United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus
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The United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus is a 300 km (187 mile) separation barrier along the 1974 Green Line (or ceasefire line) de facto dividing the Republic of Cyprus into north and south regions. The north part of the Republic of Cyprus is de facto not under its effective control; the government administrating this area, which is recognised only by Turkey, calls itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The Republic of Cyprus offered the land to the UN after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus to protect the Republic from further Turkish hostilities. It separates the occupied northern 37% (mostly inhabited by Turks and Turkish Cypriots) of Cyprus, from the southern part (mostly inhabited by ethnic Greek Cypriots), and also divides the capital Nicosia. Separation of people according to their ethnic background was not widespread prior to the Turkish invasion of 1974, which lead to the expulsion of 200,000 ethnic Greek Cypriots from the North, and also forced around 60,000 Turkish Cypriots to move to the North. The "Green Line" is also referred to as the Turkish Cyprus barrier, or the Atilla Line after the name given to the 1974 military intervention by Turkey (Operation Atilla). The Buffer Zone is patrolled by United Nations peacekeeping forces. Its width ranges from a few metres in Nicosia to several kilometres near the village of Athienou.
On the northern side of the Buffer Zone, there exists a barrier constructed by the Turkish military. It consists mainly of barbed wire fencing, a few concrete wall segments, watch-towers, anti-tank ditches, and minefields.
Tensions along the barrier have arisen several times in the past, with the latest civilian incident taking place in 1996, when in a demonstration at Deryneia, a Greek Cypriot was beaten to death by Turkish Cypriots while trying to cross the Green Line. The following day, another Greek Cypriot man was shot and killed trying to climb up a flagpole to retrieve a Turkish Cypriot flag.
After a nearly 30-year ban on crossings, the Turkish Cypriot de facto administration significantly eased travel restrictions across the dividing line in April 2003, allowing Greek Cypriots to cross at the Ledra Palace Crossing located just outside the walls of old Nicosia. Today a total of 5 crossings exist, with one additional crossing in the construction stage:[1]
- Astromerits/Zodhia (by car only)
- Agios Dometios/Kermia/Metehan
- Ledra Palace (by foot only)
- Pergamos / Beyarmudu
- Strovilia near Agios Nikolaos
- Ledra Street Crossing (under construction)
Further crossings are planned but have not yet materialized. Prior to Cypriot accession to the European Union, there were restrictions on Green Line crossings by foreigners imposed by the Republic of Cyprus, but these have been abolished for EU-citizens by EU-regulation 866/2004 [2]. Generally citizens of any country are permitted to cross the green line, including Greek and Turkish Cypriots. In an attempt to update the status of the legally invalid Turkish Administration, passports are required for entry into the area not under the Republic's effective control, but they are not stamped.
Summary :
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- On 4 Mar 1964 : United Nations Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) created (operational from 27 Mar 1964).
- On 17 Aug 1974 : Ceasefire establishes a U.N. monitored Buffer Zone between Greek Cypriot and Turkish forces.
Contents |
[edit] Commanders of UN Forces (UNFICYP)
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- 6 Mar 1964 - Jun 1964 : P.S. Gyani (India)
- 8 Jul 1964 - Dec 1965 : Kodandera Subayya Thimayya (India)
- Dec 1965 - May 1966 : Alexander James Wilson (acting) (United Kingdom)
- May 1966 - Dec 1969 : Ilmari Armas-Eino Martola (Finland)
- Dec 1969 - Dec 1976 : Dewan Prem Chand (India)
- Dec 1976 - Mar 1981 : J.J. Quinn (Ireland)
- Mar 1981 - Apr 1988 : Gunther G. Greindl (Austria)
- Apr 1988 - Apr 1992 : Clive Milner (Canada)
- Apr 1992 - 31 Jul 1994 : Michael F. Minehane (Ireland)
- 1 Aug 1994 - 28 Feb 1997 : Ahti Toimi Paavali Vartiainen (Finland)
- 28 Feb 1997 - 15 Dec 1999 : Evergisto Arturo de Vergara(Argentina)
- 16 Dec 1999 - 15 Dec 2001 : Victory Rana (Nepal)
- 7 Jan 2002 - Dec 2003 : Jin Ha Hwang (South Korea)
- 7 Jan 2004 - 12 Jan 2006 : Herbert Figoli (Uruguay)
- 15 Feb 2006 - present : Rafael José Barni (Argentina)
[edit] Deaths within the Buffer Zone
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The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. |
In August 1996, Greek Cypriot refugees demonstrated with a symbolic march against the Turkish-supported section of Cyprus. The demonstrators' demand was the complete withdrawal of Turkish troops and the return of the refugees to their homes and properties.
On August 11 of the same year, a Greek Cypriot demonstrator, Tassos Isaak, managed to cross into the buffer zone, but came face to face with Turkish counter-demonstrators and was brutally beaten to death [3] with iron bars and clubs. Armed members of the Turkish Cypriot Police allegedly participated in his death.
Another man, Solomos Solomou, was among hundreds of mourners who entered the United Nations Buffer Zone after Isaak's funeral, on August 14 to lay a wreath on the spot where Isaak died. Solomou was shot dead at close range as he was climbing a flagpole[4]. Following an investigation by the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus the killers were identified and legal proceedings were taken against them, to be applied when they are found outside Turkey or the Turkish-supported areas of Cyprus.
Both killings were witnessed by UNFICYP personnel (two of whom were injured by the Turkish shootings) and by the United Nations Force Commander [5]. No one has ever been prosecuted to date.
[edit] See also
[edit] Recent Developments
- Reuters: Greek Cypriots begin removing Nicosia barrier
- Agence France Presse: Greek Cypriots begin dismantling dividing wall
