1974 Greek and Turkish Cypriots were killed.

Turkish troops invaded Cyprus.

After the overthrow of Cypriot President Makarios by nikos Sampras, leader of the Greek Cypriot Progressive Party with extreme views, the situation in the eastern Mediterranean became tense. Turkish Prime Minister Brent Essevet declared that the Greek army was helping to consolidate the new regime in Cyprus.

1at dawn on July 20th, 974, Turkish troops invaded Cyprus, which triggered a major international crisis. The fierce battle lasted for two days, and Turkey dispatched about 30,000 troops. After the fighting, the Turks took control of the triangle between Nicosia, the capital of Serbia, and the coast. With the help of the Royal Air Force and Navy, thousands of residents were evacuated from this area.

Just a few days later, sampson resigned and was replaced by the moderate Glafcos Clerides. At the same time, peace talks began in Geneva.

The Greek-Turkish conflict on Cyprus

Release date: 2006-11013: 29

On April 17, 2005, in the Turkish-controlled area of Cyprus, Talat, the leader of the Turkish Party, won the general election by an overwhelming majority and was elected President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The next day, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan issued a statement welcoming the election results and calling on the Greek and Turkish communities in Cyprus to resolve the Cyprus issue peacefully. In April 2004, the Greek and Turkish communities in Cyprus held a referendum on Annan's reunification plan, but the result was not passed because of the opposition of the Greek community. It is hoped that Talat's election in 2005 will bring a ray of light to peace in Cyprus and the conflict between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots will be eliminated as soon as possible.

Cyprus, the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, is located in the northeast of the Mediterranean Sea and is the hub of maritime traffic in Asia, Africa and Europe. It should be a peaceful and quiet island, but it has suffered from war and turmoil in the history of several years. Until today, the contradiction between the Greek and Turkish communities on the island has not been resolved. Starting with the history of Cyprus, this paper will gradually explore the root causes of the conflict between Greek and Turkish Cypriots in Cyprus.

Note: Omit the historical part, and focus on the role and influence of Greece and Turkey on the Cyprus issue.

1960 In August, Cyprus declared its independence and established the Republic of Cyprus, with the Greek and Turkish communities forming a coalition government. According to the Constitution of Cyprus, the President is Greek and the Vice President is Turkish. Both the president and the vice president have veto power, and the ratio of Greeks and Turks in the army is 6: 4. Although Cyprus has become an independent country, the contradiction between Greece and Turkey has not been resolved.

At the end of 1963, there was a serious bloody conflict between Greece and Turkey because of constitutional issues. In the conflict, Greece and Turkey supported the Greek and Turkish communities on the island respectively. 1In July, 974, the Greek military regime instigated a coup in Cyprus and overthrew the Makarios regime. Subsequently, Turkey sent troops to Cyprus as a "guarantor country" on the grounds of protecting Turkish residents on the island. The Greek-Turkish Coalition government in Cyprus disintegrated. The Greeks in the north moved south and the Turks in the south moved north. Since then, the Greeks have lived in the south, occupying 62% of the national territory, while the Turks control the north, occupying 38% of the national territory. The two sides have drawn a narrow no-man's land from east to west in the middle of the island, called the "Green Line", which was set up by Greek and Turkish communities and United Nations peacekeeping forces. Since then, the island has been divided from north to south. The "Green Line" runs from Famagusta in the east to Morfu in the west, crosses the whole island and passes through the capital Nicosia, with a total length of more than 200 kilometers, accounting for about 3% of the total area of the island, and is controlled by the United Nations peacekeeping force.

1In February, 975, the Turks announced the establishment of the "Turkish Cypriot State". 1983, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was proclaimed. As a result, Cyprus has formed a Republic of Cyprus recognized by the international community in the south and a "Republic of Northern Cyprus and Turkey" recognized only by Turkey in the north. Since then, Turkey has been stationing an army of about 35,000 people in the northern part of the island. Cyprus and Greece signed a defense agreement in 1993, and Greece will provide military support to Cyprus when it is attacked by Turkey.

In order to end the division of Cyprus, the United Nations and the international community have conducted mediation for nearly 30 years, urging Greek and Turkish leaders to negotiate. From 65438 to 0964, the United Nations Security Council sent a peacekeeping force to Cyprus to help maintain the stability of the buffer zone between the two communities and restore normal order. Since 1968, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and his special representative have conducted a series of mediation work between the two communities, and the leaders of the two communities have also held direct or indirect talks many times, but in the end, the positions of the two sides are far apart or seriously opposed on some key issues, and no substantive breakthrough has been made. At present, the main differences between the two communities involve territorial adjustment.

