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#REDIRECT ] {{History of Northern Cyprus}}
===1960-present===
{{main|Modern history of Cyprus}}
A united Cyprus gained independence from British rule in August 1960, after both Greek and Turkish Cypriots agreed to respectively abandon plans for '']'' (union with Greece) and '']'' (Turkish for 'partition'). The agreement involved Cyprus being governed under a constitution which apportioned Cabinet posts, parliamentary seats and civil service jobs on an agreed ratio between the two communities. Within three years, tensions between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots in administrative affairs began to show. ] former ] leader and former Vice President of ].]] In particular, disputes over separate municipalities and taxation created a deadlock in government. In 1963 President Makarios proposed unilateral changes to the constitution, via ]. Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots rejected the proposed amendments, claiming that this was an attempt to settle constitutional disputes in favour of the Greek Cypriots<ref name=REJECTION>{{dead link|date=February 2014}}</ref> and as a means of demoting Turkish status from co-founders of the state to one of minority status removing their constitutional safeguards in the process. Turkish Cypriots filed a lawsuit against the 13 amendments in the Supreme Constitutional Court of Cyprus (SCCC). Makarios announced that he would not comply with whatever the decision of the SCCC would be,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ir.emu.edu.tr/staff/asozen/conferencepapers/konjic2002.pdf|title= Pre-Rejection of SCCC decision by Makarios : The fact that the decision of the SCCC would not be implemented by Makarios was made quite clear. Non-implementation of the decision of a Constitutional Court is sufficient reason to compel the resignation of its President|publisher=Emu.edu.tr|accessdate=14 February 2014}}</ref> and defended his amendments as being necessary "to resolve constitutional deadlocks" as opposed to the stance of the SCCC.<ref>{{dead link|date=February 2014}}</ref> On 25 April 1963, the SCCC decided that Makarios' 13 amendments were illegal. The ]'s ruling found that Makarios had violated the constitution by failing to fully implement its measures and that Turkish Cypriots had not been allowed to return to their positions in government without first accepting the proposed constitutional amendments.<ref>Stephen, Michael, (1987) '''' Bow Educational Briefing No.5. London, Pages 1–7</ref> On 21 May, the president of the SCCC resigned due to the Makarios' stance. On 15 July, Makarios ignored the decision of the SCCC.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.supremecourt.gov.cy/judicial/sc.nsf/DMLfaq_en/DMLfaq_en?OpenDocument |title=Supreme Court of Cyprus - FAQ |language=el |publisher=Supremecourt.gov.cy |accessdate=14 February 2014}}</ref> After the resignation of the president of the SCCC, the SCCC ceased to exist. The Supreme Court of Cyprus (SCC) was formed by merging the SCCC and the High Court of Cyprus and undertook the jurisdiction and powers of the SCCC and HCC.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/search.asp |title=HUDOC Search Page |publisher=Cmiskp.echr.coe.int |accessdate=14 February 2014}}</ref> On 30 November, Makarios legalized the 13 proposals.

In 1963, the Greek Cypriot wing of the government created the ] which outlined a policy that would remove Turkish Cypriots from the government and ultimately lead to union with Greece. The plan stated that if the Turkish Cypriots objected then they should be "violently subjugated before foreign powers could intervene".<ref>Cyprus – The Republic of Cyprus , U.S. Library of Congress</ref> On 21 December 1963, a Turkish Cypriot crowd clashed with the plainclothes special constables of Yorgadjis. Almost immediately, intercommunal violence broke out with a major Greek Cypriot paramilitary attack upon Turkish Cypriots in ] and ]. Though the ] — a Turkish resistance group created in 1959 to promote a policy of '']'' (division or partition of Cyprus), in opposition to the Greek Cypriot nationalist group ] and its advocacy of '']'' (union of Cyprus with Greece) — committed a number of acts of retaliation, historian of the Cyprus conflict ] noted that "there is no doubt that the main victims of the numerous incidents that took place during the next few months were Turks."<ref name=REJECTION/> Seven hundred Turkish hostages, including women and children, were taken from the northern suburbs of Nicosia. ], a nationalist and future coup leader, led a group of Greek Cypriot irregulars into the mixed suburb of Omorphita and attacked the Turkish Cypriot population.<ref>Andrew Borowiec, 2000. Cyprus: A troubled island. Praeger/Greenwood p.56</ref> By 1964, 193 Turkish Cypriots and 133 Greek Cypriots had been killed, with a further 209 Turks and 41 Greeks missing and presumed dead. ] women fleeing their homes during the 1963-64 conflict.]]

