered in northern Cyprus with most Greeks located to the south. A cohabitation between the two cultures led to the formation of enclaves resulting in continued separate pushes for enosis and a one-state solution.
This naturally led to multiple attempts by more radical Greek Cypriots to force enosis. Following the replacement of President Makarios III with Nikos Sampson Turkey invaded the island from the north. The bottom-left image of well-armed Turkish soldiers shows the commitment Turkey held towards protecting Turk Cypriots. Due to the support of the Cypriot National Guard by the Greek military Turkey was somewhat justified in invading in my opinion. A current demographic map would look very different in 2015, as Turkey has continually moved people to Northern Cyprus to retain influence.
There have been attempts to maintain civility, though. UN peace keepers were installed on the island almost immediately after its independence following the attempted implementation of the Akritas Plan. This peacekeeping force has remained in Cyprus in order to ensure that violence between the Cypriot National Guard and the Northern Cypriot military (comprised primarily of members of the Turkish Armed Forces) is kept to a minimum. The second picture of a UN patrol base near Morphou Bay demonstrates the continued efforts of the UN to maintain a ceasefire due to the persistent border dispute between Cyprus and Turkey. There has been success on this front, as there haven’t been major conflict in Cyprus in decades. The middle-left photo of a UN patrol typifies their role as a peacekeeping force, as they are not heavily armed. Improved relations following mutual disaster-relief aid and reduced travel restrictions will likely lessen the role the UN will play in Cyprus in the future.
The final picture of the UN buffer zone marker exemplifies the criticism Turkey has held towards the European Union following the membership of Cyprus in 2003. Cyprus should likely not have been allowed to join before resolving its territorial dispute with Northern Cyprus; as a result Turkey has a legitimate claim against the E.U. It seems very unlikely that Turkey will be unable to join the E.U. for a fairly long time since Cyprus will be able to veto any Turkish accession negotiations with the E.U. Hopefully as Greek-Turkish relations improve this border dispute will at some point be solved. A one-state solution is not likely after the state being divided for such a period of time, but a peaceful two-state recognition with normalized diplomatic relations may allow the Cypriot border-disputes to be resolved.
-Aaron Anderson
Cyprus has posed a problem for Turkish accession into the EU for quite some time. In order to fully understand the situation surrounding Turkish accession it is beneficial to know some of the history surround Cyprus. These images reflect important aspect of the situation in Cyprus, both past and present. The island was under Turkish control from 1570-1914 when it was lost to Britain after World War One. By the mid-19th century there were 100,000 Greek Cypriots and nearly 40,000 Turkish Cypriots on the island. The image in the top left reflects how these communities were scattered and interspersed geographically likely prior to the 1974 Turkish invasion. After becoming a British crown colony in 1925, the Greek population began demanding for enosis, however this was tabled because of the Turkish population, which could not be ignored. Therefore when Cyprus gained independence in 1960 there was no enosis (or taksim for the Turkish population for that matter). The Zurich Agreement promoted an integrated government, allowing for proportional Turkish and Greek representation within the new government. Nevertheless the Akritas plan eradicated all Turks from government involvement. After joining the UN in 1961, UN peacekeepers became a mainstay on the island (especially during the beginning stages of the Akritas plan) and continue to play an important role to this day.
The middle image on the left depicts some of these UN peacekeepers on what appears to be the Turkish side of the Green Line. This was established after the 1974 invasion. Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974 under the impression that Greece was attempting to achieve enosis through a coup in the existing government. Turkey claimed this was a violation of the Treaty of Guarantee and used this to support their invasion. Turkish troops from this invasion are depicted in the bottom left image. The Turks took 1/3 of the island (the northeastern part) and the Turkish population throughout the entirety of the island is now settled there. This created the Green Line which separates the two parts of the island and serves as a buffer zone. The two images on the right depict how this is set up and monitored. In 1983 Northern Cyprus declared itself an independent state, but it is only recognized by Turkey. This means its trade must go through Turkey.
The tension between Turkey and Cyprus increased when Cyprus was granted entrance into the EU as a single unit in 2003. Greek Cyprus even attempted to veto Turkish accession talks to the EU. The tension within Cyprus is a microcosm of a larger tension between Turkey and the EU. This intensified situation represents and reinforces some of the reasons Turkey has not been allowed accession. There is talk of a two state solution within Cyprus, however that remains to be seen. Nevertheless, Turkish relations with Greece have been improving.
In Cyprus’ early history, it was occupied by the Byzantines, Crusaders, Venetians, and Ottomans. The Ottomans, under Mehmet Pasha, caused widespread damage and removed all boys and women as slaves. The island was Eastern Orthodox and the church held Cyprus together during Ottoman rule. During the 1820’s, Greece gained independence; which rallied the Cypriots to call for enosis. Enosis is the unification of one territory to its motherland. Overtime, the cry for enosis failed and died out.
In the early 20th century, Britain was in need of a naval base in the eastern Mediterranean to protect its interests in the Suez Canal. To gain that naval foothold, Britain annexed Cyprus and gained it after World War I. Cyprus was deemed a crown colony from 1925 to 1960. Under British rule, the Cypriots pushed for enosis again, but in the sense that first Cyprus must gain independence from Britain, then join Greece. The top left photo shows the population demographics of Cyprus before the Turkish invasion. Though the island was mostly Greek, the small Turkish communities could not be ignored or removed. In 1957, the United Nations got involved to try to reach a compromise on the issue. The Cypriot Constitution-Zurich Agreement was created. The agreement granted Cyprus independence from Britain, but enosis and Taksim was forbidden. Though the country was independent, it was still overseen by British, Greek, and Turkish governments. Also, Cyprus’ government was to partake in political sharing, meaning, Greek president, Turkish vice-president, both with the right of veto. In 1961, Archbishop Makarios III became president and immediately sought to change the constitution in favor of the Greek Cypriots. His attempts worked and in December 1963 all Turkish Cypriots were removed from power. The United Nations sent in peacekeepers to prevent violence and they can be seen in Cyprus to this day.
In 1974, Makarios III was ousted from presidency and replaced by Nikos Sampson. Makarios ran to in the United Nations and claimed Cyprus had been invaded by Greece. In reality, the Geeks had never set foot on Cyprus and only involved by supporting the Cypriot National Guard. Turkey responded to the “invasion” by invading in July 20th, 1974. The Turks argued invasion was necessary because a military coup and Greek support was a violation of the Treaty of Guarantee. The Turkish invasion can be seen in the bottom left photo. Turkey occupied 1/3rd of the island and established the Green Line in 1974. The Green Line is a buffer zone (shown in the bottom right picture), that divides Cyprus into Turkish Cypriot northern region and Greek Cypriot southern region. The United Nations Peacekeeping Force is responsible for that area. Since 2003, a number of crossing points have opened up between the north and south. The Turkish Cypriot region established the Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983 and is only recognized as independent from Turkey by Turkey. This denial of independence has caused problems for the island. In 1990, Greek Cyprus applied for membership to the European Union, but was objected by the Turkish Cyprus until a state solution could be reached. Accession to the European Union was finalized in 2004 with Cyprus as a single unit. Though Cyprus is a member of the European Union as a single country, the Acqui is suspended in northern Cyprus, meaning Turkish Cyprus does not have European Union benefits.
-Brittney Stump
Cortney Paege
All of these pictures deal with Cyprus. Cyprus has been under the control of many different empires and states. It was a part of the Byzantine Empire, was occupied by Richard I, than the Knights Templar and finally to a Frenchman, Lusignan. It was eventually annexed in 1487 by the Venetians. It wasn’t until Cyprus was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire that the idea of enosis was created. The Greek Cyprians wanted to unify with Greece. This was when the issue of the Greek vs Turk Cyprians began to escalade. After Britain officially annexed Cyprus in 1923, the demand for enosis grew because of the increase of Turkish residents with none of the Turks wanting enosis. This is still a struggle today on how to handle Cyprus.
The top left picture shows the Greek and Turk population within Cyprus. From this picture we see that most of the population is Greek but we do see some clusters of Turks scattered on the island. These 2 different ethnic groups creates the issues of trying to properly represent both groups in politics, which hasn’t been happening, and how to deal with the issue of enosis or a two state solution, etc.
The top right, bottom right and left middle pictures all have to do with the UN in Cyprus. The UN has had to take a lot of action in Cyprus after EOKA and all the chaos of the 1950’s. EOKA was an independent guerrilla movement trying to get Britain out of Cyprus, achieve independence and enosis. Britain’s were targets as well as Greek Cyprian collaborators and Turk Cyprians in the auxiliary police. This led to a cease fire in 1959 that resulted in independence but without enosis. Shortly after there was a military coup against Makarios and this is when UN peacekeepers were brought to Cyprus to solve the issue. This is what we see in the middle picture of UN peacekeepers riding around Cyprus. The top and bottom right pictures show the UN buffer zones in Cyprus. In July of 1974 the Turk Cyprians created the green line. This line split the Greeks from the Turks on the island. This split was in response to the Turks invading Cyprus after the Greeks violated the Treaty of Guarantee stating that neither Greece nor Turkey could invade the island to support on side. The UN buffer zone is the green line. This line and separation of the island has led many to believe that a two state solution might be the best way to deal with Cyprus. Because of the green line that could lead to a 2 state solution it will create a new issue of how to deal with Cyprus in the EU and if the Turkish side will be a part of the EU or will have to rejoin.
The last picture, bottom left, is of Turkish soldiers holding up the Turk flag. This was after the Coup d’état getting Makorias out of office. Makorias was ok with independence without enosis, where as many others were not
The series of pictures deal with the ongoing struggles in the island of Cyprus and the international pressure placed on Turkey. The first image shows the diverse demographic within the Republic of Cyprus. There are Greek and Turkish Cypriots living in all areas of Cyprus that are locked in a conflict that extends to Turkish accession into the European Union. Before the independence of Cyprus there were several occupying forces including the Ottomans and the British. It seems logical that the source of conflict would move from government and subject to an ethnic struggle. Especially after the Turkish invasion the area became even more contested with the Turkish Cypriot forces maintaining control over the Northern part of Cyprus and the Greeks occupying the South. Adding to this pressure is the power of European influence in Cyprus since its accession into the EU. Many saw the move as controversial since an agreement in the conflicted area had not been resolved. The Republic of Cyprus had become a member of the EU and gained significant influence, as Turkey hadn’t any talks that were moving forward. This would give Cyprus a certain foothold in the talks for a state solution with Turkey.
The next image shows the presence of UN peacekeeping forces that have remained in Cyprus to sustain the peaceful buffer zone between the North and South and avoid another international incident. This was in response to the Turkish invasion and the growing tensions in the area. The invasion began with a coup d’état that involved an Enosis government or a Greek and Cypriot force and Turkish forces occupying Greek-held lands in Northern Cyprus. A ceasefire was soon called and the division of Cyprus began. The bottom left image shows a soldier holding a Turkish flag probably in occupied territory. It’s certainly an interesting clash with the photo of the UN forces. Finally after years of continuing political strife it seems that peaceful talks may lead to an eventual state solution between Turkey and Cyprus.
These images all deal with Cyprus and the country’s history in one way or another, giving us a bit more perspective on the whole situation. The first picture in the top left is of Cyprus and its population by region status, in the North and West there are large portions of Turks, mainly near the borders. We also see a small portion of Maronites in the North, and a lot of regions with a lower percent of Cypriots. This shows us how split up the country is, we can infer that the country’s history of being invaded and having many different rulers throughout the years is the cause of this. The next picture to the right of the first shows what seems like a UN checkpoint or outlook in what we are lead to assume is Cyprus. This shows us that the issues here are quite serious, for the UN to come through and take the time to set up points of interest such as seen in the photograph. With Cyprus being such a hot commodity in the eyes of the Turks there is definitely going to be a lot of conflict. In the next picture being examined, the second one down on the left, we see two UN soldiers in full outfit patrolling the streets, with a Turkish flag in the background. It’s only logical to assume they are in Cyprus and are dealing with the Turks that seek conflict and feel the desire to get rid of the Cypriots. The soldiers seem to be checking all their surroundings, possibly meaning they fear for their safety in this part of town. The bottom left picture shows a group of soldiers with a Turkish flag in the center, it is most likely after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus back in 1974, with the soldiers staking their claim in what they believe should be theirs. With issues like these and looking back at the country’s history, Turkey’s accession into the EU is only going to be tougher. The conflict with Cyprus that Turkey has is one that puts a lot of strain on surrounding countries, as well as the UN. The last picture on the bottom right is a “Buffer zone” saying no one is allowed to pass through, we can assume that Turkey is the reason for the UN’s presence in this area, and this is one of their techniques to deal with the situation at hand. The UN never wants to seek out a fight, and would definitely never instigate one, because of this they must plan as best as possible and use different tactics. Being the peacekeeping organization that the UN is it makes sense that the way they would go about helping out in Cyprus would be to set up checkpoints and attempt to halt the further overthrow that Turkey wishes would happen. It has been a long and rocky road for Cyprus having to deal with Turkey, and because of the poor relationship the two have had, it will not be easy for Turkey to get into the EU. The countries already in the EU take all the conflict between the two very seriously, and fear for what could happen if the Turks were to be allowed in.
The pictures this week all show the situation in Cyprus involving the partition of the land between the Turkish half in the north and the Greek half in the south and how the partition has effected the external relations of Turkey. Each of the images shows in some way how the conditions of the island are or where, but behind each image there is further information pertaining to modern Turkish relations. Following a breakdown in the relationship between Greek and Turkish Cypriots the Turkish military intervened on the island to defend the Turkish Cypriots and this resulted what essentially amounts to two separate states since 1974. This condition on the island has continued into today and still remains a significant barrier to furthering the EU accession talks.
