Cyprus

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Revision as of 19:53, August 2, 2005 by Irlandos (talk | contribs) (History)
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Third largest island in the Mediterranean known as "Aphrodite's island" as Greek Mythology has it that the love goddess was born there. Its name is derived from the word for copper which was mined there since antiquity. Its population of nearly 900,000 inhabitants consists of over 700,000 Greeks, 160,000 Turks, 8,000 Armenians and Maronites. The rest are foreign workers or retirees. The island's main cities are Lefkosia (Nicosia), Lemesos (Limassol), Larnaca, Paphos and Ammochostos (Famagusta) and Kyrenia in the north.

History

The island was settled by Mycenean Greeks in 1500BC. They were joined 3 centuries later by Achaean colonists. It has been conquered many times passing from Assyrians to Egyptians to Persians until it was liberated by Athenian general Kimon. The Romans conquered Cyprus in the 1st Century BC. It was during this period that Christianity came to Cyprus through the Apostle Paul and Barnabas. The island became part of the Byzantine Empire after the Roman Empire's split into East and West. After 1190, new conquerors came: The Crusaders, the Lusignan, the Venetians, the Ottomans and the British (1878). It was during British rule that the island's Greek population's hopes arose for Enosis (Union) with mother Greece arose. Frustration with the British rulers insensitivity towards the majority population's wishes led to protests in 1931, a plebiscite conducted by the Church in 1950 (96% voted for Enosis) and, eventually, the armed struggle of EOKA (Εθνική Οργάνωσις Κυπρίων Αγωνιστών) - National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters - (1955 - 1959). The struggle was led by Colonel (later General) Georgios Grivas under the nom-de-guerre "Digenis". The political leader was the Archbishop of Cyprus Makarios III. As many Greeks quit the public sector in support of the struggle, the British started recruiting Turks to replace them and soon the two communities found themselves at odds. This was made worse by broadcasts from the Turkish mainland urging the Turks of Cyprus to demand equality and by the riots against the Greek community in Istanbul (September 1955). Eventually, the British government decided to compromise and, through the treaties of London and Zurich, the Republic of Cyprus was born (1960). EOKA fighters came down from the mountains to a hero's welcome and Archbishop Makarios III was elected Cyprus' first President. Turkish Cypriot leader, Dr. Fazil Kucuk, served as his Vice-President.

Republic of Cyprus

Unfortunately, the island's troubles did not cease with independence. Many Greeks resented the compromises of the treaties of London and Zurich that granted quotas to the Turkish minority in the Police Service, the Civil Service and a veto over any legislation. In December 1963, Makarios declared the constitution as unworkable. The Turkish minority reacted and soon intercommunal war broke out. Turkey bombarded the island in support of the Turkish Cypriots and threatened to invade. Greek Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou sent one division to Cyprus and war between Greece and Turkey became a very real possibility. Through the efforts of the United Nations and the United States, war was averted. The Turkish Cypriot minority, from this point forward, withdrew into enclaves and withdrew from the Cypriot legislature, content to running its own affairs.