] founder and former President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.]]
Turkish Cypriot members of the government had by now withdrawn, creating an essentially Greek Cypriot administration in control of all institutions of the state. After the partnership government collapsed, the Greek Cypriot led administration was recognized as the legitimate government of the Republic of Cyprus at the stage of the debates in New York in February 1964.<ref> UNFICYP: a living fossil of the Cold War</ref> In September 1964, then–], ] reported "UNFICYP carried out a detailed survey of all damage to properties throughout the island during the disturbances; it shows that in 109 villages, most of them Turkish-Cypriot or mixed villages, 527 houses have been destroyed while 2,000 others have suffered damage from looting".<ref> 10 September 1964, paragraph 180</ref> Widespread looting of Turkish Cypriot villages prompted 20,000 refugees to retreat into ], where they remained for the next 11 years,<ref name=HISTORY>Antiwar.com. , Leon Hadar, 16 November 2005</ref> relying on food and medical supplies from Turkey to survive. Turkish Cypriots formed paramilitary groups to defend the enclaves, leading to a gradual division of the island's communities into two hostile camps. The violence had also seen thousands of Turkish Cypriots attempt to escape the violence by emigrating to Britain, Australia and Turkey.<ref>Quoted in Andrew Borowiec, 2000. Cyprus: A troubled island. Praeger/Greenwood p.58</ref> On 28 December 1967, the Turkish Cypriot Provisional Administration was founded.<ref> by David Carment, Patrick James, Zeynep Taydas, p.189</ref>

On 15 July 1974, the ] and the ] backed a ] in Cyprus. Pro-] ] replaced President Makarios as the new dictator.<ref>{{cite book | last = Cook | first = Chris | authorlink = |author2= Diccon Bewes | title = What Happened Where: A Guide to Places and Events in Twentieth-century History | publisher = Routledge | year = 1997 | location = | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=FuGrcgcOiXoC&printsec=frontcover&dq#PPA65,M1 | doi = | id = | isbn = 1-85728-533-6| page = 65 }}</ref> The Greek Cypriot coupists proclaimed the establishment of the "Hellenic Republic of Cyprus".<ref>''Strategic review, Volume 5'' (1977), United States Strategic Institute, .</ref><ref>Allcock, John B. ''Border and territorial disputes'' (1992), Longman Group, .</ref> Turkey claimed that under the 1960 ], the coup was sufficient reason for military action to protect the Turkish Cypriot populace, and thus ] Cyprus on 20 July. Turkish forces proceeded to take over the northern four-elevenths of the island (about 37% of Cyprus's total area). The coup caused a civil war filled with ethnic violence, after which it collapsed and Makarios returned to power.{{Citation needed|date=May 2011}}.

On 2 August 1975, in the negotiations in Vienna, a population exchange agreement was signed between community leaders ] and ] under the auspices of United Nations.<ref name="un.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=s/11789 |title=Links to documents |publisher=Un.org |date=9 September 2002 |accessdate=14 February 2014}}</ref><ref name="Hakki2007">{{cite book|author=Murat Metin Hakki|title=The Cyprus Issue: A Documentary History, 1878-2006|year=2007|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-1-84511-392-6|pages=194–195}}</ref> On the basis of the Agreement, 196,000 Greek Cypriots living in the north were exchanged for 42,000 Turkish Cypriots living in the south<ref>
"Euromosaic III: Presence of Regional and Minority Language Groups in the New Member States", p.18</ref> (the number of settlers was disputed<ref name="BahcheliBartmann2004">{{cite book|author1=Tozun Bahcheli|author2=Tozun Bahcheli Barry Bartmann|author3=Henry Felix Srebrnik|title=De Facto States: The Quest for Sovereignty|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=uIbah-giC0EC&pg=PA168|accessdate=27 November 2012|year=2004|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-7146-5476-8|page=168|quote=...the number of settlers was disputed between Turkish and ..}}</ref>). The Orthodox ] in ], ] and ] chose to stay in their villages,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://famagusta-gazette.com/weekly-unficyp-trip-to-enclaved-cypriots-a-respite-from-daily-hardships-p22148-69.htm|title=Famagusta Gazette 30.01.2014|publisher=|accessdate=1 October 2014}}</ref> as did also Catholic ] in ], ] and ]. Approximately 1,500 Greek Cypriots and 500 Turkish Cypriots remain missing.<ref name=FLEEING>{{cite news|last=Rainsford |first=Sarah |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6166560.stm |title=Europe &#124; Bones of Cyprus missing unearthed |publisher=BBC News |date=21 November 2006 |accessdate=14 February 2014}}</ref>

In 1975, the ] (''Kıbrıs Türk Federe Devleti'') was declared as a first step towards a future federated Cypriot state, but was rejected by the Republic of Cyprus and the United Nations.