This though has also lead to an additional strain in the Turkish relationship with the EU, presenting another roadblock to their accession to the European Union. Since near the beginning of the economic community Turkey has been attempting to join the Union with little success thus far. The conditions in Cyprus though further exacerbated the difficulties. On of the caveats of joining the European Union is that a member must not has border problems with one of their neighbors, which clearly with the situation in Cyprus Turkey has a border dispute. Further complicating the matter is the fact that despite this rule the European Union allowed Cyprus into the community with the same border issue, which obviously frustrates Turkey given the this issue is holding them back.
Three of the images here show the continued stay of UN peacekeepers as the stand guard on the buffer zone between the two sides because at various points in the past there have been further hostilities along the border that was initially established. The presence of UN peacekeeper also serves to show how contentious the situation is raising the question of how Cyprus was allowed in the European Union. It seems reasonable for the Turks to be upset by this as they do wish to be allowed into the European Union like Cyprus but this seems to be a sort of double standard, which also is not new to Turkish accession. Throughout the process the nation had been continually pushed back and held to a different standard then the other members of the European Union. They began seeking near the same point as the United Kingdom and have improve in order to try and gain entry but have the talks continually frozen by a cadre of actors within the community. At this point the accession seems quite unlikely in the near future given past trends of pushing off the steps of accession because of it being Turkey and not some traditional christian European country.
It would not seem surprising if the Turks turned against accession to the EU in the near future because of the double standard the is in place in the community. In many ways they face a large group of enemies to their accession and their enemies have the material to keep them out of the Union for some time to come.
-Luke Mooberry
This collage is a good representation of Cyprus. The picture in the left hand corner especially displays the complication that surrounds this island country in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. When people think of Cyprus today they might think of these other photos of “buffer zone” and the military.
Cyprus in the early 20th century was under the rule of Britain and valued as a naval base in the Eastern Mediterranean. Britain later leases Cyprus from Ottoman Empire in return for providing naval protection against the Russians. Power has been established and with World War the alliances have sufficiently failed, while also lacking to acknowledge what the citizens of Cyprus want. Britain annexes Cyprus in 1914 (interest in Suez Canal) and then offers it to Constantine I of Greece in return for Greek support in WWII where he refuses (since Greece won’t invade Bulgaria). With the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, Cyprus was permanently ceded to Britain militarily and in 1925 it was a crown colony with military no longer needed, governorship was installed until 1960. Enosis was demanded and opposed by Britain because of Turkish residents that would have to go back to Turkey. Civil unrest was everywhere and in 1931 the legislative council was abolished. After WWII, there was an attempt to introduce limited democratic government but this failed as well as the movement for enosis with the Turkish Cypriots boycotting the referendum. The whole movement for enosis is a very real and complicated idea. Greek Cyprus want enosis with Greece while Turkish do not at all. Cypriots want their whole island, instead of the two state solution.
There is still unrest today as you can see through these photos. The UN and Britain refused to recognize the results of the referendum which resulted in the fascist EOKA in the 1950’s. A cease fire in 1959 led to independence without enosis though in 1960. Britain still has bases in Cyprus but there is no military involvement in Cyprus. Taksim and enosis was forbidden in the Cypriote Constitution. In 1963, the Turkish Cypriots were moved to the north and UN peacekeepers have been here ever since to make sure there will never be a move towards enosis. Turkey breaks the treaty agreement in 1974 with invading but they claim that Cyprus has violated it as well with creating the Green Line. The establishment of Turkish Federated State of Cyprus is now the north Cyprus only and is recognized by Turkey only (one could compare this to North and South Korea). This is clearly very problematic. Greek Cyprus is the defacto independent state and northern Cyprus only exists in limbo with Turkey.
This is a main issue see by the EU in admitting Turkey in as a member and even more tricky since in 1990 Greek Cyprus applied for membership into the EU and was accepted in 2003. The EU is in a very complicated position with the issue of Turkey joining even more with the issue of Cyprus already being a member. The collage does a good job at attempting to demonstrate the complexity of this whole situation hanging over the membership of Turkey into the EU.
Lance Cummings
12 April 2015
EU Studies Blog
This photo blog directly deals with the conflict and turmoil surrounding Cyprus. The political unrest in Cyprus is nothing of modern times. With close proximity to Greece, Cypriots hold close allegiance to the Greeks and a majority of their population share ancestry with them. The Ottoman Empire brought the first Turks, unfavorably, to the small island. Led by Lala Mehmet Pasha, the Ottomans sieged the island in 1571. The disposition between the Greek Cypriots and Turk Cypriots came from a long history of Ottoman cruelties like damaged infrastructure, abduction of women and children as slaves, and economic decline from high taxation. With the movement towards Greek independence in the 1820s and the vast decline of the Ottoman Empire, the Cypriots pushed for enosis. Enosis is a movement by ethnically Greek territories to unionize with the nation of Greece. Enosis became irrelevant throughout World War I and World War II as the British ultimately obtained control over the island and established it as a British colony. With peace in the region following World War II, the Greek Cypriots demanded enosis once more, but the British rejected the idea because of the Turkish population in Cyprus. This would bring about a militant and political organization known as the EOKA, led by George Grivas and Archbishop Makarios. Though EOKA’s aggressive tactics towards military operations and politics got them to the negotiation table, they did not achieve the overall goal of the organization, enosis. The Zurich Agreement saw the island being under control from both the Greek and Turkish governments. This was unfavorable to the Greek Cypriots. The EOKA transformed into the EOKA-B and immediately following they put Nikos Sampson in power. This allowed for the Greece to invade Cyprus, which angered the Turkish government. In turn, the Turks invaded as well in 1974, causing Sampson to resign and the Greek government to withdraw.
The first picture of this blog displays the population distribution in Cyprus. As one can see, the population is very diversified and mixed thoroughly throughout. However, there is an overwhelming amount of Greek Cypriots compared to Turkish Cypriots, majorly in the heartland of Cyprus. With such few numbers in the Turkish population of Cyprus, why is it such an important territory to the Turkish government? Two of the pictures shown in the blog display Turkish soldiers in Cyprus with their national flag. Nationalism is a crucial concept of Turkish society, but in a land that is not native to them, they display nationalist qualities like they are in Turkey. These pictures also display the Turkish military presence in Cyprus, and how importantly the Turkish government holds the territory in their priorities. The other two pictures of the blog are related to the United Nations presence in the situation. When Greece and Turkey decided to invade Cyprus, the only other international power who gave support was the United States, backing Greece. The United Nations had to intervene to protect the civilian population throughout the war. However, the buffer zone that divided the island into two halves, made by the UN, did not accurately portray the distribution of the population. There were heavily dense Greek Cypriot populations in Turkey’s half, and a bulk of Turk Cypriots in the Greek half.
These pictures all seem to pertain to the situation that happened in Cyprus which concerned Turkey (I can’t make out what is written in the top right image). The top left image is a picture of how Cyprus started out. The Greeks and the Turks were all mixed together. This was a problem because the Greeks wanted to unite Cyprus with Greece. The Turks obviously didn’t like this and wanted Cyprus to remain independent. This Greek longing for enosis was troublesome to the Turk community who called Cyprus home.
The EOKA was a Greek terrorist/freedom fighter group who greatly wanted Cyprus to join with Greece. Things got so bad that the UN finally intervened as seen on the top right picture. They sat down with everyone and came up with the Zurich agreement which gave Cyprus independence, but with no enosis and the island could not be split because, as we see in the top left, the Turks are spread out everywhere.
The climax is reached during 1974 when a coup happened in 1974 when the EOKA ousted their non-enosis desiring president, Makarios III and replaced him with Nikos Sampson who also wanted Cyprus to be annexed by Greece. Naturally, Turkey was not pleased, and as you can see in the 2 bottom pictures, military action on Turkey’s part was taken. They invaded Cyprus and took one third of the island. They state that this was because the Greek Cypriots did not keep their end of the Zurich agreement.
Now as you can see in the bottom right picture, there is a line which is called the green line that separates the part of Cyprus which Turkey took over from the rest of the island. Now, this “line” is actually a political barrier and is made to separate the Greek Cypriots from the Turkish Cypriots. However, that is a problem, because as you can see in the top left map, they are all spread out. People had to move to their respective sides and were forced to leave their homes and many of their belongings behind. Obviously this will cause some problems.
Cyprus was allowed into the EU. Why? I have no idea. They are in a very weird and difficult situation which has yet to be resolved. It is getting better and the border is opened in some places. They are also trying to deal with compensating for the loss of property that both the Greek and Turk Cypriots suffered when people were moving to their respective sides. However, the Greeks are being repaid by Greek Cyprus and the Turks are being repaid by Turkish Cyprus. The Greeks do not like this at all. The Greek church protested against this, but this is how the EU decided they would have to do it.
Funnily enough, enosis has not come, and is not believed to happen anytime soon or at all. Membership of Greece in the EU makes that harder and Greek Cyprus is not pushing for that as hard as it was.
This whole shenanigan is one of the reasons that the EU is reluctant to allow Turkey to join.
-Brooke Shimer
The eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus has had a long history of foreign control. It was occupied by the Byzantine Empire, attacked by forces from the Levant, and used by Crusaders as a stronghold and staging area. It passed from Templar hands to the French before it was eventually taken by the Venetians who fortified it against their Mediterranean enemy, the Ottoman Empire. This series of images deals with the current situation in Cyprus since Ottoman control. The island has become a hotbed of ethnic and cultural tension between Greeks and Turks, complete with a terrorist organization and United Nations intervention. This tension persists to this day and Cyprus remains divided.
The diversity of Cyprus is best shown by the map of the island in the top left image. While Greek Cypriots appear to dominate most of the territory, it must be noted that Turkish Cypriots are also a very substantial part of the population. It is also important to see that one single group exclusively populates most of the regions – far fewer of the regions show mixed populations. The problem is that these groups are so spread out around the island that no border could possibly be drawn to separate the two major groups.
So how did it get like this? Despite all the foreign occupation through Cyprus’ past, it had always been mostly populated by Greeks. That changed when the Ottomans invaded Cyprus with sixty thousand troops, besieged the major cities, and relocated a large number of Greek Cypriot boys and women. Proud Ottoman soldiers can be seen displaying their flag in the old photograph on the bottom left. The population then grew because of Turkish immigration. After World War I Cyprus became a British colony, used as a naval base to protect the nearby Suez Canal. Throughout all of these occupations were cries for Enosis, the unification of all Greek islands to Greece. This sort of nationalism was especially high during the Greek war for independence, and after World War II. Turkey invaded Cyprus and created the Green Line and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which to this day is only recognized as a state by Turkey itself. A freedom-fighting organization called EOKA, led by General Grivas, used guerilla warfare to fight back and to pressure Great Britain for independence until a ceasefire was signed in 1959. However, Enosis was not recognized and Cyprus remained independent, so Grivas and a splinter group called the EOKA-B continued their fight and have resorted to terrorism.
The other three images in this series all show the United Nations peacekeeping presence in Cyprus now. A small base can been seen in the top right, and on the center left two peacekeepers are patrolling on bicycles. In the bottom right a sign denoting the green line buffer zone is displayed, showing the physical boundary between the two groups now. The problem in Cyprus persists, and is still a major source of problems for the European Union and Turkey both, as well as a point of contention between the two.
All of the pictures in the blog are related to Cyprus, our major focus in the class. Cyprus continues to be a major issue in Turkey’s accession to the EU for a variety of reasons that includes; Turkey’s invasion of the island after it had perceived Greece to have, Cyprus getting accession into the EU even though it has a major boarder dispute and due to civil rights issues.
The first picture on the right depicts the demographic layout of the island, which I find surprisingly Greek. It appears there is a fairly large spread of the Turkish Cypriotes across the island with a much larger Greek Cypriote population on the island, though there is a small Maronite population. This particularly became a problem since the Greek Cypriotes wanted initially Enosis, reuniting with mainland Greece, and then later was satisfied with a Greek controlled Cyprus, which would have left out the large Turkish Cypriote population. Turkey moved in and invaded the island in order to protect the Turks and ended up controlling the northern half of the island. I assume the map is from before this though and if it is, it is apparent many Greeks would have lost their, homes, something that Turkey will more than likely have to pay in order to get into the EU, as it is a reason why the talks with Turkey gaining access to the EU have been frozen.
The two photos on the right show the UN buffer zone that was put into place following the invasion, The third picture on the left are part of the Turkish invasion force, of the island. The UN has had peace keeping forces on the ground ever since, the second picture on the left appear to be two of the troops. Moreover the troops stationed have helped to prevent any kind of incident from breaking out. Likewise, and until recently, travel between the two sides of the island was very strict and nearly impossible due to both sides putting strict and limited restrictions on the UN monitored border zone. I find it very hypocritical of the EU has allowed Cyprus to join since it has an open and very tenuous border dispute still going on, and not to mention it leaves a large chunk of the population both unrepresented and stranded. The Turks on the northern part of the island essentially have to trade and travel through Turkey which is one of the few places that will trade or even recognize Northern Cyprus as an independent state. Moreover the whole question over Cyprus needs to be answered before hostilities break out and so that Turkey can move along in its process to, maybe but unlikely, become a member of the EU. It is understandable to see why Turkey is upset about the ongoing accession process even though Cyprus got in. Unfortunately it may be a while before any solution to the problem comes about and the only likely solution would appear to be a two state solution. It does look promising with talks about the problem coming up and all sides making considerations. I myself believe the two state solution, Greeks getting the southern portion and compensation for citizens with lost property and the Turks with the northern portion, is a likely and very achievable option and it may in turn be the best solution for all parties.
