Introduction |
| Deep
blue sea, long and sandy beaches, the warm Mediterranean sun, picturesque villages... This
is how Cyprus, the island of Aphrodite is known to most Europeans. However, this scenery
changes when walking around through Nicosia, Cyprus' capital. Barbed wire, roads ending in
walls of concrete and oil drums, fences, bullet holes, and half-rotten houses filled with
sand-bags, and soldiers of various nationalities make up the picture of every-day life.
Cyprus, the third largest island of the Mediterranean, is located only 50 km away from
Turkey, 100 km from Syria and 800 km from the Greek mainland. The island's population
includes 641,000 Greek Cypriots, 87,000 Turkish Cypriots, about 115,000 mainland Turks,
4,800 Maronites, 2,600 Armenians and 900 Latins. Since 1974, Cyprus is divided into a
Turkish Cypriot north and a Greek Cypriot south, separated by a 180 km long UN-controlled
buffer zone. The situation in Cyprus can best be described with Johan Galtung's term of
'negative peace', which he defined as the absence of violence. Even though no violent
outbreaks have occurred in recent years and relationships between the two sides grow
stronger, the unsolved conflict is still very present in people's minds and in every-day
public debates. For 29 years, Cypriots have not had any possibility to cross the 'Green
Line' separating the island's two major communities. They have lived isolated from each
other, in an environment where negative stereotypes, enemy images and propaganda were kept
alive throughout the years. In this atmosphere of division and enmity, a group of Greek
and Turkish Cypriots that have met abroad, decided to resist all nationalistic concepts
and principles and to work for the promotion of peace between the island's inhabitants.
The first of these bi-communal meetings held in the buffer zone took place in 1990. As the
interest was growing, series of conflict resolution workshops and trainings were held, and
bi-communal activities expanded rapidly. In April 2003, the restrictions that prevented
people from crossing the Green Line were partially lifted. In contrast to the northern
authorities' postulate that Greek and Turkish Cypriots could never live peacefully
together, the scenes following the opening of the checkpoints resembled those in Berlin
after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Refugees went and visited their former villages and
houses and were warmly welcomed by the present residents - the supposed-to-be enemies. New
friendships developed and on weekends Cypriots from both sides queue at the checkpoint to
enjoy a day on the 'other' side of the Green Line. Approximately 10,000 persons per day
cross the Green Line, of which about 6,500 are Turkish Cypriots and about 3,500 are Greek
Cypriots. However, the euphoric atmosphere did not result in a solution to the conflict.
On 24 April 2004, all Cypriots were asked in separate referenda to vote on the UN-proposed
Annan plan, which would have foreseen a comprehensive settlement to the Cyprus problem,
including the reunification of the island and the common accession to the European Union
on 1 May. Whereas the plan was approved by the vast majority of Turkish Cypriots, it was
rejected by the Greek Cypriots. The high political tension that appeared in the Greek
Cypriot part of Cyprus, marked by a strong nationalistic force, proved that the Greek
Cypriot community is not yet ready for a solution to the deep-rooted conflict. Population numbers by www.visitcyprus.org, last reviewed 29/01/2005. Official numbers about mainland Turks do not exist. These numbers are merely an estimate (Uludag, Cyprus Mail, 26/03/2004). During the last official census of 1960, 180,000 Turkish Cypriots were counted. The majority of them has left the island during the past years and 'settlers' from Turkey have replaced them. Due to the highly politicised connotation of this expression, I will use the term 'mainland Turks'. |
The first of these bi-communal meetings held in the buffer zone took place in 1990. As the interest was growing, series of conflict resolution workshops and trainings were held, and bi-communal activities expanded rapidly. In April 2003, the restrictions that prevented people from crossing the Green Line were partially lifted. In contrast to the northern authorities' postulate that Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots could never live peacefully together, the scenes following the opening of the checkpoints resembled those in Berlin after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The first of these bi-communal meetings held in the buffer zone took place in 1990. As the interest was growing, series of conflict resolution workshops and trainings were held, and bi-communal activities expanded rapidly. In April 2003, the restrictions that prevented people from crossing the Green Line were partially lifted. In contrast to the northern authorities' postulate that Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots could never live peacefully together, the scenes following the opening of the checkpoints resembled those in Berlin after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The first of these bi-communal meetings held in the buffer zone took place in 1990. As the interest was growing, series of conflict resolution workshops and trainings were held, and bi-communal activities expanded rapidly. In April 2003, the restrictions that prevented people from crossing the Green Line were partially lifted. In contrast to the northern authorities' postulate that Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots could never live peacefully together, the scenes following the opening of the checkpoints resembled those in Berlin after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The first of these bi-communal meetings held in the buffer zone took place in 1990. As the interest was growing, series of conflict resolution workshops and trainings were held, and bi-communal activities expanded rapidly. In April 2003, the restrictions that prevented people from crossing the Green Line were partially lifted. In contrast to the northern authorities' postulate that Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots could never live peacefully together, the scenes following the opening of the checkpoints resembled those in Berlin after the fall of the Berlin Wall.