After eight years of failed negotiations with the leadership of the Greek Cypriot community,{{Citation needed|date=November 2011}} the north unilaterally ] on 15 November 1983 under the name of the ''Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.trncpio.org/trncpio/en/index.asp?sayfa=cms&dmid=0&cmsid=155&ssid=98199036 |title=General Information |publisher=Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Public Information Office |accessdate=14 November 2011}}</ref> This was rejected by the UN and the Republic of Cyprus. In 2010, the ] ], in an opinion regarding ], that "International law contains no prohibition on declarations of independence".<ref name="International Court of Justice">{{cite web|url=http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/141/15987.pdf |title=Accordance with International Law of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in Respect of Kosovo |publisher=Icj-cij.org |accessdate=14 February 2014}}</ref>

In recent years, the politics of reunification has dominated the island's affairs. The European Union decided in 2000 to accept Cyprus as a member, even if it was divided. This was due to their view of ], the pro-independence Turkish Cypriot President, as the main stumbling block, but also due to Greece threatening to block eastern EU expansion. It was hoped that Cyprus's planned accession into the ] would act as a catalyst towards a settlement. In the time leading up to Cyprus becoming a member, a new government was elected in Turkey and Rauf Denktaş lost political power in Cyprus. In 2004, a United Nations–brokered peace settlement was presented in a ] to both sides.<ref name="Immovable">{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/node/17276362?zid=309&ah=80dcf288b8561b012f603b9fd9577f0e |title=Immovable object |newspaper=The Economist |date=21 October 2010 |accessdate=23 August 2012}}</ref> The proposed settlement was opposed by both the president of Cyprus, ], and Turkish Cypriot president ]; in the referendum, while 65% of Turkish Cypriots accepted the proposal, 76% of Greek Cypriots rejected it.{{Citation needed|date=June 2013}} As a result, Cyprus entered the European Union divided, with the ] suspended for Northern Cyprus.<ref name="Immovable"/>

Denktaş resigned in the wake of the vote, ushering in the pro-solutionist ] as his successor. However, the pro-solutionist side and Mehmet Ali Talat lost momentum due to the ongoing embargo{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}} and isolation, despite promises{{clarify|date=December 2012}} from the European Union that these would be eased. As a result, the Turkish Cypriot electorate became frustrated. This led ultimately to the pro-independence side winning the general elections in 2009 and its candidate, former Prime Minister ], winning the presidential elections in 2010. Although Eroğlu and his ] favours the independence of Northern Cyprus rather than reunification with the Republic of Cyprus, he is negotiating with the Greek Cypriot side towards a settlement for reunification.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}}

In 2011, Turkish Cypriots protested against economic reforms made by the Northern Cyprus and Turkish governments.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

Revision as of 23:51, 1 November 2014

Part of a series on the
History of Northern Cyprus
Before 1983
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (from 1983)

1960-present

Main article: Modern history of Cyprus

A united Cyprus gained independence from British rule in August 1960, after both Greek and Turkish Cypriots agreed to respectively abandon plans for enosis (union with Greece) and taksim (Turkish for 'partition'). The agreement involved Cyprus being governed under a constitution which apportioned Cabinet posts, parliamentary seats and civil service jobs on an agreed ratio between the two communities. Within three years, tensions between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots in administrative affairs began to show.

Fazıl Küçük former Turkish Cypriot leader and former Vice President of Cyprus.