These pictures all focus on one theme, and that is the role of Cyprus and how its role is important to the potential of Turkey’s membership into the EU. Mainly, because it serves as a road block to Turkey’s accession. Cyprus history is a long and confusing journey through the history books, but most notable, is its wide array of rulers over the years, which has led to a highly diverse nationalities of its peoples. With all of this diversity, the most prevalent groups are those of the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The top left image shows the demographics of the island before it was divided in the 1970s. At this point, it was largely Greek Cypriot with very few Turkish concentrations. There was always problems with the Greeks and Turks living amongst each other, and this issue climaxed when the Turks invaded in 1974 to protect the Turks who were settled their, which ultimately created the green line. Also, this picture reinforces the fact that Cyprus as a nation very diverse. Since the invasion in the 70s, there has also been an increase in the amount of European power on the island, after it was accepted for its membership into the EU. Many thought this membership to be controversial, mainly because of the fact that a legit settlement had not come to terms after the Turks interceded. Because of its membership in the EU, the Turkish believed more power on the island would give it some influence for its own talks with EU accession. The picture on the top right shows some sort of checkpoint. We can assume this to be a UN checkpoint of some sort, which reinforces the notion that Cyprus is of utmost importance to foreign diplomacy, because the UN has intervened and wants control in the area. The next picture on the middle left also tells us how sensitive things have become in the area. There is obviously a heightened sense of danger in Cyprus, by the look of the picture of these two soldiers, we can assume them to be a UN peacekeeping force. These forces are present to keep the peace of the buffer zone established from the green line, and avoid an event like the one that took place in 1974. The last picture on the bottom left shows a soldier holding a Turkish flag, probably taken when the Turks invaded in 1974. It is interesting in contrast to the picture above, because these soldiers represent different forces, but all in all they aren’t much different.
Cyprus’ history and its disputed admission into the European Union are at the heart of Turkey’s current accession attempts. Turkey has argued that because Cyprus was allowed to join in 2004, they too should be accepted. These five images work together to illustrate the issue of Cyprus and help show why Turkey is so discontent with Cyprus’ admittance.
Cyprus has been closely linked with Turkey throughout all of history. Until 1914, the island was under Turkish rule. Turkey would eventually lose control of the island to Britain during World War One. Under British rule until 1960, the island was inhabited by both Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The first image shows how arbitrarily dispersed the population was in Cyprus between the Turks and Greeks. Interestingly, both groups wanted a type of separation from the other. For the Greeks, this came in the form of enosis or unification with mainland Greece. For the Turks, this meant taksim or the separation of Cyprus into Turkish and Greek parts. This issue has never truly been resolved, and is a major reason that Turkey believes Cyprus was wrongly allowed to join the EU.
By 1960, however, Cyprus became independent of Britain and joined the United Nations the following year. UN involvement is clearly seen in the top right image which shows a UN base located on the island. The ‘UN buffer zone’, as seen in the bottom right image, is critical as it shows the UN contribution in trying to keep Cyprus away from violence while shows an actual division on the island. The zone was created in 1974 and marks the area referred to as ‘The Green Line’ in which Greek and Turkish Cypriots are physically separated. The UN sign sits between the areas and states that any military vehicle or personnel is prohibited. While this line tries to keep apart the groups, it is clear (in the first image) that the groups are not strictly in the north and south, they are equally dispersed across the island making the line somewhat futile.
The line was created in 1974 by the UN to help combat the ongoing fights. In 1974, Turkey invaded the island under the false impression that Greece was trying to achieve enosis. The bottom left image shows the Turkish soldiers coming into the island and holding up Turkish flags to show that the island was theirs. The Turks would not be truly successful in taking the entire island, but would take the northern part enough so that taksim was partially achieved. The UN’s interaction with Cyprus, as seen in the pictures, is clearly just to keep the nation peaceful, mainly by separation.
With the vast amounts of history prevalent between Cyprus and Turkey, it is not hard to see why Turkey was deeply concerned with Cyprus’ bid to join the European Union in 2003. Turkey believed (incorrectly) that the dispute between Greeks and Turks on the island would be a major roadblock for Cyprus’ accession into the EU. For this reason, Turkey was shocked when Cyprus was quickly fast tracked into the EU by 2004. Turkey, who has been waiting on EU admission since the 1960s, was stunned when the island nation was accepted before them. Turkey, rightfully so, has since pointed to Cyprus as an example of EU prejudices as it shows that the standards they are holding Turkey to are not technically what they hold everyone else to. These images work well to show the disputes in Cyprus and its troubling history. This history should have held Cyprus back from getting into the EU, but instead they were accepted the year after their bid to the dismay of Turkey.
The pictures describe the division of Cyprus. They show the history of Cyprus and how Greece and Turkey have each taken control over parts of the island. Turkey claims the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as its own state. Greece claims the Southern half of the small landmass.
The history of Cyprus explains why the small island in the Mediterranean is such a key player in whether or not Turkey joins the European Union. Originally, Cyprus was a British colony. Demographically, the island has been made up of both Turks and Greeks. In 1960 a constitution was put in place in order to satisfy each ethnicity, Greek and Turk. The constitution shared power with each side. However, the constitution also created separate municipalities at the local level in order that the Greeks and Turks would have control over their own towns.
Nevertheless, the constitution did not hold out. The constitution did not maintain peace as hoped for. In 1974 a military coup began because of the Greek Cypriots. In response, Turkey invaded Northern Cyprus. They came to the aid of the Turks who were not able to fight the coup alone. In 1975 the Turks declared the state of Northern Cyprus. They officially demonstrated their claims to the island.
Then, in 2004, Cyprus officially became a member of the European Union in 2004. Later in 2008 they began using the Euro as its currency. However, the Turkish Republish of Northern Cyprus continued using the Turkish lira as currency.
The picture on the top left demonstrates the demographic breakdown between the Turks and the Greeks. It shows the different regions within Cyprus and the percentage of Greeks or Turks based of a color marking.
The two pictures on the bottom left represent the conflict struggle in Cyprus. The United Nations has stressed to keep the peace for the past couple days, but there is constant tension.
The two pictures on the right represent the United Nations attempt to enforce the border between North and South Cyprus. In 1964 the United Nations began to have a presence in Cyprus to keep the peace. Internal conflict kept stirring between the Turks and the Greeks so the United Nations was sent to restore order. In 2002, Secretary General Kofi Annan of the United Nations began negotiations for the island. However, these efforts were put to waste. The Turkish Cypriots accepted the unification negotiations but the Greek Cypriots rejected the attempt.
Today the division of Cyprus plays a major role in the accession of Turkey in the European Union. The dispute over the small island is a key argument on both sides as to why Turkey should or should not be allowed to join the European Union.
All of the pictures deal with the conflict and political issues surrounding Cyrus and the United Nations involvement in trying to keep peace amongst it all. The first picture represents Cyrus, and demonstrates Cyrus’ history of fighting and how the population relates to that and in relation to Turkish Ottoman Empire after the invasion of 1570. This resulted in Turkish settlers migrating to the island, and in turn political problems. Most of the island was Greek, with Turkish communities around as well. Whenever Cyprus became independent from Britain, the Greek and Turkish residents were considered by the international community in a constitution to favor them. The picture on the middle left shows the UN patrolling the Green Line trying to keep peace between the Greek residents of Cyrus and the Turkish residents of Cyprus, by creating a buffer zone stretching across the island. This buffer zone was set to minimize strain by using towers and soldiers to prevent war between the Greeks and Turks. The Green Line was created in 1974 after the Turkish invasion in effort to protect the Turks living in northern Cyprus, and has since then helped keep the island peaceful. The bottom left picture shows soldiers holding up a Turkish flag, which was probably taken after that invasion. The Green Line also prevents military vehicles from entering as well, which is shown in the bottom right picture. The middle picture showing peacekeepers riding bikes shows the struggles that the small island was facing and the turmoil between the two sides. The top right pictures shows the UN presence, probably a base camp, which shows how long the UN has been there and plans on being there by being well established in the midst of the divided nation. All of these pictures work together to prove the external relations of Turkey and the partition of which being effected by the northern half of the island in Turkish territory, and the southern half of Greek territory.
The images above depict the physical and political divisions that exist within Cyprus. These divides are the result of tensions that escalated during the 20th century because of differing external and internal perspectives. There was a great population growth under the Ottoman Empire, and by the mid 19th century, the population of Greek Christians living in Cyprus was double that of the Turkish Muslim population living in the country. After Greece gained its independence in the early 19th century, other Greek-inhabited islands expressed a desire to unite with the newly independent state. Among these islands was Cyprus. A great debate ensued thereafter because the Turkish Cypriot population did not support the idea of enosis. Further tensions arose from the extreme views of the EOKA B Greek party.
The first picture on the left shows how intertwined the two populations are within the country. Under the Zurich Agreement in 1959, provisions were made so that the two populations would be fairly represented within the government. Turkish Cypriots were removed from government in 1963, however, under the Akritas Plan and a buffer zone had to be created by the United Nations to prevent any further violence to continue because of the governmental divide. Most Turkish Cypriots migrated to the northern part of Cyprus while most Greek Cypriots relocated to the south. The image may be a representation of the populations before the division occurred because both populations seem to be equally disbursed on either side of the modern-day buffer zone.
This buffer zone can be seen on the upper right-hand picture. It seems to show an existing checkpoint along the buffer zone. The physical division within the country represents the degree of the tensions caused between the differences of the two populations. Such a division would most likely exist between two bordering countries and is further outlined by the formation of the Turkey Federated State of Cyprus in 1975. That northern part of Cyprus is today known as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and acts as an attachment of Turkey. The image below it shows a sign that reads in both English and Greek and has content regarding the buffer zone. Because a translation is not provided in Turkish, it can be assumed that the sign lies on the southern border of the buffer zone. The sign is also an indication of the desire to lessen any military interference within the two by stating that military personnel and vehicles are prohibited from entering the designated zone.
On the left, we can see in the two other images the flags of Turkey and the flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The flags are physical representations that symbolize how one stemmed from the other and the soldiers in both symbolize the Turkish presence in Cyprus. The photograph on the bottom appears in black and white which may have been taken during the initial point of the conflict because the soldiers are carrying a Turkish flag and the photograph above it is a more modern take on the soldiers today.
A division within the country has made it difficult to please both populations. Each side has different demands and so, it is difficult for the country to unanimously agree on issues that could affect each side in different ways. Today, the buffer zone is representative of the tensions that once existed between each side and continue to exist between Turkey and Greece in regards to their part in Cyprus.
The eastern Mediterranean island of Cyrpus is a true modern example of foreign policy weirdness in a very small and politically and culturally diverse land area. The image on the top left shows that most of the greek population resides on the north end of the island, while Turkish residents dominate all of the south as well as many areas of the north. Although today the island mainly is a hotbed of the conflict between the Greeks and the Turks, it has been used throughout history as a strategic point for the converging of Europe and the middle east and their cultures and trade. The roots of the current conflict arose when the island was seized by 60,000 Ottoman troops from the Greeks, igniting Turkish nationalism displayed by the flag waving on the bottom left. It was then annexed by Britain from the Ottomans, and the conflict was labeled as one between the independent people of the island and the British crown, then adapted to more of an issue between the cultural standing of Turkey and Greece on the island. Following the German-Italian-Bulgarian occupation of Greece during World War II, Georgios Grivas of Cypriot descent founded and led Organization X, a minor nationalist guerrilla organization made up of officers of the Greek Army whose influence was limited to certain neighborhoods of Athens. Post World War II, Grivas focused on ridding Cyprus from British control and annexing it to Greece. He arrived secretly in Cyprus in November 1954 and began immediately the formation of his guerrilla organization EOKA. On April 1, 1955, he announced the beginning of his campaign for self determination, or union with Greece. Although General Grivas failed to persuade or force President Makarios to adopt a pro-enosis government, The 1975 Cypriot coup de’tat installed a president for the union of Turkey and Greece on the island. Turkey subsequently occupied the northern part of the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus, and later upon those territories the Turkish Cypriot community unilaterally declared independence, forming the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Today, the island is still divided. In 1997, the U.N. opened up accession negotiations with the Republic of Cyprus, creating a new catalyst for a settlement. Under the Annan Plan, the Republic of Cyprus would become the United Cyprus Republic. It would be a loose federation composed of two component states. The northern Turkish Cypriot constituent state would encompass about 28.5% of the island, the southern Greek Cypriot constituent state would be made up of the remaining 71.5%. The blue buffer zone, as shown in the 2 pictures on the right, was established as a demilitarized zone and controlled by the Cypriot government. The division in Cyprus is a large obstacle in the acceptance of Turkey into the EU. Hope does exist today for more peaceful negotiations, as both the Turks and the Greeks have shown they are willing to help the other on the island, especially after a recent major earthquake required a clean-up and restoration effort on both of their parts.
All of these pictures have to do with Cyprus which has become one of Turkey’s largest problems while trying to join the European Union. The first picture on the left is a representation of Cyprus prior to the Turks invasion in 1974. It is a demographic map that shows the history of the country. As you can see there are lots of Greeks, but some smaller pockets that are filled with Turkish Cypriots. Cyprus has a long history of being ruled by different powers. This is just part of what caused their demographics to be different than most. Turkey and Cyprus already had tension between them clearly. This tension only increased when Cyprus was granted entrance into the European Union in 2003. Turkey has been waiting to join the European Union since the 1960’s. They were upset whenever the island was accepted before them. I think that Turkey has a reason to be upset about this. The history between the two plays a large part to as of why Turkey has not been accepted, but they allowed Cyprus. I think that the two countries should have been held equally responsible and had the same consequences.
