Cyprus Issue
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VERDA MURSALOGLU
ID# 20020423
ASSIGNED TO: Demet YalД§Ð”Ðn
CYPRUS ISSUE
Cyprus, an island in the Eastern Mediterranean, at the cross-roads of three continents – Europe, Asia and Africa – has one of the oldest histories of the world, dating back 9000 years. Its strategic position, its wealth in forests and mineral deposits, as well as its skilled craftsmen, made it the prized possession of the powers of the day. Cultural influences came from all directions – all major regional civilizations left their mark on the island, contributing to the development of a very rich and diverse cultural heritage.
II. History of the Island
2.1. Middle Ages
2.1.1. The Byzantine Period
The Christian civilization was consolidated in the island during the Byzantine Period (330-1191 AD) at which time the island was an important spiritual focus. Wonderful churches and magnificent monasteries containing fine wall paintings and mosaics survive to our times and are testimony to the importance of Cyprus in the East Roman Empire. With the emergence of Islam in the 6th and 7th centuries AD, Cyprus became an object dispute between Christendom and Islam (Arnold, 1956, 23). The Arabs, who with their repeated incursions, spread death and destruction in coastal settlements, were finally pushed away in 965 AD by Emperor Nicephorus Phocas and restored Cyprus as a province of the Byzantine Empire. The western Crusaders influenced a great deal the development of the history of Cyprus. It was Richard the Lionheart, King of England, who during the Third Crusade captured the island defeating its ruler, Isaac Comnenos in 1191. Richard tried to sell Cyprus to the Knights Templars, who nevertheless, were not able to resist the revolt of the people of Cyprus. Thus the island went back to the English King, who sold it again this time to the Frankish King of Jerusalem, Guy de Lusignan (Arnold, 1956, 48).
2.1.2. The Frankish Period
The rule of the Franks in Cyprus lasted until 1489 and during that time life on the island was organized on the basis of the feudal model of the West, oppression of the indigenous population being its main characteristic. The Lusignan period left numerous monuments on the island – mainly Gothic churches and mountain fortifications. During the 14th century Cyprus is an important point of contact between East and West. Within a network of contradictions, a complex cultural creation took shape both in the letters and in the arts with the pronounced seal of a variety of influences. The end of the Latin period in Cyprus came with the Venetian rule from 1489 to 1571. The Venetians held the island for its strategic position in the area of the Eastern Mediterranean on the way to the vital Silk Route to China. Venice wished in this way to underline its prominence among the western powers of the time and attempted to keep to road to the East open despite the growing menace of the Ottomans. The Venetians also left their mark on the islands cultural heritage with their fortifications around Nicosia and Famagusta
(Arnold, 1956, 55). These, built with the intention of fending off the Turks, proved inadequate and Cyprus fell to the Turks in 1571, becoming part of the Ottoman Empire.
2.2. Modern Times
2.2.1. The Turkish Period
Though Cyprus on the whole became less prosperous under Ottoman rule, there were certain immediate benefits. Serfdom was abolished and the rights of the Greek Orthodox Church, which had been suppressed since the Franks, were restored. However, there was very harsh rule and harsh taxation, which impoverished the people, and there were continual revolts. In 1821 an attempt by Cypriots to support the Greeks in their revolt against Ottoman rule was brutally crushed, with the Archbishop being publicly hanged and many others, including three bishops, put to death. Cyprus remained under Ottoman rule until 1878 when, with the Treaty of Berlin, the Sultan in his effort to secure British support in his conflict with the Russians leased Cyprus to Great Britain. Then in 1914, following the entry of Turkey in World War I on the side of Germany, the British government annexed Cyprus and turned it into a Crown colony in 1925. In the meantime, Turkey surrendered all claim on Cyprus with the Lausanne Treaty it concluded with Greece in 1923 (Arnold, 1956, 71).
2.2.2. The British Period
British rule left its mark on the islands complex culture with the adoption by the people Cyprus of some of the customs of their colonial masters, the legacy of some British colonial buildings, and, most importantly, the tradition of the British administration especially in the civil service. Cypriots fought alongside the allies against fascism and Nazism during World War II. The British, however, refused to keep their word and offer the island the right of self-determination at the end of the war. There followed the Enosis referendum of 1950, when 96% of Greek Cypriots voted for Enosis, Union with Greece (Arnold, 1956, 75). In April 1955 the EOKA Liberation Struggle, against the colonial rulers, resulted in the granting of independence to the island on the basis of the Zurich and London Agreements of February 1959.
2.3. Since 1960
The tension was high on the island. On December 21, 1963, serious violence erupted in Nicosia when a Greek Cypriot police patrol, that was checking identification documents, stopped a Turkish Cypriot couple on the edge of the Turkish quarter. A hostile crowd gathered, shots were fired, and two Turkish Cypriots were killed. As the news spread, members of the underground organizations began firing and taking hostages. After the event, much intercommunal fighting occurred in Nicosia along the line separating the Greek and Turkish quarters of the city (known later as the Green Line). Turkish Cypriots were not concentrated in one area; they lived throughout the island. Now their position became precarious. Vice-President KДјД§Ð”јk and Turkish Cypriot ministers and members of the House of Representatives stopped participating in the government (MFA, 1999, 79).
In January 1964, after an inconclusive conference in London among representatives of Britain, Greece, Turkey, and the two Cypriot communities, UN Secretary General U Thant, at the request of the Cyprus government, sent a special representative to the island. After receiving a first report in February, the Security Council