Cyprus and the European Union
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Paul Rowan
Branford Public Schools
Stephen Armstrong
Manchester Public Schools and
Central Connecticut State University
I. A Brief History of Cyprus
Despite its ideal
geographic position as a crossroads between east and west and its continued
economic growth, conflict between Turks and Greeks living in Cyprus dominates
political and economic life in Cyprus today. In 1974 Turkey invaded northern
Cyprus after a military coup on the island was backed by Greece. Presently,
Turkish Cypriots live in the northern third of Cyprus, while Greek Cypriots
live in the southern two-thirds of the country. Cyprus will join the European
Union in the spring of 2004. The United Nations has unsuccessfully attempted
on numerous occasions to broker a settlement between the Greeks and the
Turks in Cyprus; at this point only the Greek Cypriot part of Cyprus will
be joining the EU next year.
Early History
By 3750 BC Cyprus was thickly settled, making it one of the oldest civilizations
in the Mediterranean region. Because of its central location in the Mediterranean
many more powerful empires desired to control Cyprus, and it was ruled
for periods of time by the Assyrians, the Egyptians, the Persians, the
Greeks and the Romans. Cyprus was part of the Byzantine Empire for over
800 years (the control of Cyprus by Constantinople officially began in
364 AD). The English controlled the island for a brief period of time
during the Crusades; the Franks and Venetia also controlled Cyprus before
it was finally seized by the Ottoman Turks in 1571.
During the period
of Ottoman control the power of the Orthodox Church in Cyprus remained
strong; in addition some Muslims resided on the island. The Greek population
dominated political affairs on Cyprus, although a sizable Turkish population
lived on the island. Great Britain took over political control of Cyprus
from the Ottoman Turks in 1878, and in 1925 it officially became a crown
colony of Great Britain. During this period many of the Turks who had
been living in Cyprus returned to Turkey.
The Move to Independence
In the period after World War II many of the former colonies of Great
Britain achieved independence; in the late 1950s both official political
leaders and several small revolutionary groups in Cyprus began calling
for independence from Great Britain. A popular underground organization
of Greek Cypriots called the National Organization of Cypriot Fighters
called for both independence from Great Britain and close political ties
with Greece. In 1960 Cyprus was finally granted independence by Great
Britain; Archbishop Makarios, a popular figure to almost all Greek Cypriots,
was elected as the first president of the newly-instituted republic.
During the first
years of the republic the severe differences that still exist between
Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots became obvious. During the writing
of the first Cypriot constitution in 1963 a number of passages were inserted
to guarantee the rights and interests of Turkish Cypriots. Many Greek
politicians noisily noted that passages were harmful to Greek Cypriot
interests, and President Makarios attempted to eliminate a number of these
"special protections"; these attempted revisions of the constitution
by Makarios were firmly rejected by the Turkish Cypriots. As a result
of the debate over the constitution and other perceived injustices Turkish
Cypriots that were part of the government refused to continue to participate
in governmental affairs.
Violence between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots began in late 1963
(many had previously lived in the same towns and villages). Turks began
to move to exclusively Turkish villages, violence continued, and by mid-1964
United Nations peacekeepers began arriving in Cyprus.
Coup and Invasion
by Turkey
In July, 1974 President Makarios was removed from office by a coup that
was supported by the military in Greece. Makarios was perceived to be
influenced by communism and unwilling to commit to continued close ties
with Athens. As a result of this coup, Turkey invaded the northern part
of Cyprus; their justification for this was that Turkish Cypriots were
in "desperate need" of protection. In the next several months
almost all Greek Cypriots moved to the southern part of the island, while
virtually all Turkish Cypriots moved north to the Turkish-controlled territory.
Since 1974 United Nations troops have patrolled the "Green Line"
dividing the Turkish and Greek regions; tensions in this region are generally
mild, although in 1996 rock-throwing and other violence led to the several
deaths there. Until very recently, there generally has been no trade between
the Greek and Turkish regions; a very small number of cultural and educational
exchanges have taken place.
The Government
of Cyprus
The constitution of 1960 established three branches of government and
attempted to guarantee that both Turkish and Greek interests would be
protected (the constitution stated that the president would be a Greek
Cypriot, but that the vice-president would be a Turkish Cypriot). As stated
above, after 1974 the divisions between the Turkish and Greek regions
of Cyprus insured that there would be cooperation whatsoever in governing
the island. The official and internationally recognized government of
Cyprus is the government that controls that Greek part of the island;
as would be expected, however, the control of this government does not
extend into the territory controlled by Turkish Cypriots. In 1974 the
Turks established their own governing bodies, and in 1983 Turkish Cypriots
officially declared themselves as the "Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus". Predictably, the only country that officially recognizes
the Turkish Cypriots as an independent state is Turkey.