The two pictures to the right show the buffer zone. This is an area between the two halves of the island. This line splits the Greeks from the Turks. This happened because of the Turks invading Cyprus after the Greeks violated the Treaty of Guarantee. This line and border zone has led many to think that the best way to handle Cyprus is as a two state country. However I’m sure if this is carried out new issues with how to handle the Turkish side will arise.
The two pictures of the right and the middle left all have to do with the United Nations involvement in Cyprus. The peacekeepers had to step in after the issues in the 1950’s involving EOKA. The picture of the soldiers holding the Turkish flag is referring to the 1974 failed attempt of the Turkish invasion. Turkey invaded in order to attempt to protect the Turkish Cypriot population. Yes this invasion did help some, but it has caused long lasting problems between the European Union and Turkey. Also it created a large amount of violence in Cyprus, which is why the United Nations had to send in peacekeepers. The peacekeepers have been around this area for decades now. The middle picture on the left shows two of them riding their bikes; to me they seem very relaxed in Cyprus. It seems like the peacekeepers will not be leaving Cyprus anytime soon though. They are needed to keep both countries army’s from entering the border and also to keep peace though out the country, on both sides of the border.
12th….
All the bairns o' Adam 
The first picture is a good representation of Cyprus, as confusing as it is. Cyprus has a crazy history, marred by fighting, and the demographic map certainly tells that story. While there is a high greek population in Cyprus, it is spotted throughout by pockets of turkish cypriots. Having these pockets of the turkish obviously causes some tension, which we learned about in lecture. The north, which is Turkish Cyprus has a very high Greek population which is strange. It makes me wonder how the greek population has been unable to push out the turkish population, or at least neutralize them and control the territory for themselves.The picture below shows two UN peacekeeping team members riding around on bikes. I guess this represents that they have not only been in cyprus for a while, but will continue to be there. This could also show how things have changed. They, unlike the picture below, are acting very casually. The picture on the bottom left with the soldiers holding the turkish flag is sort of the opposite of the picture above. They are standing there behind the turkish flag, and they are heavily suited for fighting. The Turks in cyprus have been trying to not so much gain territory, but maintain what they have. Back when I assume this picture was taken they were still trying to fight to not be overrun by the greeks, and help themselves. A big difference between it, and the above picture is that in the below, they are soldiers, more than likely turkish, and are there to fight. In the above picture there are two UN peacekeepers. They are not there to fight, they are more just there to maintain. The top right picture looks like it is not just a UN “office” but also a border. This is probably the dividing line between greek cyprus and turkish cyprus. There is not much to say about this picture. Compared to other contested borders, like the one between North and South Korea, this one seems pretty relaxed. The relations between the two in the past may have been tense, but there has not been as much fighting, especially since they have joined the EU. That is an extremely interesting case for a number of reasons. The most important being that they have an internal border dispute. One of the main clauses to accession to the EU is not having an open border dispute, which Cyprus has. This also creates the question of how Greek-Cypriot relations will be shaped in the future, especially as Greece is currently in less that perfect standing with the EU. Not only that, but the fact that the greek cypriots have wanted to join Greece, like some of the other islands have, is also interesting because of the relatively high turkish population in Cyprus. Not only that, but the long history between Greece and Turkey and their rocky relations.
The pictures work together to show the history of Cyprus.
Before it became independent, Cyprus was a British colony. However, the island was first ruled by the Ottoman Empire, which invaded in 1570. As a result of the Ottoman invasion, thousands of Turkish settlers migrated to the island. This sizable and enduring Turkish community would cause Cyprus many political problems throughout its history, especially when the desire for enosis with Greece was at its peak.
The top left picture shows the ethnographic map of Cyprus prior to the 1974 Turkish invasion. While most of the population on the island was Greek, there were several Turkish communities scattered throughout the island. Those Turkish communities could not be ignored when Cyprus became independent from Britain in 1960, so the international community tried to create a constitution that would be agreeable to both Greek and Turkish residents on the island. In the ensuing Zurich Agreement, the parties agreed that the island would be governed by a Greek president and a Turkish vice president. A governing cabinet would have seven Greek Cypriot members and three Turkish Cypriot members. Additionally, taksim and enosis were forbidden. However, Greek Cypriots immediately pushed for constitutional changes in their favor and formed the Akritas Plan, which aimed to weaken the Turkish Cypriot wing of government and achieve enosis with Greece. By 1963, Turkish Cypriots were forced out of government, and they retreated to protective conclaves in the north. The division of the Greek and Turkish populations remains intact today because of the creation of the Green Line.
The Green Line was created after the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The Turkish invasion, as depicted in the bottom right picture, was the result of a Greek invasion of Cyprus to achieve enosis. When the international community failed to act, Turkey invaded on the grounds that the Treaty of Guarantee, which required outside parties to respect the independence and territorial integrity of Cyprus, had been broken. The Turks captured one-third of the island, which caused many Greeks to flee south and many Turks to move north. The mass migration of the two populations created the ethnic divide that remains today. When the Turkish Cypriots established the Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983, Turkey was the only country to recognize it as a state. As a result, the Republic of Northern Cyprus cannot issue passports or operate international ports. Additionally, all trade from Turkish Cyprus must be funneled through Turkey, which inhibits the true free movement of goods and makes trade less efficient.
As illustrated by the photo on the middle left and the two photos on the right, United Nations peacekeepers continue to patrol the Green Line to ensure peace between the Greek Cypriot southern region and the Turkish Cypriot northern region. The UN buffer zone stretches across the whole island except for a small portion of land on the eastern coast that is home to a British military base. Peacekeepers keep permanent watch over the zone with patrols on foot, in vehicles, by bike, and by helicopter. Additionally, a mobile unit stands ready to respond to emergencies along the buffer zone. About 1,000 incidents of varying severity occur along the buffer zone each year, according to the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus.
Since Cyprus’ accession in the European Union, relations between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots have improved. Multiple points along the buffer zone have been opened to civilians for inter-community travel. Furthermore, ESPN reported that the president of the Cyprus Turkish Football Association said he plans on joining the internationally recognized Cyprus Football Association in an effort to end decades of isolation. Additionally, the Associated Press reported that halted negotiations to reunify the ethnically divided island are set to resume in May. While it may be impossible to reunify the island, many support the possibility of a two-state solution to the conflict.
The overall theme of this week’s blog post is the division of Cyprus. Through several lectures we have learned that Greece and Turkey have taken hold on the South and North of Cyprus, respectively. While Turkey may make their own claims, no one other than Turkey recognizes “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” as a sovereign nation. This means that Northern Cyprus must operate their economy completely through Turkey, while being unable to do such simple tasks as issuing passports to their citizens.
While there has always been tensions between Greeks and Turks, the division of Cyprus did not occur until the coup d’etat in 1974. In an attempt at enosis, or the unification of Greece from the local governments up, Greece intended to annex the island to itself. While much of the population of Cyprus at this time was Greek, there was also a large portion of Cyprus of Turkish heritage. As an effect, Turkey invaded to defend their people, claimed one third of the island in the north. Once separating regions had been established, the flight of Greeks to the south, and Turks to the north ensued. The image on the bottom left is that of Turkish soldiers defending their populations.
Because there are residual tensions between Northern Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, the United Nations has installed the demilitarized Green Zone, a buffer zone, to minimalize strain. The two images on the right are in regards to this buffer zone. It stretches 180 kilometers across the whole island of Cyprus, and is patrolled by UN soldiers as seen in the left middle photo. Although the zone is filled with fencing, towers, and minefields, the soldiers are not there to carry out war, but rather to prevent it between the two conflicting cultural regions.
The image that has me puzzled in that of the top left. It is clear that the image is a map that depicts the many pockets of Turkish populations throughout the nation of Cyprus, but what is confusing is that they are scattered throughout. We have learned that the Turkey made claim upon the Northern third of the island, and therefore one would expect that the Turkish population would be more centered in the north rather than the map’s depiction of them being evenly dispersed. Perhaps this is a map of the Cypriot dispersion before the division of the two populations, but if it is a current map, this is, indeed, befuddling.
Although tensions on the island is clear, the tensions between the nations of Greece and Turkey have become more and more relaxed due to what is known as the “earthquake diplomacy.” In 1999, Turkey was hit with a massive earthquake, and one of the first to act in aid was Greece. Shortly after the Turkish earthquake, Athens was hit by another earthquake, and Turkey reciprocated by providing aid back to Greece. It would seem that while they are intent on keeping their claimed lands, a peaceful relation between the two countries both on and off the island of Cyprus may be possible.
The Cyprus Question is certainly a problem for Turkey’s accession to the European Union. It is such a small landmass, yet it will undoubtedly play a huge part in the future of Turkey. The question, of course, is what to do with the ongoing border dispute that splits Cyprus in half. Although Cyprus itself is a member of the EU, Turkey recognizes Northern Cyprus as a distinct entity and has maintained a Turkish military presence in the region since its 1974 invasion. The line between Northern and Southern Cyprus is drawn by the Green Line set Up by Turkey following its invasion and is referenced in the bottom-right picture as it is now, a United Nations buffer zone. Internationally, Northern Cyprus is only recognized by Turkey.
The bottom-left picture of soldiers holding the Turkish flag is certainly a reference to the failed 1974 coup d’état and impending Turkish invasion. The EOKA B, led by General Grivas, sought to unify Cyprus with Greece and rejected President Makarios III’s decision to not pursue enosis. The coup ousted Makarios and prompted Turkey to act. The international community simply refused to intervene in the issue, so Turkey chose to invade in order to protect the Turkish Cypriot population. Turkey argues this was an acceptable action based on the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee. While this invasion did protect the Turkish Cypriots in some ways, it has also caused unending troubles with Turkey and the EU. Ethnic violence also escalated between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots as a result of the invasion, and the United Nations has maintained a peacekeeping presence while establishing a buffer zone. The middle-left picture is presumably a picture of a routine UN patrol.
The problem in Cyprus is not so easily solved. As one can see in the top-left picture, Cyprus has a significant mixture of both Turkish and Greek Cypriots, with some Maronites thrown into the mix as well. Further research on this picture concluded that this was taken from the 1960 census, and is not indicative of Cyprus today. Certainly, the UN buffer zone led to Greek Cypriots in the north fleeing south to avoid the Turkish occupation. Towns and villages were simply abandoned by the Greek Cypriots. All of the resources left behind allowed for Turks and Turkish Cypriots to move in and have greater control over the region. Until relatively recently the buffer zone has been closed, but now there are seven crossings available to travel between the northern and southern parts of Cyprus.
The situation in Cyprus is difficult and is becoming even more so. Unlike the map in the top-left that shows there is intermingling of ethnicities, a new generation is emerging that has never lived in such coexistence with each other. Individuals from the north and south parts of Cyprus will inevitably continue to see themselves as different and unique; this is why only a two-state solution has the possibility of solving the dispute. The solution may come soon as Turkey has officially entered negotiations to join the EU, but if the historical record of Turkey and the EU is any indication of the kind of progress being made, then a solution is surely to take a few more decades to reach.
The History of Cyprus is a pressing issue in regards to the European Union and to the future of Turkish accession. Cyprus is a small island country in the Mediterranean Sea that was a former British Colony, within the state presides two primary ethnicities the Greeks and the Turks. In the 1960’s the international community worked together to create a constitution that would include both ethnicities in the government, the president would be Greek and the vice president would be Turkish also there would be 7 Greek cabinet members and 3 Turkish members. Years later the Turkish government members we expelled and the Greeks began invading Turkish Cyprus regions. When Turkey felt that the international community failed to respond to the violation of the Treaty between the two ethnicities they invaded Greek Cyprus is retaliation. During their invasion they captured most of Northern Cyprus which is displayed in the first image showing the string of Red zones on the Ethnic map of Cyprus. In the 1983 Turkish Cyprus created its own independent state and was unrecognized by any other state with the exception of Turkey. The Middle left photo depicts the peacekeeping UN forces riding bikes within a Turkish region of Cyprus. The UN are present in order to patrol what is known as the Green Line which was created in 1974 after the Turkish invasion. The white buildings in the top right picture appear to be a UN outpost, likely along the buffer zone so as to control conflicts that could arise between military forces of the two regions. The UN success within Cyprus has been good considering their other Peacekeeping records which were too late such as Rwanda, or Sudan. Unlike in these regions we did not see mass genocide of populations because of the UN’s intervention. Also the Green Line has remained relatively peaceful thanks in part to the UN buffer zone which, as the bottom right picture shows, prohibits military vehicle encroachment.
The issue with Cyprus within the EU however is largely an issue of why Greek Cyprus was permitted entry while they have an ongoing boarder dispute, which is a clearly stated as one of the criteria that must be met to join the EU. Turkeys support for the Northern Turkish Cyprus is also an issue that causes tension for in their strides to join the European Union which is not innately wrong but the fact that Greek Cyprus is a member of the EU means that by supporting the North they are defying Greek Cyprus’s sovereignty.
It is important to understand that the ethnic map on the top left is not a current map of Cyprus, but is in fact a map from the 1960’s, now that the two have lived separately for 30 years it is unlikely that a single state solution is possible and will need to be divided into two distinct international entities. Whether Turkish Cyprus would then be accepted into the EU is another issue because of the difficulty that Turkey has had getting into the EU. Though with the growing disinterest against Turkey and Islamic societies I believe that they will not be recognized in the near future.