In particular, disputes over separate municipalities and taxation created a deadlock in government. In 1963 President Makarios proposed unilateral changes to the constitution, via 13 amendments. Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots rejected the proposed amendments, claiming that this was an attempt to settle constitutional disputes in favour of the Greek Cypriots and as a means of demoting Turkish status from co-founders of the state to one of minority status removing their constitutional safeguards in the process. Turkish Cypriots filed a lawsuit against the 13 amendments in the Supreme Constitutional Court of Cyprus (SCCC). Makarios announced that he would not comply with whatever the decision of the SCCC would be, and defended his amendments as being necessary "to resolve constitutional deadlocks" as opposed to the stance of the SCCC. On 25 April 1963, the SCCC decided that Makarios' 13 amendments were illegal. The Cyprus Supreme Court's ruling found that Makarios had violated the constitution by failing to fully implement its measures and that Turkish Cypriots had not been allowed to return to their positions in government without first accepting the proposed constitutional amendments. On 21 May, the president of the SCCC resigned due to the Makarios' stance. On 15 July, Makarios ignored the decision of the SCCC. After the resignation of the president of the SCCC, the SCCC ceased to exist. The Supreme Court of Cyprus (SCC) was formed by merging the SCCC and the High Court of Cyprus and undertook the jurisdiction and powers of the SCCC and HCC. On 30 November, Makarios legalized the 13 proposals. In 1963, the Greek Cypriot wing of the government created the Akritas plan which outlined a policy that would remove Turkish Cypriots from the government and ultimately lead to union with Greece. The plan stated that if the Turkish Cypriots objected then they should be "violently subjugated before foreign powers could intervene". On 21 December 1963, a Turkish Cypriot crowd clashed with the plainclothes special constables of Yorgadjis. Almost immediately, intercommunal violence broke out with a major Greek Cypriot paramilitary attack upon Turkish Cypriots in Nicosia and Larnaca. Though the TMT — a Turkish resistance group created in 1959 to promote a policy of taksim (division or partition of Cyprus), in opposition to the Greek Cypriot nationalist group EOKA and its advocacy of enosis (union of Cyprus with Greece) — committed a number of acts of retaliation, historian of the Cyprus conflict Keith Kyle noted that "there is no doubt that the main victims of the numerous incidents that took place during the next few months were Turks." Seven hundred Turkish hostages, including women and children, were taken from the northern suburbs of Nicosia. Nikos Sampson, a nationalist and future coup leader, led a group of Greek Cypriot irregulars into the mixed suburb of Omorphita and attacked the Turkish Cypriot population. By 1964, 193 Turkish Cypriots and 133 Greek Cypriots had been killed, with a further 209 Turks and 41 Greeks missing and presumed dead.

File:Turkish Cypriot woman fleeing conflict (1963-64).JPG
Turkish Cypriot women fleeing their homes during the 1963-64 conflict.
Rauf Denktaş founder and former President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Turkish Cypriot members of the government had by now withdrawn, creating an essentially Greek Cypriot administration in control of all institutions of the state. After the partnership government collapsed, the Greek Cypriot led administration was recognized as the legitimate government of the Republic of Cyprus at the stage of the debates in New York in February 1964. In September 1964, then–United Nations Secretary General, U Thant reported "UNFICYP carried out a detailed survey of all damage to properties throughout the island during the disturbances; it shows that in 109 villages, most of them Turkish-Cypriot or mixed villages, 527 houses have been destroyed while 2,000 others have suffered damage from looting". Widespread looting of Turkish Cypriot villages prompted 20,000 refugees to retreat into armed enclaves, where they remained for the next 11 years, relying on food and medical supplies from Turkey to survive. Turkish Cypriots formed paramilitary groups to defend the enclaves, leading to a gradual division of the island's communities into two hostile camps. The violence had also seen thousands of Turkish Cypriots attempt to escape the violence by emigrating to Britain, Australia and Turkey. On 28 December 1967, the Turkish Cypriot Provisional Administration was founded.

On 15 July 1974, the Greek military junta of 1967-1974 and the Cypriot National Guard backed a Greek Cypriot military coup d'état in Cyprus. Pro-Enosis Nikos Sampson replaced President Makarios as the new dictator. The Greek Cypriot coupists proclaimed the establishment of the "Hellenic Republic of Cyprus". Turkey claimed that under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, the coup was sufficient reason for military action to protect the Turkish Cypriot populace, and thus Turkey invaded Cyprus on 20 July. Turkish forces proceeded to take over the northern four-elevenths of the island (about 37% of Cyprus's total area). The coup caused a civil war filled with ethnic violence, after which it collapsed and Makarios returned to power..

On 2 August 1975, in the negotiations in Vienna, a population exchange agreement was signed between community leaders Rauf Denktaş and Glafcos Clerides under the auspices of United Nations. On the basis of the Agreement, 196,000 Greek Cypriots living in the north were exchanged for 42,000 Turkish Cypriots living in the south (the number of settlers was disputed). The Orthodox Greek Cypriots in Rizokarpaso, Agios Andronikos and Agia Triada chose to stay in their villages, as did also Catholic Maronites in Asomatos, Karpasia and Kormakitis. Approximately 1,500 Greek Cypriots and 500 Turkish Cypriots remain missing.

In 1975, the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus (Kıbrıs Türk Federe Devleti) was declared as a first step towards a future federated Cypriot state, but was rejected by the Republic of Cyprus and the United Nations.

After eight years of failed negotiations with the leadership of the Greek Cypriot community, the north unilaterally declared its independence on 15 November 1983 under the name of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. This was rejected by the UN and the Republic of Cyprus. In 2010, the International Court of Justice ruled, in an opinion regarding Kosovo, that "International law contains no prohibition on declarations of independence".