1In August, 1998, the Turkish leader proposed to establish a confederation of "two sovereign States" in Cyprus as a way to permanently solve the island problem. However, this proposal was rejected by Greece. On June 5438+065438+ 10, 2002, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan put forward the proposal of establishing a "government of the same country" in Cyprus, which is composed of "Greek country" and "Turkish country" on an equal footing, hoping to solve the problems left over from 28 years ago. Two years later, on April 24th, 2004, Greek and Turkish Cypriots held a referendum on the United Nations Secretary-General's plan for the unification of Annapolis Island. The voting results of the two communities were diametrically opposed: the Turkish people passed the plan with a high support rate of 64.9 1%, while the Greek people rejected the plan with an overwhelming majority of 75.83%. According to the regulations, as long as one of the Greek and Turkish communities opposes it, the Annan plan is invalid. There are great disputes between Greek and Turkish communities about Annan's final plan, especially the Greek people are strongly dissatisfied with the plan, thinking that it only meets the requirements of the Turkish people, but does not meet the minimum requirements of the Greek people. It can be seen that despite repeated mediation by the United Nations, the road to peace on the island is still bumpy.

Ethnic issues on the island are typical cross-border ethnic issues. The Greek and Turkish communities on the island are all cross-border peoples at sea. In other words, the Greek community on the island is a cross-border community of the Greek community across Greece and Cyprus, while the Turkish community is a cross-border community of the Turkish community across Turkey and Cyprus. The main bodies of both cross-border ethnic groups are outside the island. Therefore, the essence of solving the contradictions on the island is to solve the contradictions between two cross-border ethnic groups.

The Cyprus problem involves three countries and four parties, including Turkey, Greece, Greeks and Turks on the island. In fact, Greece and Turkey support the Greek and Turkish communities on the island, and the conflict between the two communities also changes with the change of the relationship between Greece and Turkey. The Greek-controlled Cyprus government has close ties with Greece. Due to historical reasons, the Greeks have always maintained the Greek language, cultural traditions, customs and religious beliefs. The Cyprus government has always placed its relations with Greece at the top of its foreign policy. On the economic front, Greece provides the Serbian government with $20 million in financial assistance every year. Militarily, Greece has stationed 1 10,000 soldiers in the Greek-controlled Cyprus area. Greece and Turkey are also guarantor countries, firmly supporting the Greek Cypriot position of reunification, while Turkey supports Denktash, the representative of Turkey, to solve the Cyprus problem. Turkey is the only country in the world that recognizes the "Republic of Northern Cyprus". There are 35,000 troops stationed in northern Turkey, and half of the annual financial expenditure is provided to the Turkish people. 1996, the President of Turkey once said that the island issue is a national issue of Turkey, and the "Republic of Northern Cyprus" must be merged with Turkey to find a solution to the island issue. It goes without saying that Turkey is the strong backing of the Turkish Cypriots. Therefore, the Cyprus issue is inseparable from the relationship between Greece and Turkey.

The relationship between Greece and Turkey has always hindered the peaceful reunification of the island. Among many contradictions, the most prominent one is that the two countries have completely different attitudes towards Cyprus' accession to the EU. Cyprus has always regarded itself as a part of Europe, and the EU is also the largest trading partner of the Serbian government, so the Serbian government attaches great importance to developing relations with the EU. 1987 10 10 In October, the Serbian government signed a customs agreement with the EU, becoming the first non-EU member to sign a customs union with the EU. 1990, EU ambassador to Serbia took office. In the same year, the Serbian government formally applied to join the European Union. However, Turkish Cypriots and Turkey are firmly opposed to this move. They believe that Cyprus can't join the EU until the Cyprus problem is solved, and the Cyprus government can only join the EU after Turkey becomes a member of the EU. In the eyes of Greece and Greek Cypriots, "joining the EU" is a "catalyst" to solve the Cyprus problem. They refused to take the issue of reunification of the island as a prerequisite for "joining the European Union". The contradiction between Cyprus and the island has also intensified with the acceleration of the Serbian government's accession to the European Union. Greece is the main obstacle for Turkey to enter the EU. Therefore, the Cyprus problem is an extension of the contradiction between Greece and Turkey. If the contradiction between the two countries is not improved, then the reunification of the island will be in the foreseeable future.

Today, the participation of the United Nations has promoted the peace process on the island to some extent. According to the opinions of Britain and the United States and other western countries, the United Nations put forward new proposals to solve the island problem, emphasizing shelving major issues such as territory, refugees and federal constitution, focusing on solving relatively easy problems and building confidence measures. Under the mediation of the United Nations, whether the ethnic problems in Cyprus can be successfully solved in the future depends on the sincere cooperation of Greece, Turkey and other relevant countries. The most important thing is whether Greeks and Turks can sincerely face contradictions and differences, seek development through compromise, and seek good solutions to problems in development.