The small island of Cyprus has experienced either foreign rule or occupation of it, for the majority of its history, from the times of Byzantium to the Twentieth century with British and Ottoman control during the Great War. The top left image depicts the ethnographic layout of the state of Cyprus, of Greek and Turkish Cypriots and other pockets of minority populations. It also shows how even though there is a great disparity in land occupied and numbers of Turkish Cypriots have they are still able to keep a foothold in the Northern areas of Cyprus.
The bottom left picture shows several soldiers holding up a Turkish flag in a grassy field. This was most likely taken after the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, and the soldiers being that of the Turkish force deployed there. This invasion came after a coup in the government by Greek Cypriots whom were pushing for Enosis to the homeland and at the time denounced the right of veto in the government and subsequently removed the Turkish Cypriots from government. This was then used as pretext for Turkey to invade, which they did in 1974 although it was concluded that they broke the Treaty of Guarantee, between Turkey, Britain, and Greece, that there should be no military intervention,.
Underneath the map is and image of two UN peacekeepers riding bicycles down a road with a Turkish flag in the background, alluding to the sectarian struggles that have plagued the small state since its recognition and relatively easy acceptance into the EU for the southern part of the island. UN peacekeepers have been stationed on the island since 1964, in order to help quell any strife between the two communities. However it can be seen that these troops are traveling relatively light without any heavy gear, this could be in part to the situation becoming more stable as the years have gone on in Cyprus. The top right image also shows the presence of a UN force on the island in the form of a base camp overlooking the Cyprus coastline, again this helps further shows how intertwined the United Nation forces have become over the last fifty years there.
Lastly the bottom right picture comes directly from the most prevalent image of the divided nation, that being the Green-Line. The Green-line was established after the Turkish invasion of 1974 and divided the state in half from east to west. The Green-line emulates similarities to the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, however overtime it has become less and less militarized and as of recent traffic flow is becoming increasingly more common and becoming easier for both Greek and Turkish Cypriots to travel between the opposing sides. This is also is a reminder though of how the area at times was heavily divided, and how the need for a solution between the two communities is needed whether through a two-state solution like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or through another compromise between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
Reblogged this on Neverending Wanderlust and commented:
These images all deal with Cyprus, which has become one of the largest obstacles on Turkey’s path to EU accession, especially after the accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the EU in 2004. Cyprus has a long history and has been controlled by many different powers, from the Byzantines, to the Crusaders, Venetians, Ottomans, and British. This historical diversity of control has led to Cyprus having a non-homogenous population in the modern day. Before the island was divided in the 1970s, the Cypriot population was largely Greek Cypriot, with pockets of Turkish Cypriots scattered across the whole island, as can be seen in the top-left image.
During the early days of its independence in the 1960s, the Cypriot government was supposed to implement a power-sharing plan, where Greek and Turkish Cypriots would both have power. However, the Greek Cypriots almost immediately began making changes to give themselves more power and exclude the Turkish Cypriots from the government. Many Greek Cypriots, including the EOKA-B, longed for enosis, or unification with mainland Greece. A coup in 1974 created the Hellenic Republic of Cyprus, with the goal of annexation by Greece. A few days later, Turkey invaded Cyprus in response to the coup, which had supposedly been supported by Greece, thus violating the Treaty of Guarantee, which prohibited such intervention. Turkish troops, like the ones in the bottom left image, eventually captured about one-third of the island and created a green line between the Turkish and Greek sections of the island. The Turks established the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus on their half of the island, which would later become the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
UN peacekeepers like those in the middle-left image have been present in Cyprus for decades. Before the coup and Turkish invasion, UN peacekeepers arrived to prevent violence after the implementation of the Akritas Plan in 1963, which removed all Turkish Cypriots from the government. Since the division of the island into the Greek Cypriot Republic of Cyprus in the south and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the UN has administered the buffer zone (shown in the two right images) between the two halves of the island.
Historically, travel between the Republic of Cyprus and TRNC has been extremely limited. In recent years, however, there has been an increase in Cypriots crossing over to the other side of the island. Some Greek Cypriots have begun to make claims on the property that they abandoned after the Turkish invasion forced them south in 1974.
Prior to the Republic of Cyprus’ EU accession in 2004, the EU required them to implement the Annan Plan to settle the dispute between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The plan would have created a federation, settled property claims (and compensated property owners), and demilitarized the island. In a referendum, the Turkish Cypriots approved the Annan Plan, while the Greek Cypriots overwhelmingly rejected it. Because the referendum was conducted so close to the official EU accession date, the EU let Cyprus enter as a single unit, but with the acquis communautaire suspended in the north. In order for Turkey to join the EU, the Cyprus issue must first be fully and successfully dealt with.
The top left image shows the ethnic diversity in Cyprus. The image shows that Greeks clearly take up the majority of Cyprus. The next largest group in Cyprus are the Turks. They account for a small portion however. Moronites account for a tiny portion. After there was much tension between the Greeks and Turkish citizens in Cyprus, the Zurich Agreement was made. The treaty said that the president would be Greek and would be accompanied by a Turkish vice president. In 1963 the Greeks wanted amendments added to the constitution but Turkey found them unreasonable. This highlights the lack of communication between the Greeks and Turks in Cyprus. The Greeks violated the treaty and began infringing upon the Turkish sides. These pictures represent the big problem of the Cyprus dispute. The border is split in half and is a reason why Turkey is not being let into the EU. Cyprus is in the EU but Turkey is not. Turkey does not view it as fair that Cyprus is in the EU while Turkey still is not allowed in. They both applied around the same time but Cyprus was granted access quickly. They didn’t have to go thorough the same stuff that Turkey now has to go through. After Turkey invaded Cyprus the green line was set up as a buffer between the two areas. The green line illustrates the gap between the Greeks and the Turks. They view each other at opposing ends and will not cooperate unless they can seek a common ground together. It is for this reason many seek a two state solution. This way they both have their own identity and are more independent, which is what many citizens want. The middle photo on the left shows UN guards patrolling. They are most likely on the Green Line. The Green Line is actually well maintained as you can see in the picture on the right. Although it is a problem that has to be addressed, the UN is doing a good job at maintaining it. It is also safe since military vehicles cannot approach it. Lately, talks between Greeks and Turkish Cypriots have had more success. The Annan Plan was the last attempt at talks between Greeks and Turks. The Turkish voted to accept it but Greeks declined it. I am hopeful that with the new talks, the Greeks and Turks will be more cooperative in the future.
– Tyler Arkes
Brit Jacobson
12 April 2015
The pictures above are all centered on a single issue: Cyprus. Cyprus has had a complicated history with foreign rule and occupation for much of its existence, and thanks to this rocky past, the island still has to overcome many conflicts today. Cyprus is also one of the largest obstacles that Turkey has to overcome in order to enter the European Union, due to their involvement in Cyprus’s conflicts. The photos together represent the current condition of Cyprus with the UNs involvement, as well as the conflicts that has brought it to where it is today.
Cyprus, which is a reasonably small island off the coast of Turkey, is home to two primary nationalities: Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots. Cyprus has also had close ties with Greece through much of its history, even being part of the Greek Orthodox Church. This all changed in 1571 however, when it was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire kept Cyprus under the millet system, as they did with many of their conquered territories. However, the fact that it was still a territory of the Ottoman Empire explains the state of the populations currently living in Cyprus. The Turkish and Greek communities both have separate ideas on the future of Cyprus, even while they were still under the Ottoman Empire. The Greek Cypriot community originally wanted Enosis with the Greek State, and while they are now content with just being Greek Cyprus, the Turkish Cypriots are not happy with any of the ideas that the Greek Cypriots have had. Unfortunately for the Turkish community, they are the minority. This can be seen in the top right image, which depicts the diversity of Cyprus around the 1960s census when Cyprus was just breaking away from British rule. According to the map, not only were the Turkish Cypriots the minority, but they were also randomly spaced within the country. This lack of harmony within the state has lead to many conflicts and other hostilities as each side has fought for their own rights. The photo on the bottom left depicts one of these fights, with soldiers proudly carrying the Turkish flag. This flag is also very similar to the one seen in the center left photo, which represents the Republic of Northern Cyprus.
This republic came around due to refusal for the international community to act on the conflicts in Cyprus. With the Greek Cypriot community containing the majority of the population, Turkey finally came to the Turkish population’s rescue and occupied the upper third of the island. This eventually created a haven for the Turkish Cypriot population of Cyprus, which was named the Republic of Northern Cyprus. Currently, the Republic of Northern Cyprus is only recognized by Turkey as an actual state. Due to continued conflicts between the two territories and Greek Cyprus’ entrance into the EU, the United Nations has finally decided to act. To keep the unrest under control, they have sent in peacekeepers, which are pictured in the center left photo and are distinguishable by their blue helmets. Also, because of the continued unrest between Greek Cyprus and the Republic of Northern Cyprus, the UN has created a ‘green line’ or buffer zone between the two nations in order to keep peace on both sides. This buffer zone is depicted in both of the photos on the right.
These pictures represent Cyprus, which is one of the ongoing conflicts that Turkey has which prohibits its entry into the European Union. This issue is not only prohibiting the entry of Turkey into the EU they have also stopped all negotiation talks until the issue has been dealt with. One of the main issues with Cyprus is that there has been a long term disagreement with Turkey and Greece who have both laid claim to the island.
The top left image in the set shows the island of Cyprus with demographic representation. One of the first realizations that I had was that even though North Cyprus is Turkish there is still a very high number of Greek Cypriots living in the region. Up until I had actually taken the time to look at the graph I had a lack of understanding of the Issue because I had not realized that North Cyprus was still home to a larger percentage of Greek Cypriots. I know that in class we discussed the issue of all the Greek Cypriots that fled south, when Turkey invaded to maintain the territory, leaving all of their homes and possessions behind. In class you brought up the issue of foreigners going in buying and restoring those possessions only to find out that they were not sold legally. The case with the British couple was resolved fairly easily because they chose to just walk away from the home, but will other have the same reaction. I feel that this issue could lead to farther disagreements and issues in the upcoming years.
Also in the images you can see the image of the un buffer zone, UN base, and UN peace keeping troops on the ground. In my opinion the un buffer zone is needed on the behalf of both parties. With this zone in place it limits the ability of both sides to impose war and tragedy on the other without noticeable forces. The buffer zone has been effective and also helped lessen the immediate conflict between the two sides. With UNs help in recent years the two sides have even had successful discussions about a possibility of a two-state solution. The UN troops should be held accountable for maintaining the peace because with their presence the likely hood of physical retaliation was limited.
Also in the bottom picture you see people holding up a Turkish flag which exemplifies that those who are Turkish in Cyprus do identify with Turkey and want to maintain that connection. This has become a larger discussion since 2004 when Cyprus was allowed into the EU. Although the acquis is suspended for Northern Cyprus there is still a sense of hope that they could eventually be taken off of suspension and be considered a full member. This also creates the conversation of if they let Cyprus into the EU even with the border dispute issue why are they giving Turkey so many issues. With Cyprus already being a member of the EU, Turkey has yet another reason to back up why they belong in the EU. Although Cyprus is one of the main discussion points for whether or not to allow Turkey into the EU they are just one of the few that are causing back lash at the thought of Turkey being able to join the EU.
-Erica Kaylor
For over a century Cyprus has remained a point of contention between Turkey and Western European powers. Its close proximity to Turkey made it a natural area to conquer for the Ottoman Empire, leading to a population comprised of both Greeks and Turks. Following independence in 1960 the Republic of Cyprus faced a rapid movement, the Akritas Plan, to weaken Turkish Cypriot political influence. This exemplified the mindset which would later engender violence. The first picture, an older demographic map of Cyprus from 1960, conveys that a majority of Turk Cypriots were centered in northern Cyprus with most Greeks located to the south. A cohabitation between the two cultures led to the formation of enclaves resulting in continued separate pushes for enosis and a one-state solution.
This naturally led to multiple attempts by more radical Greek Cypriots to force enosis. Following the replacement of President Makarios III with Nikos Sampson Turkey invaded the island from the north. The bottom-left image of well-armed Turkish soldiers shows the commitment Turkey held towards protecting Turk Cypriots. Due to the support of the Cypriot National Guard by the Greek military Turkey was somewhat justified in invading in my opinion. A current demographic map would look very different in 2015, as Turkey has continually moved people to Northern Cyprus to retain influence.
There have been attempts to maintain civility, though. UN peace keepers were installed on the island almost immediately after its independence following the attempted implementation of the Akritas Plan. This peacekeeping force has remained in Cyprus in order to ensure that violence between the Cypriot National Guard and the Northern Cypriot military (comprised primarily of members of the Turkish Armed Forces) is kept to a minimum. The second picture of a UN patrol base near Morphou Bay demonstrates the continued efforts of the UN to maintain a ceasefire due to the persistent border dispute between Cyprus and Turkey. There has been success on this front, as there haven’t been major conflict in Cyprus in decades. The middle-left photo of a UN patrol typifies their role as a peacekeeping force, as they are not heavily armed. Improved relations following mutual disaster-relief aid and reduced travel restrictions will likely lessen the role the UN will play in Cyprus in the future.