In recent years, the politics of reunification has dominated the island's affairs. The European Union decided in 2000 to accept Cyprus as a member, even if it was divided. This was due to their view of Rauf Denktaş, the pro-independence Turkish Cypriot President, as the main stumbling block, but also due to Greece threatening to block eastern EU expansion. It was hoped that Cyprus's planned accession into the European Union would act as a catalyst towards a settlement. In the time leading up to Cyprus becoming a member, a new government was elected in Turkey and Rauf Denktaş lost political power in Cyprus. In 2004, a United Nations–brokered peace settlement was presented in a referendum to both sides. The proposed settlement was opposed by both the president of Cyprus, Tassos Papadopoulos, and Turkish Cypriot president Rauf Denktaş; in the referendum, while 65% of Turkish Cypriots accepted the proposal, 76% of Greek Cypriots rejected it. As a result, Cyprus entered the European Union divided, with the effects of membership suspended for Northern Cyprus.

Denktaş resigned in the wake of the vote, ushering in the pro-solutionist Mehmet Ali Talat as his successor. However, the pro-solutionist side and Mehmet Ali Talat lost momentum due to the ongoing embargo and isolation, despite promises from the European Union that these would be eased. As a result, the Turkish Cypriot electorate became frustrated. This led ultimately to the pro-independence side winning the general elections in 2009 and its candidate, former Prime Minister Derviş Eroğlu, winning the presidential elections in 2010. Although Eroğlu and his National Unity Party favours the independence of Northern Cyprus rather than reunification with the Republic of Cyprus, he is negotiating with the Greek Cypriot side towards a settlement for reunification.

In 2011, Turkish Cypriots protested against economic reforms made by the Northern Cyprus and Turkish governments.

References

  1. ^
  2. "Pre-Rejection of SCCC decision by Makarios : The fact that the decision of the SCCC would not be implemented by Makarios was made quite clear. Non-implementation of the decision of a Constitutional Court is sufficient reason to compel the resignation of its President" (PDF). Emu.edu.tr. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  4. Stephen, Michael, (1987) Cyprus: Two Nations in One Island Bow Educational Briefing No.5. London, Pages 1–7
  5. "Supreme Court of Cyprus - FAQ" (in Greek). Supremecourt.gov.cy. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  6. "HUDOC Search Page". Cmiskp.echr.coe.int. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  7. Cyprus – The Republic of Cyprus countrystudies.us, U.S. Library of Congress
  8. Andrew Borowiec, 2000. Cyprus: A troubled island. Praeger/Greenwood p.56
  9. Cyprus-Mail, 09.03.2014 UNFICYP: a living fossil of the Cold War
  10. UN SG S/5950 Report 10 September 1964, paragraph 180
  11. Antiwar.com. In Praise of 'Virtual States', Leon Hadar, 16 November 2005
  12. Quoted in Andrew Borowiec, 2000. Cyprus: A troubled island. Praeger/Greenwood p.58
  13. "Who Intervenes?: Ethnic Conflict and Interstate Crisis" by David Carment, Patrick James, Zeynep Taydas, p.189
  14. Cook, Chris; Diccon Bewes (1997). What Happened Where: A Guide to Places and Events in Twentieth-century History. Routledge. p. 65. ISBN 1-85728-533-6.
  15. Strategic review, Volume 5 (1977), United States Strategic Institute, p. 48.
  16. Allcock, John B. Border and territorial disputes (1992), Longman Group, p. 55.
  17. "Links to documents". Un.org. 9 September 2002. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  18. Murat Metin Hakki (2007). The Cyprus Issue: A Documentary History, 1878-2006. I.B.Tauris. pp. 194–195. ISBN 978-1-84511-392-6.
  19. Katholieke Universiteit Brussel, 2004 "Euromosaic III: Presence of Regional and Minority Language Groups in the New Member States", p.18
  20. Tozun Bahcheli; Tozun Bahcheli Barry Bartmann; Henry Felix Srebrnik (2004). De Facto States: The Quest for Sovereignty. Psychology Press. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-7146-5476-8. Retrieved 27 November 2012. ...the number of settlers was disputed between Turkish and ..
  21. "Famagusta Gazette 30.01.2014". Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  22. Rainsford, Sarah (21 November 2006). "Europe | Bones of Cyprus missing unearthed". BBC News. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  23. "General Information". Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Public Information Office. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  24. "Accordance with International Law of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in Respect of Kosovo" (PDF). Icj-cij.org. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  25. ^ "Immovable object". The Economist. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.