European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 20, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Kyren Lan Mountain of Northern Cyprus form the backdrop Tor an abandoned service station in . Butler zone. Ier 10 population of 673.000 is about to percent ethnic kit greeks. Ethnic turks scattered uniformly across the 4. Island before i960, make up 187 percent of the population. Many preferred partitioning the Island instead of Gnosis 1 Aller years of peaceful co existence. The guerrillas i set the iwo groups Al each other s throats prompting heir eventual segregation. Do the United nations intervened in 1964 to Stop the lighting and to protect turkish cypriots. Who had withdrawn into enclaves. Violence erupted again in 1967. Turkey a constitutional guarantor of turkish cypriot rights nearly invaded both times but backed Down under . Pressure in the summer of 1974, Cyprus became an International tragedy with several authors. Greece. Whose unelected military governments had been receiving us. Support since 1967, squandered its favored status among greek cypriots by staging a coup against Makarios. Turkey seized the Northern part of the Island using american weapons. Britain another guarantor of the Cyprus St Tulion. Declined to intervene a e giving Turkey unilateral Power to split the Island. The United states seemed interested Only in. Reconciling differences Between Greece and Turkey. In the wrong horse a Book about the crises in Greece and Cyprus journalist Laurence Stern describes the re . Government s Rote in the 1974 Cyprus crisis As a powerful outside broker who did t care How a d settlement was reached so Long As the threatened breach in the Southern Wall of the nato military Alliance was Greece and Turkey have remained testy neighbors flirting As recently As last year with the Prospect of War 3 and Cyprus is still two hostile states separated by a United nations butter zone the two cyp nol governments May be partly to blame is for any current disillusionment. Cyprus new president George Vassiliou. Elected four months ago has hesitated to meet with Northern cypriot Leader Rauf Denktash. And the Lively cypriot press has criticized Vass Tou for failing 1o do anything about the political impasse. And Northern Cyprus asserting its sovereignly began stamping visiting foreigners passports in april a practice that in effect denies those visitors later admission to the Southern Republic. The governments also Are at Odds Over Turkey s troops in the North and the question of settlers from Mainland Turkey who allegedly have taken Over Lormer greek cypriot properly. About 180,000 greek cypriots permanently fled their Homes in the North when the turks invaded in 1974, and some 37.000 turkish cypriots later Ted the militant backlash in the South and sought Refuge in the North in officials claim. Some greek refugees emigrated most now live in Southern Cyprus. Today Southern Cyprus is booming economically. It exports furniture footwear Citrus Sod drinks and Metal work As Well As its water management and construction skills. Middle Eastern customers have Consoli ruled the bulk of the markets but Cyprus appears to be shifting its focus to Europe As Well having signed a customs agreement with the common Market last october. In spite of the economic growth Many refugees still Are poorer than they were before 1974. Taxi Driver Michael Georgiou once owned a House in Omar pita a Nicosia suburb now in the turkish sector. The turks seized his properly he said and now he and his wife real an apartment downtown near the famagusta Gate. In my Village they had the turks and they had the christians. They lived Many years he said describing the relative Harmony of the old Days he said his wife still Speaks fluent turkish and he Speaks it a Little too the turkish invasions also uprooted communities of mar Niles. A minority religious group from several Small villages West of Yrenia. One maronite a retired greek teacher who asked not to be identified said the mar Niles were first to Suiter at the hands of the Denktash government. The Man lives South of Nicosia banned from returning to his Home Village Aso Matos. I went there two times when iwo relatives died. I was present at their burial. Now i can t go there because All my relatives left there. All our properties Are in the hands of the turks he said. He added that his family got along Well with the turkish cypriots before the invasions there is a Turk Village near Aso Matos and we used to go there to visit them he their behaviour was just As a Friend Charles Gaulkin political spokesman Tor the United nations Force in Cyprus said such stories Are common. White some hard liners among the greeks dislike the turks and vice versa he said Many older refugees reminisce painfully about friends of the other ethnic group whom they had to leave behind. In the meantime the Flag waving and propaganda campaigns rage unabated on both sides turkish cypriot television broadcasts a racy movie every Friday night interrupting the bedroom scenes with political messages. Greek cypriot television shows scenes of Northern Cyprus bemoaning the country s loss. In a single night recently turkish troops built a huge message out of stones on the Side of the dry Karenian mountains extolling the wonders of being turkish. The message is visible from some of the greek cypriot military outposts live Miles away in Nicosia where posters display maps of Cyprus the Northern portion dripping in blood Over the greek Motlo Dhen Keek to Don l olo set fool on aphrodite s Island the greek dramatist euripides wrote in the fifth Century b.c., on Cyprus haunted by the loves who ene Hanl Brief life with cypriots who know from experience about life s Brevity May Well wonder whether euripides description Ever will fit their troubled Homeland again. A june 20, 1988 the stars and strikes Page 15