The final picture of the UN buffer zone marker exemplifies the criticism Turkey has held towards the European Union following the membership of Cyprus in 2003. Cyprus should likely not have been allowed to join before resolving its territorial dispute with Northern Cyprus; as a result Turkey has a legitimate claim against the E.U. It seems very unlikely that Turkey will be unable to join the E.U. for a fairly long time since Cyprus will be able to veto any Turkish accession negotiations with the E.U. Hopefully as Greek-Turkish relations improve this border dispute will at some point be solved. A one-state solution is not likely after the state being divided for such a period of time, but a peaceful two-state recognition with normalized diplomatic relations may allow the Cypriot border-disputes to be resolved.
-Aaron Anderson
Cyprus has posed a problem for Turkish accession into the EU for quite some time. In order to fully understand the situation surrounding Turkish accession it is beneficial to know some of the history surround Cyprus. These images reflect important aspect of the situation in Cyprus, both past and present. The island was under Turkish control from 1570-1914 when it was lost to Britain after World War One. By the mid-19th century there were 100,000 Greek Cypriots and nearly 40,000 Turkish Cypriots on the island. The image in the top left reflects how these communities were scattered and interspersed geographically likely prior to the 1974 Turkish invasion. After becoming a British crown colony in 1925, the Greek population began demanding for enosis, however this was tabled because of the Turkish population, which could not be ignored. Therefore when Cyprus gained independence in 1960 there was no enosis (or taksim for the Turkish population for that matter). The Zurich Agreement promoted an integrated government, allowing for proportional Turkish and Greek representation within the new government. Nevertheless the Akritas plan eradicated all Turks from government involvement. After joining the UN in 1961, UN peacekeepers became a mainstay on the island (especially during the beginning stages of the Akritas plan) and continue to play an important role to this day.
The middle image on the left depicts some of these UN peacekeepers on what appears to be the Turkish side of the Green Line. This was established after the 1974 invasion. Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974 under the impression that Greece was attempting to achieve enosis through a coup in the existing government. Turkey claimed this was a violation of the Treaty of Guarantee and used this to support their invasion. Turkish troops from this invasion are depicted in the bottom left image. The Turks took 1/3 of the island (the northeastern part) and the Turkish population throughout the entirety of the island is now settled there. This created the Green Line which separates the two parts of the island and serves as a buffer zone. The two images on the right depict how this is set up and monitored. In 1983 Northern Cyprus declared itself an independent state, but it is only recognized by Turkey. This means its trade must go through Turkey.
The tension between Turkey and Cyprus increased when Cyprus was granted entrance into the EU as a single unit in 2003. Greek Cyprus even attempted to veto Turkish accession talks to the EU. The tension within Cyprus is a microcosm of a larger tension between Turkey and the EU. This intensified situation represents and reinforces some of the reasons Turkey has not been allowed accession. There is talk of a two state solution within Cyprus, however that remains to be seen. Nevertheless, Turkish relations with Greece have been improving.
-London Lundstrum
In Cyprus’ early history, it was occupied by the Byzantines, Crusaders, Venetians, and Ottomans. The Ottomans, under Mehmet Pasha, caused widespread damage and removed all boys and women as slaves. The island was Eastern Orthodox and the church held Cyprus together during Ottoman rule. During the 1820’s, Greece gained independence; which rallied the Cypriots to call for enosis. Enosis is the unification of one territory to its motherland. Overtime, the cry for enosis failed and died out.
In the early 20th century, Britain was in need of a naval base in the eastern Mediterranean to protect its interests in the Suez Canal. To gain that naval foothold, Britain annexed Cyprus and gained it after World War I. Cyprus was deemed a crown colony from 1925 to 1960. Under British rule, the Cypriots pushed for enosis again, but in the sense that first Cyprus must gain independence from Britain, then join Greece. The top left photo shows the population demographics of Cyprus before the Turkish invasion. Though the island was mostly Greek, the small Turkish communities could not be ignored or removed. In 1957, the United Nations got involved to try to reach a compromise on the issue. The Cypriot Constitution-Zurich Agreement was created. The agreement granted Cyprus independence from Britain, but enosis and Taksim was forbidden. Though the country was independent, it was still overseen by British, Greek, and Turkish governments. Also, Cyprus’ government was to partake in political sharing, meaning, Greek president, Turkish vice-president, both with the right of veto. In 1961, Archbishop Makarios III became president and immediately sought to change the constitution in favor of the Greek Cypriots. His attempts worked and in December 1963 all Turkish Cypriots were removed from power. The United Nations sent in peacekeepers to prevent violence and they can be seen in Cyprus to this day.
In 1974, Makarios III was ousted from presidency and replaced by Nikos Sampson. Makarios ran to in the United Nations and claimed Cyprus had been invaded by Greece. In reality, the Geeks had never set foot on Cyprus and only involved by supporting the Cypriot National Guard. Turkey responded to the “invasion” by invading in July 20th, 1974. The Turks argued invasion was necessary because a military coup and Greek support was a violation of the Treaty of Guarantee. The Turkish invasion can be seen in the bottom left photo. Turkey occupied 1/3rd of the island and established the Green Line in 1974. The Green Line is a buffer zone (shown in the bottom right picture), that divides Cyprus into Turkish Cypriot northern region and Greek Cypriot southern region. The United Nations Peacekeeping Force is responsible for that area. Since 2003, a number of crossing points have opened up between the north and south. The Turkish Cypriot region established the Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983 and is only recognized as independent from Turkey by Turkey. This denial of independence has caused problems for the island. In 1990, Greek Cyprus applied for membership to the European Union, but was objected by the Turkish Cyprus until a state solution could be reached. Accession to the European Union was finalized in 2004 with Cyprus as a single unit. Though Cyprus is a member of the European Union as a single country, the Acqui is suspended in northern Cyprus, meaning Turkish Cyprus does not have European Union benefits.
-Brittney Stump
Cortney Paege
All of these pictures deal with Cyprus. Cyprus has been under the control of many different empires and states. It was a part of the Byzantine Empire, was occupied by Richard I, than the Knights Templar and finally to a Frenchman, Lusignan. It was eventually annexed in 1487 by the Venetians. It wasn’t until Cyprus was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire that the idea of enosis was created. The Greek Cyprians wanted to unify with Greece. This was when the issue of the Greek vs Turk Cyprians began to escalade. After Britain officially annexed Cyprus in 1923, the demand for enosis grew because of the increase of Turkish residents with none of the Turks wanting enosis. This is still a struggle today on how to handle Cyprus.
The top left picture shows the Greek and Turk population within Cyprus. From this picture we see that most of the population is Greek but we do see some clusters of Turks scattered on the island. These 2 different ethnic groups creates the issues of trying to properly represent both groups in politics, which hasn’t been happening, and how to deal with the issue of enosis or a two state solution, etc.
The top right, bottom right and left middle pictures all have to do with the UN in Cyprus. The UN has had to take a lot of action in Cyprus after EOKA and all the chaos of the 1950’s. EOKA was an independent guerrilla movement trying to get Britain out of Cyprus, achieve independence and enosis. Britain’s were targets as well as Greek Cyprian collaborators and Turk Cyprians in the auxiliary police. This led to a cease fire in 1959 that resulted in independence but without enosis. Shortly after there was a military coup against Makarios and this is when UN peacekeepers were brought to Cyprus to solve the issue. This is what we see in the middle picture of UN peacekeepers riding around Cyprus. The top and bottom right pictures show the UN buffer zones in Cyprus. In July of 1974 the Turk Cyprians created the green line. This line split the Greeks from the Turks on the island. This split was in response to the Turks invading Cyprus after the Greeks violated the Treaty of Guarantee stating that neither Greece nor Turkey could invade the island to support on side. The UN buffer zone is the green line. This line and separation of the island has led many to believe that a two state solution might be the best way to deal with Cyprus. Because of the green line that could lead to a 2 state solution it will create a new issue of how to deal with Cyprus in the EU and if the Turkish side will be a part of the EU or will have to rejoin.
The last picture, bottom left, is of Turkish soldiers holding up the Turk flag. This was after the Coup d’état getting Makorias out of office. Makorias was ok with independence without enosis, where as many others were not
The series of pictures deal with the ongoing struggles in the island of Cyprus and the international pressure placed on Turkey. The first image shows the diverse demographic within the Republic of Cyprus. There are Greek and Turkish Cypriots living in all areas of Cyprus that are locked in a conflict that extends to Turkish accession into the European Union. Before the independence of Cyprus there were several occupying forces including the Ottomans and the British. It seems logical that the source of conflict would move from government and subject to an ethnic struggle. Especially after the Turkish invasion the area became even more contested with the Turkish Cypriot forces maintaining control over the Northern part of Cyprus and the Greeks occupying the South. Adding to this pressure is the power of European influence in Cyprus since its accession into the EU. Many saw the move as controversial since an agreement in the conflicted area had not been resolved. The Republic of Cyprus had become a member of the EU and gained significant influence, as Turkey hadn’t any talks that were moving forward. This would give Cyprus a certain foothold in the talks for a state solution with Turkey.
The next image shows the presence of UN peacekeeping forces that have remained in Cyprus to sustain the peaceful buffer zone between the North and South and avoid another international incident. This was in response to the Turkish invasion and the growing tensions in the area. The invasion began with a coup d’état that involved an Enosis government or a Greek and Cypriot force and Turkish forces occupying Greek-held lands in Northern Cyprus. A ceasefire was soon called and the division of Cyprus began. The bottom left image shows a soldier holding a Turkish flag probably in occupied territory. It’s certainly an interesting clash with the photo of the UN forces. Finally after years of continuing political strife it seems that peaceful talks may lead to an eventual state solution between Turkey and Cyprus.
EUST – 470V
These images all deal with Cyprus and the country’s history in one way or another, giving us a bit more perspective on the whole situation. The first picture in the top left is of Cyprus and its population by region status, in the North and West there are large portions of Turks, mainly near the borders. We also see a small portion of Maronites in the North, and a lot of regions with a lower percent of Cypriots. This shows us how split up the country is, we can infer that the country’s history of being invaded and having many different rulers throughout the years is the cause of this. The next picture to the right of the first shows what seems like a UN checkpoint or outlook in what we are lead to assume is Cyprus. This shows us that the issues here are quite serious, for the UN to come through and take the time to set up points of interest such as seen in the photograph. With Cyprus being such a hot commodity in the eyes of the Turks there is definitely going to be a lot of conflict. In the next picture being examined, the second one down on the left, we see two UN soldiers in full outfit patrolling the streets, with a Turkish flag in the background. It’s only logical to assume they are in Cyprus and are dealing with the Turks that seek conflict and feel the desire to get rid of the Cypriots. The soldiers seem to be checking all their surroundings, possibly meaning they fear for their safety in this part of town. The bottom left picture shows a group of soldiers with a Turkish flag in the center, it is most likely after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus back in 1974, with the soldiers staking their claim in what they believe should be theirs. With issues like these and looking back at the country’s history, Turkey’s accession into the EU is only going to be tougher. The conflict with Cyprus that Turkey has is one that puts a lot of strain on surrounding countries, as well as the UN. The last picture on the bottom right is a “Buffer zone” saying no one is allowed to pass through, we can assume that Turkey is the reason for the UN’s presence in this area, and this is one of their techniques to deal with the situation at hand. The UN never wants to seek out a fight, and would definitely never instigate one, because of this they must plan as best as possible and use different tactics. Being the peacekeeping organization that the UN is it makes sense that the way they would go about helping out in Cyprus would be to set up checkpoints and attempt to halt the further overthrow that Turkey wishes would happen. It has been a long and rocky road for Cyprus having to deal with Turkey, and because of the poor relationship the two have had, it will not be easy for Turkey to get into the EU. The countries already in the EU take all the conflict between the two very seriously, and fear for what could happen if the Turks were to be allowed in.
The pictures this week all show the situation in Cyprus involving the partition of the land between the Turkish half in the north and the Greek half in the south and how the partition has effected the external relations of Turkey. Each of the images shows in some way how the conditions of the island are or where, but behind each image there is further information pertaining to modern Turkish relations. Following a breakdown in the relationship between Greek and Turkish Cypriots the Turkish military intervened on the island to defend the Turkish Cypriots and this resulted what essentially amounts to two separate states since 1974. This condition on the island has continued into today and still remains a significant barrier to furthering the EU accession talks.
This though has also lead to an additional strain in the Turkish relationship with the EU, presenting another roadblock to their accession to the European Union. Since near the beginning of the economic community Turkey has been attempting to join the Union with little success thus far. The conditions in Cyprus though further exacerbated the difficulties. On of the caveats of joining the European Union is that a member must not has border problems with one of their neighbors, which clearly with the situation in Cyprus Turkey has a border dispute. Further complicating the matter is the fact that despite this rule the European Union allowed Cyprus into the community with the same border issue, which obviously frustrates Turkey given the this issue is holding them back.
Three of the images here show the continued stay of UN peacekeepers as the stand guard on the buffer zone between the two sides because at various points in the past there have been further hostilities along the border that was initially established. The presence of UN peacekeeper also serves to show how contentious the situation is raising the question of how Cyprus was allowed in the European Union. It seems reasonable for the Turks to be upset by this as they do wish to be allowed into the European Union like Cyprus but this seems to be a sort of double standard, which also is not new to Turkish accession. Throughout the process the nation had been continually pushed back and held to a different standard then the other members of the European Union. They began seeking near the same point as the United Kingdom and have improve in order to try and gain entry but have the talks continually frozen by a cadre of actors within the community. At this point the accession seems quite unlikely in the near future given past trends of pushing off the steps of accession because of it being Turkey and not some traditional christian European country.
It would not seem surprising if the Turks turned against accession to the EU in the near future because of the double standard the is in place in the community. In many ways they face a large group of enemies to their accession and their enemies have the material to keep them out of the Union for some time to come.
