Cyprus: Papadopoulos dies

Henry Kissinger was said to have left instructions with his staff that if he were found meddling in the Cyprus problem they should put him in a straightjacket. Now I have a feeling that not enough is being said and written on the subject, and the death of Tassos Papadopoulos a couple of weeks ago is a reminder.

What the EU would have us believe (both Greece and Cyprus are members) is that Cyprus is in a mess because of the intransigence of the Turks. No major country recognises Turkish Cyprus, effectively saying the whole island belongs to the Greeks. The truth, is, as so often, more complicated.

Cyprus became independent from Britain in 1960. The constitution provided for representation in parliament by the Greek and Turkish communities according to population, resulting in 70% Greek, 30% Turkish MPs and ministers. In addition the Turkish community was given the right of veto.

In the late 60s Greece was subject to a military coup, and was ruled by The Colonels, who wanted union between Greece and Cyprus (Enosis) and were dissatisfied with the Greek Cypriot leader, Archbishop Makarios. In July 1974 Greece engineered a coup d’état in Cyprus, suspending the constitution and excluding the Turkish community from the Government. Turkey appealed to Britain, as it should have done because Britain was one of the guarantors of the Cypriot settlement, but we did nothing. Accordingly Turkey invaded and sealed off the Northern part of the territory.

At the time of the coup, Papadopoulos was part of a group which was trying, by fair means or foul, to rid the island of ethnic Turks – what we would now know as ethnic cleansing. He became president in 2003, and in 2004 there was a UN plan to bring peace to the island, which the Turks accepted. Papadopoulos campaigned against it and it was rejected by the Greeks, resulting in a continuation of the partition of the island. His idea was that the larger, wealthier southern part of the island could bide its time and achieve a result on its own terms. It was never going to work. Papadopoulos was ousted from office in the elections in February this year and now he is dead. Perhaps Cyprus can look forward to peace.