Glafcos Clerides
had been president of Cyprus since 1993, and had taken part in many United
Nations-sponsored negotiations on the unification of the island. In the
spring of 2003 (as the deadline for a UN-sponsored peace plan was approaching)
Clerides was defeated by Tassos Papadopoulos. Papadopoulos was supported
by a wide range of political opinion in Cyprus; many felt that Clerides
had been willing to make too many concessions to Turkish Cypriots in order
to achieve political union. Papadopoulos promised to protect the interests
of Greek Cypriots in any negotiations with the Turks; a popular position
taken by Papadopoulos was that he would work to see that Greeks who formerly
lived in the Turkish parts of the island would be able to return there.
The president of
the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" is 79-year old Rauf
Denktash. Denktash has taken part in virtually of the UN-sponsored negotiations
for the unification of Cyprus. In the last several years public opinion
polls have shown that Turkish Cypriots favor the island’s reunification;
demonstrations in support of unification have brought out tens of thousands
of Turkish Cypriots. However, Denktash continues to oppose this effort,
stating that the he is worried about the Turks losing territory and not
having their rights guaranteed. Denktash has repeatedly attempted to get
others in the international community to view his government as legitimate,
an effort that has met with little success. Many Turkish Cypriots see
economic disaster if the Greek Cypriots join the European Union and they
do not.
Efforts Toward Reunification
The first United Nations-sponsored talks aimed at reunification began
in 1968. Disagreements have dogged the negotiations on both small and
larger issues from the beginning. Many Greek Cypriots desire a nation
where Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots are truly integrated; most Turkish
political leaders favoring reunification perceive Greeks and Turks living
side by side with limited contact between them.
President Clerides
and Mr. Denktash took part in talks in early 2002 that were directly supervised
by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan; on May 14, 2002 he went
to Cyprus and held extensive meetings with each individually, followed
by a joint dinner with both of them. A June deadline for settlement was
agreed upon; this deadline passed without settlement. Further negotiations
took place in October, 2002, again without result. In November, Annan
presented a comprehensive plan for the reunification of Cyprus; the United
Nations hoped that a settlement between the sides could take place before
Cyprus formally accepted membership in the European Union. Ultimately,
neither side agreed to Annan’s proposal, and on December 16 of last
year Cyprus formally accepted an invitation to join the EU.
The Secretary General
again visited Cyprus in early 2003, attempting to negotiate a settlement
before Cyprus formally signed an agreement to join the EU in April. On
March 10 Raul Denktash told Annan that he would not allow Turkish Cypriots
to vote on the reunification plan proposed by the United Nations (the
Greek Cypriots had tentatively agreed to a referendum). On April 16, 2003
Cyprus formally accepted membership in the European Union, leaving the
Turkish Cypriots out in the cold.
Is there hope for
the reunification of Cyprus in the future? Despite the failure of negotiations
noted above, in late April of 2003 the Turkish Cypriots eased restrictions
on crossing the "Green Line", with Turks crossing into Greek
territory (and visa versa) for the first time in thirty years. Within
one month nearly 40% of the island’s population has crossed over
for a visit to the "other side". As a result, calls for unification
increased in both Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot circles. Strong economic
rationales exist for reunification: Greek Cypriots desire Turkish Cypriot
laborers to help with the increasing labor shortage in the Greek territory,
while Turkish Cypriots would love to sell fruits, vegetables, and other
products to the Greek southern part of the island. As one Turkish Cypriot
stated: "Turkey, Denktash, the UN: we won’t listen to them any
more. We shall reunite our island ourselves."
In September of 2003
other influences from the international community are pushing for the
reunification of Cyprus. Kofi Annan again announced his support for continued
negotiation in Cyprus, and expressed a willingness to again become personally
involved. It was announced in Washington that Thomas Weston, the United
States State Department Special Coordinator for Cyprus, will be visiting
the island in October; US Secretary of State Colin Powell expressed hope
that Weston could become involved in negotiations between the two sides.
For the first time this year Turkish officials have stated their support
for a settlement of the situation in Cyprus; government officials there
feel efforts to help negotiate a settlement there might help their own
efforts to join the European Union.
A major obstacle
to reunification is still Rauf Denktash. Denktash states that Turkish
Cypriots who have demonstrated for unification are "on the pay list
of foreign powers", and that the vast majority of Turkish Cypriots
support his policies. A real challenge to Denktash’s power may come
in December, when elections for the parliament of the Turkish Cypriot
"republic" take place. Some observers feel that opposition parties
have a good chance of dominating these elections. As a result, Denktash
might be forced to resign; undoubtedly, he would be replaced by someone
friendlier to plans for the reunification of Cyprus.