-Luke Mooberry
This collage is a good representation of Cyprus. The picture in the left hand corner especially displays the complication that surrounds this island country in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. When people think of Cyprus today they might think of these other photos of “buffer zone” and the military.
Cyprus in the early 20th century was under the rule of Britain and valued as a naval base in the Eastern Mediterranean. Britain later leases Cyprus from Ottoman Empire in return for providing naval protection against the Russians. Power has been established and with World War the alliances have sufficiently failed, while also lacking to acknowledge what the citizens of Cyprus want. Britain annexes Cyprus in 1914 (interest in Suez Canal) and then offers it to Constantine I of Greece in return for Greek support in WWII where he refuses (since Greece won’t invade Bulgaria). With the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, Cyprus was permanently ceded to Britain militarily and in 1925 it was a crown colony with military no longer needed, governorship was installed until 1960. Enosis was demanded and opposed by Britain because of Turkish residents that would have to go back to Turkey. Civil unrest was everywhere and in 1931 the legislative council was abolished. After WWII, there was an attempt to introduce limited democratic government but this failed as well as the movement for enosis with the Turkish Cypriots boycotting the referendum. The whole movement for enosis is a very real and complicated idea. Greek Cyprus want enosis with Greece while Turkish do not at all. Cypriots want their whole island, instead of the two state solution.
There is still unrest today as you can see through these photos. The UN and Britain refused to recognize the results of the referendum which resulted in the fascist EOKA in the 1950’s. A cease fire in 1959 led to independence without enosis though in 1960. Britain still has bases in Cyprus but there is no military involvement in Cyprus. Taksim and enosis was forbidden in the Cypriote Constitution. In 1963, the Turkish Cypriots were moved to the north and UN peacekeepers have been here ever since to make sure there will never be a move towards enosis. Turkey breaks the treaty agreement in 1974 with invading but they claim that Cyprus has violated it as well with creating the Green Line. The establishment of Turkish Federated State of Cyprus is now the north Cyprus only and is recognized by Turkey only (one could compare this to North and South Korea). This is clearly very problematic. Greek Cyprus is the defacto independent state and northern Cyprus only exists in limbo with Turkey.
This is a main issue see by the EU in admitting Turkey in as a member and even more tricky since in 1990 Greek Cyprus applied for membership into the EU and was accepted in 2003. The EU is in a very complicated position with the issue of Turkey joining even more with the issue of Cyprus already being a member. The collage does a good job at attempting to demonstrate the complexity of this whole situation hanging over the membership of Turkey into the EU.
Lance Cummings
12 April 2015
EU Studies Blog
This photo blog directly deals with the conflict and turmoil surrounding Cyprus. The political unrest in Cyprus is nothing of modern times. With close proximity to Greece, Cypriots hold close allegiance to the Greeks and a majority of their population share ancestry with them. The Ottoman Empire brought the first Turks, unfavorably, to the small island. Led by Lala Mehmet Pasha, the Ottomans sieged the island in 1571. The disposition between the Greek Cypriots and Turk Cypriots came from a long history of Ottoman cruelties like damaged infrastructure, abduction of women and children as slaves, and economic decline from high taxation. With the movement towards Greek independence in the 1820s and the vast decline of the Ottoman Empire, the Cypriots pushed for enosis. Enosis is a movement by ethnically Greek territories to unionize with the nation of Greece. Enosis became irrelevant throughout World War I and World War II as the British ultimately obtained control over the island and established it as a British colony. With peace in the region following World War II, the Greek Cypriots demanded enosis once more, but the British rejected the idea because of the Turkish population in Cyprus. This would bring about a militant and political organization known as the EOKA, led by George Grivas and Archbishop Makarios. Though EOKA’s aggressive tactics towards military operations and politics got them to the negotiation table, they did not achieve the overall goal of the organization, enosis. The Zurich Agreement saw the island being under control from both the Greek and Turkish governments. This was unfavorable to the Greek Cypriots. The EOKA transformed into the EOKA-B and immediately following they put Nikos Sampson in power. This allowed for the Greece to invade Cyprus, which angered the Turkish government. In turn, the Turks invaded as well in 1974, causing Sampson to resign and the Greek government to withdraw.
The first picture of this blog displays the population distribution in Cyprus. As one can see, the population is very diversified and mixed thoroughly throughout. However, there is an overwhelming amount of Greek Cypriots compared to Turkish Cypriots, majorly in the heartland of Cyprus. With such few numbers in the Turkish population of Cyprus, why is it such an important territory to the Turkish government? Two of the pictures shown in the blog display Turkish soldiers in Cyprus with their national flag. Nationalism is a crucial concept of Turkish society, but in a land that is not native to them, they display nationalist qualities like they are in Turkey. These pictures also display the Turkish military presence in Cyprus, and how importantly the Turkish government holds the territory in their priorities. The other two pictures of the blog are related to the United Nations presence in the situation. When Greece and Turkey decided to invade Cyprus, the only other international power who gave support was the United States, backing Greece. The United Nations had to intervene to protect the civilian population throughout the war. However, the buffer zone that divided the island into two halves, made by the UN, did not accurately portray the distribution of the population. There were heavily dense Greek Cypriot populations in Turkey’s half, and a bulk of Turk Cypriots in the Greek half.
These pictures all seem to pertain to the situation that happened in Cyprus which concerned Turkey (I can’t make out what is written in the top right image). The top left image is a picture of how Cyprus started out. The Greeks and the Turks were all mixed together. This was a problem because the Greeks wanted to unite Cyprus with Greece. The Turks obviously didn’t like this and wanted Cyprus to remain independent. This Greek longing for enosis was troublesome to the Turk community who called Cyprus home.
The EOKA was a Greek terrorist/freedom fighter group who greatly wanted Cyprus to join with Greece. Things got so bad that the UN finally intervened as seen on the top right picture. They sat down with everyone and came up with the Zurich agreement which gave Cyprus independence, but with no enosis and the island could not be split because, as we see in the top left, the Turks are spread out everywhere.
The climax is reached during 1974 when a coup happened in 1974 when the EOKA ousted their non-enosis desiring president, Makarios III and replaced him with Nikos Sampson who also wanted Cyprus to be annexed by Greece. Naturally, Turkey was not pleased, and as you can see in the 2 bottom pictures, military action on Turkey’s part was taken. They invaded Cyprus and took one third of the island. They state that this was because the Greek Cypriots did not keep their end of the Zurich agreement.
Now as you can see in the bottom right picture, there is a line which is called the green line that separates the part of Cyprus which Turkey took over from the rest of the island. Now, this “line” is actually a political barrier and is made to separate the Greek Cypriots from the Turkish Cypriots. However, that is a problem, because as you can see in the top left map, they are all spread out. People had to move to their respective sides and were forced to leave their homes and many of their belongings behind. Obviously this will cause some problems.
Cyprus was allowed into the EU. Why? I have no idea. They are in a very weird and difficult situation which has yet to be resolved. It is getting better and the border is opened in some places. They are also trying to deal with compensating for the loss of property that both the Greek and Turk Cypriots suffered when people were moving to their respective sides. However, the Greeks are being repaid by Greek Cyprus and the Turks are being repaid by Turkish Cyprus. The Greeks do not like this at all. The Greek church protested against this, but this is how the EU decided they would have to do it.
Funnily enough, enosis has not come, and is not believed to happen anytime soon or at all. Membership of Greece in the EU makes that harder and Greek Cyprus is not pushing for that as hard as it was.
This whole shenanigan is one of the reasons that the EU is reluctant to allow Turkey to join.
-Brooke Shimer
Andrew Dunivan
EUST 470V
Blog Post 4
The eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus has had a long history of foreign control. It was occupied by the Byzantine Empire, attacked by forces from the Levant, and used by Crusaders as a stronghold and staging area. It passed from Templar hands to the French before it was eventually taken by the Venetians who fortified it against their Mediterranean enemy, the Ottoman Empire. This series of images deals with the current situation in Cyprus since Ottoman control. The island has become a hotbed of ethnic and cultural tension between Greeks and Turks, complete with a terrorist organization and United Nations intervention. This tension persists to this day and Cyprus remains divided.
The diversity of Cyprus is best shown by the map of the island in the top left image. While Greek Cypriots appear to dominate most of the territory, it must be noted that Turkish Cypriots are also a very substantial part of the population. It is also important to see that one single group exclusively populates most of the regions – far fewer of the regions show mixed populations. The problem is that these groups are so spread out around the island that no border could possibly be drawn to separate the two major groups.
So how did it get like this? Despite all the foreign occupation through Cyprus’ past, it had always been mostly populated by Greeks. That changed when the Ottomans invaded Cyprus with sixty thousand troops, besieged the major cities, and relocated a large number of Greek Cypriot boys and women. Proud Ottoman soldiers can be seen displaying their flag in the old photograph on the bottom left. The population then grew because of Turkish immigration. After World War I Cyprus became a British colony, used as a naval base to protect the nearby Suez Canal. Throughout all of these occupations were cries for Enosis, the unification of all Greek islands to Greece. This sort of nationalism was especially high during the Greek war for independence, and after World War II. Turkey invaded Cyprus and created the Green Line and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which to this day is only recognized as a state by Turkey itself. A freedom-fighting organization called EOKA, led by General Grivas, used guerilla warfare to fight back and to pressure Great Britain for independence until a ceasefire was signed in 1959. However, Enosis was not recognized and Cyprus remained independent, so Grivas and a splinter group called the EOKA-B continued their fight and have resorted to terrorism.
The other three images in this series all show the United Nations peacekeeping presence in Cyprus now. A small base can been seen in the top right, and on the center left two peacekeepers are patrolling on bicycles. In the bottom right a sign denoting the green line buffer zone is displayed, showing the physical boundary between the two groups now. The problem in Cyprus persists, and is still a major source of problems for the European Union and Turkey both, as well as a point of contention between the two.
All of the pictures in the blog are related to Cyprus, our major focus in the class. Cyprus continues to be a major issue in Turkey’s accession to the EU for a variety of reasons that includes; Turkey’s invasion of the island after it had perceived Greece to have, Cyprus getting accession into the EU even though it has a major boarder dispute and due to civil rights issues.
The first picture on the right depicts the demographic layout of the island, which I find surprisingly Greek. It appears there is a fairly large spread of the Turkish Cypriotes across the island with a much larger Greek Cypriote population on the island, though there is a small Maronite population. This particularly became a problem since the Greek Cypriotes wanted initially Enosis, reuniting with mainland Greece, and then later was satisfied with a Greek controlled Cyprus, which would have left out the large Turkish Cypriote population. Turkey moved in and invaded the island in order to protect the Turks and ended up controlling the northern half of the island. I assume the map is from before this though and if it is, it is apparent many Greeks would have lost their, homes, something that Turkey will more than likely have to pay in order to get into the EU, as it is a reason why the talks with Turkey gaining access to the EU have been frozen.
The two photos on the right show the UN buffer zone that was put into place following the invasion, The third picture on the left are part of the Turkish invasion force, of the island. The UN has had peace keeping forces on the ground ever since, the second picture on the left appear to be two of the troops. Moreover the troops stationed have helped to prevent any kind of incident from breaking out. Likewise, and until recently, travel between the two sides of the island was very strict and nearly impossible due to both sides putting strict and limited restrictions on the UN monitored border zone. I find it very hypocritical of the EU has allowed Cyprus to join since it has an open and very tenuous border dispute still going on, and not to mention it leaves a large chunk of the population both unrepresented and stranded. The Turks on the northern part of the island essentially have to trade and travel through Turkey which is one of the few places that will trade or even recognize Northern Cyprus as an independent state. Moreover the whole question over Cyprus needs to be answered before hostilities break out and so that Turkey can move along in its process to, maybe but unlikely, become a member of the EU. It is understandable to see why Turkey is upset about the ongoing accession process even though Cyprus got in. Unfortunately it may be a while before any solution to the problem comes about and the only likely solution would appear to be a two state solution. It does look promising with talks about the problem coming up and all sides making considerations. I myself believe the two state solution, Greeks getting the southern portion and compensation for citizens with lost property and the Turks with the northern portion, is a likely and very achievable option and it may in turn be the best solution for all parties.
These pictures all focus on one theme, and that is the role of Cyprus and how its role is important to the potential of Turkey’s membership into the EU. Mainly, because it serves as a road block to Turkey’s accession. Cyprus history is a long and confusing journey through the history books, but most notable, is its wide array of rulers over the years, which has led to a highly diverse nationalities of its peoples. With all of this diversity, the most prevalent groups are those of the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The top left image shows the demographics of the island before it was divided in the 1970s. At this point, it was largely Greek Cypriot with very few Turkish concentrations. There was always problems with the Greeks and Turks living amongst each other, and this issue climaxed when the Turks invaded in 1974 to protect the Turks who were settled their, which ultimately created the green line. Also, this picture reinforces the fact that Cyprus as a nation very diverse. Since the invasion in the 70s, there has also been an increase in the amount of European power on the island, after it was accepted for its membership into the EU. Many thought this membership to be controversial, mainly because of the fact that a legit settlement had not come to terms after the Turks interceded. Because of its membership in the EU, the Turkish believed more power on the island would give it some influence for its own talks with EU accession. The picture on the top right shows some sort of checkpoint. We can assume this to be a UN checkpoint of some sort, which reinforces the notion that Cyprus is of utmost importance to foreign diplomacy, because the UN has intervened and wants control in the area. The next picture on the middle left also tells us how sensitive things have become in the area. There is obviously a heightened sense of danger in Cyprus, by the look of the picture of these two soldiers, we can assume them to be a UN peacekeeping force. These forces are present to keep the peace of the buffer zone established from the green line, and avoid an event like the one that took place in 1974. The last picture on the bottom left shows a soldier holding a Turkish flag, probably taken when the Turks invaded in 1974. It is interesting in contrast to the picture above, because these soldiers represent different forces, but all in all they aren’t much different.
