Cyprus Dispute - Turkish Invasion of 1974

Turkish Invasion of 1974

See also: Timeline of the 1974 Invasion of Cyprus

After 1967, tensions between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots subsided. Instead, the main source of tension on the island came from factions within the Greek Cypriot community. Although Makarios had effectively abandoned enosis in favour of an ‘attainable solution’, many others continued to believe that the only legitimate political aspirations for Greek Cypriots was union with Greece. In September 1971 Grivas secretly returned to the island and formed EOKA-B, a very pro-union organisation. In early 1974 Grivas died and EOKA-B fell under the direct control of Taxiarkhos Dimitrios Ioannides, the new head of the Junta in Athens. Ioannides was determined to overthrow Makarios. Fearing the consequences of such a step, in early July 1974 Makarios wrote an open letter to the military dictatorship requesting that all Greek officers be removed from the island. On July 15, Ioannides replied through a coup of the Cyprus National Guard which resulted in Makarios being deposed.

After failing to secure British support for a joint intervention under the Treaty of Guarantee, Bülent Ecevit, the Turkish prime minister, decided to act unilaterally. On July 20 Turkey ordered a military invasion of the island (Turkish invasion of Cyprus). Within two days Turkish forces had established a narrow corridor linking the north coast with Nicosia. The intervention led to turmoil in Greece. On July 23 the military Junta collapsed.

Two days later formal peace talks were convened in Geneva between Greece, Turkey and Britain. Over the course of the following five days Turkey agreed to halt its advance on the condition that it would remain on the island until a political settlement was reached between the two sides. On August 8 another round of discussion was held in Geneva, Switzerland. Unlike before, this time the talks involved the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. During the discussions the Turkish Cypriots, supported by Turkey, insisted on some form of geographical separation between the two communities. Makarios refused to accept the demand, insisting that Cyprus must remain a unitary state. Despite efforts to break the deadlock, the two sides refused to budge. On August 14, Turkey demanded from Clerides acceptance of a proposal for a federal state, in which the Turkish Cypriot community (who, at that time, comprised about 18% of the population and owned about 10% of the land) would have received 34% of the island. Clerides asked for 36 to 48 hours to consult with the Cypriot and Greek governments, but Turkey refused to grant any consultation time, effectively ending the talks. Within hours, Turkey had resumed its second offensive. By the time a new, and permanent, ceasefire was called 36 per cent of the island was under the control of the Turkish military. The partition was marked by the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus or "green line" running east to west across the island.

The effect of the division was catastrophic for all concerned. Thousands of Greek and Turkish Cypriots had been killed, wounded or missing. A further two hundred thousand Greek and Turkish Cypriots had been displaced. In addition to the entire north coast (Kerynia, Morfou) and the Karpas peninsula, the Greek Cypriots were also forced to flee the eastern port city of Famagusta. The vast majority of the Turkish occupied area was predominantly populated and owned by Greek Cypriots prior to 1974. In the process about 160,000 - 200,000 Greek Cypriots who made up 82% of the population in the north became refugees; many of them fleeing at the word of the approaching Turkish army. Since 1974, the ceasefire line separates the two communities on the island, and is commonly referred to as the Green Line. The United Nations consented to the transfer of the remainder of the 51,000 Turkish Cypriots that were trapped in the south to settle in the north, if they wished to do so. Many of them had previously moved to the areas under UK sovereign control awaiting permission to be transferred to the areas under Turkish control.