The de facto partition of Cyprus
resulting from the Turkish invasion,
or intervention, as the Turks preferred
to call their military action, caused
much suffering in addition to the
thousands of dead, many of whom were
unaccounted for even years later.
An estimated one-third of the population
of each ethnic community had to flee
their homes. The island's economy
was devastated.
Efforts were undertaken immediately
to remedy the effects of the catastrophe.
Intensive government economic planning
and intervention on both sides of
the island soon improved living standards
and allowed the construction of housing
for refugees. Both communities benefited
greatly from the expansion of the
tourist industry, which brought millions
of foreign visitors to the island
during the 1980s. The economic success
of the Republic of Cyprus was significant
enough to seem almost miraculous.
Within just a few years, the refugees
had housing and were integrated in
the bustling economy, and Greek Cypriots
enjoyed a West European standard
of living. Turkish Cypriots did not
do as well, but, working against
an international embargo imposed
by the Republic of Cyprus and benefiting
from extensive Turkish aid, they
managed to ensure a decent standard
of living for all members of their
community--a standard of living,
in fact, that was higher than that
of Turkey. Both communities established
government agencies to provide public
assistance to those who needed it
and built modern education systems
extending to the university level.
Both communities soon developed
political systems on the European
model, with parties representing
mainstream political opinion from
right to the left. Greek Cypriots
had two older parties dating from
before 1970, the Progressive Party
of the Working People (Anorthotikon
Komma Ergazomenou Laou--AKEL) and
the United Democratic Union of Cyprus
(Eniea Demokratiki Enosis Kyprou-
-EDEK), and some formed after the
events of 1974. The two most important
of these newer parties were the Democratic
Party (Dimokratiko Komma--DIKO) and
the Democratic Rally (Dimokratikos
Synagermos--DISY). Both of these
parties were on the right, with DIKO
headed by Spyros Kyprianou, who replaced
Makarios as president after the latter's
death in 1977, and DISY led by veteran
politician Glafkos Clerides. Parliamentary
elections held in 1976, 1981, and
1985 resulted in stable patterns
in the House of Representatives that
permitted coalition-building and
a serious opposition to the government
in power. Kyprianou was reelected
president in 1983, but lost in 1988
to George Vassiliou, a successful
businessman and a political outsider
who had the support of AKEL and EDEK.
Vassiliou won election by promising
to bring a new spirit to politics
and break the deadlocked negotiations
to end the island's division.
The Turkish Cypriots' progress to
parliamentary democracy was not as
easy. First they had to build a new
state. In 1975 the "Turkish Federated
State of Cyprus" was proclaimed.
In 1983, by means of a unilateral
declaration of independence, Turkish
Cypriots created the "Turkish Republic
of Northern Cyprus" ("TRNC"), but
by the early 1990s, only Turkey had
recognized it as a nation. Rauf Denktas,
who had been the political leader
of the Turkish Cypriot community
since the 1970s, was elected president
of the "TRNC." A number of political
parties were active in the area occupied
by the "TRNC." They included both
left- and right-wing parties, which
both supported and opposed the settlement
of mainland Turks on the island and
the politics of partition. The largest
party, the National Unity Party (Ulusal
Birlik Partisi--UBP), was founded
and controlled by Denktas The UBP
supported a resolutely separatist
stance. The second party of the "TRNC," the
Communal Liberation Party (Toplumcu
Kurtulus Partisi-- TKP) advocated
closer relations with the Greek Cypriot
community. The left-wing Republican
Turkish Party (Cumhuriyetçi
Türk Partisi-- CTP) was even
more forthright in its opposition
to the government's policy of restricted
relations with the Republic of Cyprus.
Negotiations began in the mid-1970s
to end the de facto partition and
to bring the two communities together
again. Two major compromises on the
part of the Republic of Cyprus occurred
in the second half of the 1970s.
First, in 1977, four guidelines for
future intercommunal talks were accepted
by both communities; their thrust
was that Cyprus would become a bicommunal
federal republic, a departure from
the terms of the constitution of
1960. Second, the ten-point agreement
of 1979, achieved at a meeting between
Kyprianou and Denktas, worked out
policies to ease further intercommunal
talks.
A possible settlement was missed
in 1985 when Kyprianou refused to
sign a recently worked-out accord,
fearing it conceded too much to the
other side. The stalemate continued
up to the election of Vassiliou in
1988. Agreement on some major points
had slowly evolved, but the practical
steps to realize an actual settlement
were still not attainable. Differences
in the two communities' view of the
desirable mixture of federation or
confederation and the powers of a
central government seemed unbridgeable.
The
latest attempt to bring about reconciliation
was in 2004 when the United Nations
tabled a resolution, known as the
Annan Plan. A referendum was held
in April 2004 the results were
- Greek South 24% in favour 75.8%
against, Turkish North 64.9% in
favour 35.1% against. It was agreed
by each side negotiations would
continue until a solution, favourable
to each side, was found.