Cyprus’ history and its disputed admission into the European Union are at the heart of Turkey’s current accession attempts. Turkey has argued that because Cyprus was allowed to join in 2004, they too should be accepted. These five images work together to illustrate the issue of Cyprus and help show why Turkey is so discontent with Cyprus’ admittance.
Cyprus has been closely linked with Turkey throughout all of history. Until 1914, the island was under Turkish rule. Turkey would eventually lose control of the island to Britain during World War One. Under British rule until 1960, the island was inhabited by both Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The first image shows how arbitrarily dispersed the population was in Cyprus between the Turks and Greeks. Interestingly, both groups wanted a type of separation from the other. For the Greeks, this came in the form of enosis or unification with mainland Greece. For the Turks, this meant taksim or the separation of Cyprus into Turkish and Greek parts. This issue has never truly been resolved, and is a major reason that Turkey believes Cyprus was wrongly allowed to join the EU.
By 1960, however, Cyprus became independent of Britain and joined the United Nations the following year. UN involvement is clearly seen in the top right image which shows a UN base located on the island. The ‘UN buffer zone’, as seen in the bottom right image, is critical as it shows the UN contribution in trying to keep Cyprus away from violence while shows an actual division on the island. The zone was created in 1974 and marks the area referred to as ‘The Green Line’ in which Greek and Turkish Cypriots are physically separated. The UN sign sits between the areas and states that any military vehicle or personnel is prohibited. While this line tries to keep apart the groups, it is clear (in the first image) that the groups are not strictly in the north and south, they are equally dispersed across the island making the line somewhat futile.
The line was created in 1974 by the UN to help combat the ongoing fights. In 1974, Turkey invaded the island under the false impression that Greece was trying to achieve enosis. The bottom left image shows the Turkish soldiers coming into the island and holding up Turkish flags to show that the island was theirs. The Turks would not be truly successful in taking the entire island, but would take the northern part enough so that taksim was partially achieved. The UN’s interaction with Cyprus, as seen in the pictures, is clearly just to keep the nation peaceful, mainly by separation.
With the vast amounts of history prevalent between Cyprus and Turkey, it is not hard to see why Turkey was deeply concerned with Cyprus’ bid to join the European Union in 2003. Turkey believed (incorrectly) that the dispute between Greeks and Turks on the island would be a major roadblock for Cyprus’ accession into the EU. For this reason, Turkey was shocked when Cyprus was quickly fast tracked into the EU by 2004. Turkey, who has been waiting on EU admission since the 1960s, was stunned when the island nation was accepted before them. Turkey, rightfully so, has since pointed to Cyprus as an example of EU prejudices as it shows that the standards they are holding Turkey to are not technically what they hold everyone else to. These images work well to show the disputes in Cyprus and its troubling history. This history should have held Cyprus back from getting into the EU, but instead they were accepted the year after their bid to the dismay of Turkey.
-Michael Anthony
Blog Post #4 – Cameron Clark
The pictures describe the division of Cyprus. They show the history of Cyprus and how Greece and Turkey have each taken control over parts of the island. Turkey claims the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as its own state. Greece claims the Southern half of the small landmass.
The history of Cyprus explains why the small island in the Mediterranean is such a key player in whether or not Turkey joins the European Union. Originally, Cyprus was a British colony. Demographically, the island has been made up of both Turks and Greeks. In 1960 a constitution was put in place in order to satisfy each ethnicity, Greek and Turk. The constitution shared power with each side. However, the constitution also created separate municipalities at the local level in order that the Greeks and Turks would have control over their own towns.
Nevertheless, the constitution did not hold out. The constitution did not maintain peace as hoped for. In 1974 a military coup began because of the Greek Cypriots. In response, Turkey invaded Northern Cyprus. They came to the aid of the Turks who were not able to fight the coup alone. In 1975 the Turks declared the state of Northern Cyprus. They officially demonstrated their claims to the island.
Then, in 2004, Cyprus officially became a member of the European Union in 2004. Later in 2008 they began using the Euro as its currency. However, the Turkish Republish of Northern Cyprus continued using the Turkish lira as currency.
The picture on the top left demonstrates the demographic breakdown between the Turks and the Greeks. It shows the different regions within Cyprus and the percentage of Greeks or Turks based of a color marking.
The two pictures on the bottom left represent the conflict struggle in Cyprus. The United Nations has stressed to keep the peace for the past couple days, but there is constant tension.
The two pictures on the right represent the United Nations attempt to enforce the border between North and South Cyprus. In 1964 the United Nations began to have a presence in Cyprus to keep the peace. Internal conflict kept stirring between the Turks and the Greeks so the United Nations was sent to restore order. In 2002, Secretary General Kofi Annan of the United Nations began negotiations for the island. However, these efforts were put to waste. The Turkish Cypriots accepted the unification negotiations but the Greek Cypriots rejected the attempt.
Today the division of Cyprus plays a major role in the accession of Turkey in the European Union. The dispute over the small island is a key argument on both sides as to why Turkey should or should not be allowed to join the European Union.
All of the pictures deal with the conflict and political issues surrounding Cyrus and the United Nations involvement in trying to keep peace amongst it all. The first picture represents Cyrus, and demonstrates Cyrus’ history of fighting and how the population relates to that and in relation to Turkish Ottoman Empire after the invasion of 1570. This resulted in Turkish settlers migrating to the island, and in turn political problems. Most of the island was Greek, with Turkish communities around as well. Whenever Cyprus became independent from Britain, the Greek and Turkish residents were considered by the international community in a constitution to favor them. The picture on the middle left shows the UN patrolling the Green Line trying to keep peace between the Greek residents of Cyrus and the Turkish residents of Cyprus, by creating a buffer zone stretching across the island. This buffer zone was set to minimize strain by using towers and soldiers to prevent war between the Greeks and Turks. The Green Line was created in 1974 after the Turkish invasion in effort to protect the Turks living in northern Cyprus, and has since then helped keep the island peaceful. The bottom left picture shows soldiers holding up a Turkish flag, which was probably taken after that invasion. The Green Line also prevents military vehicles from entering as well, which is shown in the bottom right picture. The middle picture showing peacekeepers riding bikes shows the struggles that the small island was facing and the turmoil between the two sides. The top right pictures shows the UN presence, probably a base camp, which shows how long the UN has been there and plans on being there by being well established in the midst of the divided nation. All of these pictures work together to prove the external relations of Turkey and the partition of which being effected by the northern half of the island in Turkish territory, and the southern half of Greek territory.
The images above depict the physical and political divisions that exist within Cyprus. These divides are the result of tensions that escalated during the 20th century because of differing external and internal perspectives. There was a great population growth under the Ottoman Empire, and by the mid 19th century, the population of Greek Christians living in Cyprus was double that of the Turkish Muslim population living in the country. After Greece gained its independence in the early 19th century, other Greek-inhabited islands expressed a desire to unite with the newly independent state. Among these islands was Cyprus. A great debate ensued thereafter because the Turkish Cypriot population did not support the idea of enosis. Further tensions arose from the extreme views of the EOKA B Greek party.
The first picture on the left shows how intertwined the two populations are within the country. Under the Zurich Agreement in 1959, provisions were made so that the two populations would be fairly represented within the government. Turkish Cypriots were removed from government in 1963, however, under the Akritas Plan and a buffer zone had to be created by the United Nations to prevent any further violence to continue because of the governmental divide. Most Turkish Cypriots migrated to the northern part of Cyprus while most Greek Cypriots relocated to the south. The image may be a representation of the populations before the division occurred because both populations seem to be equally disbursed on either side of the modern-day buffer zone.
This buffer zone can be seen on the upper right-hand picture. It seems to show an existing checkpoint along the buffer zone. The physical division within the country represents the degree of the tensions caused between the differences of the two populations. Such a division would most likely exist between two bordering countries and is further outlined by the formation of the Turkey Federated State of Cyprus in 1975. That northern part of Cyprus is today known as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and acts as an attachment of Turkey. The image below it shows a sign that reads in both English and Greek and has content regarding the buffer zone. Because a translation is not provided in Turkish, it can be assumed that the sign lies on the southern border of the buffer zone. The sign is also an indication of the desire to lessen any military interference within the two by stating that military personnel and vehicles are prohibited from entering the designated zone.
On the left, we can see in the two other images the flags of Turkey and the flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The flags are physical representations that symbolize how one stemmed from the other and the soldiers in both symbolize the Turkish presence in Cyprus. The photograph on the bottom appears in black and white which may have been taken during the initial point of the conflict because the soldiers are carrying a Turkish flag and the photograph above it is a more modern take on the soldiers today.
A division within the country has made it difficult to please both populations. Each side has different demands and so, it is difficult for the country to unanimously agree on issues that could affect each side in different ways. Today, the buffer zone is representative of the tensions that once existed between each side and continue to exist between Turkey and Greece in regards to their part in Cyprus.
The eastern Mediterranean island of Cyrpus is a true modern example of foreign policy weirdness in a very small and politically and culturally diverse land area. The image on the top left shows that most of the greek population resides on the north end of the island, while Turkish residents dominate all of the south as well as many areas of the north. Although today the island mainly is a hotbed of the conflict between the Greeks and the Turks, it has been used throughout history as a strategic point for the converging of Europe and the middle east and their cultures and trade. The roots of the current conflict arose when the island was seized by 60,000 Ottoman troops from the Greeks, igniting Turkish nationalism displayed by the flag waving on the bottom left. It was then annexed by Britain from the Ottomans, and the conflict was labeled as one between the independent people of the island and the British crown, then adapted to more of an issue between the cultural standing of Turkey and Greece on the island. Following the German-Italian-Bulgarian occupation of Greece during World War II, Georgios Grivas of Cypriot descent founded and led Organization X, a minor nationalist guerrilla organization made up of officers of the Greek Army whose influence was limited to certain neighborhoods of Athens. Post World War II, Grivas focused on ridding Cyprus from British control and annexing it to Greece. He arrived secretly in Cyprus in November 1954 and began immediately the formation of his guerrilla organization EOKA. On April 1, 1955, he announced the beginning of his campaign for self determination, or union with Greece. Although General Grivas failed to persuade or force President Makarios to adopt a pro-enosis government, The 1975 Cypriot coup de’tat installed a president for the union of Turkey and Greece on the island. Turkey subsequently occupied the northern part of the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus, and later upon those territories the Turkish Cypriot community unilaterally declared independence, forming the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Today, the island is still divided. In 1997, the U.N. opened up accession negotiations with the Republic of Cyprus, creating a new catalyst for a settlement. Under the Annan Plan, the Republic of Cyprus would become the United Cyprus Republic. It would be a loose federation composed of two component states. The northern Turkish Cypriot constituent state would encompass about 28.5% of the island, the southern Greek Cypriot constituent state would be made up of the remaining 71.5%. The blue buffer zone, as shown in the 2 pictures on the right, was established as a demilitarized zone and controlled by the Cypriot government. The division in Cyprus is a large obstacle in the acceptance of Turkey into the EU. Hope does exist today for more peaceful negotiations, as both the Turks and the Greeks have shown they are willing to help the other on the island, especially after a recent major earthquake required a clean-up and restoration effort on both of their parts.
All of these pictures have to do with Cyprus which has become one of Turkey’s largest problems while trying to join the European Union. The first picture on the left is a representation of Cyprus prior to the Turks invasion in 1974. It is a demographic map that shows the history of the country. As you can see there are lots of Greeks, but some smaller pockets that are filled with Turkish Cypriots. Cyprus has a long history of being ruled by different powers. This is just part of what caused their demographics to be different than most. Turkey and Cyprus already had tension between them clearly. This tension only increased when Cyprus was granted entrance into the European Union in 2003. Turkey has been waiting to join the European Union since the 1960’s. They were upset whenever the island was accepted before them. I think that Turkey has a reason to be upset about this. The history between the two plays a large part to as of why Turkey has not been accepted, but they allowed Cyprus. I think that the two countries should have been held equally responsible and had the same consequences.
The two pictures to the right show the buffer zone. This is an area between the two halves of the island. This line splits the Greeks from the Turks. This happened because of the Turks invading Cyprus after the Greeks violated the Treaty of Guarantee. This line and border zone has led many to think that the best way to handle Cyprus is as a two state country. However I’m sure if this is carried out new issues with how to handle the Turkish side will arise.
The two pictures of the right and the middle left all have to do with the United Nations involvement in Cyprus. The peacekeepers had to step in after the issues in the 1950’s involving EOKA. The picture of the soldiers holding the Turkish flag is referring to the 1974 failed attempt of the Turkish invasion. Turkey invaded in order to attempt to protect the Turkish Cypriot population. Yes this invasion did help some, but it has caused long lasting problems between the European Union and Turkey. Also it created a large amount of violence in Cyprus, which is why the United Nations had to send in peacekeepers. The peacekeepers have been around this area for decades now. The middle picture on the left shows two of them riding their bikes; to me they seem very relaxed in Cyprus. It seems like the peacekeepers will not be leaving Cyprus anytime soon though. They are needed to keep both countries army’s from entering the border and also to keep peace though out the country, on both sides of the border.
-Tori Scott