The Missing of Cyprus
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powers, in modern times first to Great Britain and then, in recent
decades, to the United States. Thus the U.S. undertook to resolve what it perceived to be the Cyprus problem. From 1964 until the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in July 1974, United States policy, premised on the assumption of irreconcilable hostility between the two ethnic communities, and predicated on the greater strategic importance of Turkey over Greece, sought to partition the island without running the risk of war. The Acheson-Ball plan for the island’s partition, efforts to destabilize the government of Makarios, who was perceived as the intransigent “Castro of the Mediterranean” and hence an impediment to the United States’ policy, assassination plots against Makarios, and finally the failed coup against him executed by Ioannides, the Greek military ruler, in July 1974, led to the Turkish invasion. Specifically, Ioannides undertook to solve the Cyprus problem after diplomatic strategies for neutralizing President Makarios had failed. The failed coup triggered an invasion of the island by Turkish troops in July 1974 on the grounds of protecting the Turkish Cypriots. After the initial invasion, and while negotiations were in progress for a
return to the status quo ante, Turkey launched a second invasion in August which extended its occupation to over 37% of the island.
It was these specific events that created the still unresolved problem of the missing in Cyprus. One consequence of the two invasions by Turkey was the disappearance of both Greek and Turkish Cypriots, among whom were eight American citizens. As Turkish troops moved southward after the invasion, they not only imprisoned soldiers of the National Guard, but also abducted or arrested civilians in many villages. Some were returned owing to an agreement for exchange of prisoners made on 20 July 1974 during the discussions between the
Greek and Turkish Cypriots regarding a cease fire. Although the
exchange was supervised by the International Committee of the Red Cross, 1618 Greek Cypriots remained unaccounted for. At the same time, as a result of the clashes with the Greek Cypriots an undetermined number of Turkish Cypriots remained missing, many of whom also were not exchanged. Only when the issue began to receive international attention did the Turkish Cypriots return to their claim of their own missing dating back to the events of 1963-64, to which were added additional missing from the events of 1974. Their number, however, has remained unclear.
More than fifteen years have elapsed since the Turkish invasion
of Cyprus, yet the missing are still unaccounted for. Meanwhile most of the Greek Cypriots who had resided in northern Cyprus have fled either voluntarily or under compulsion to southern Cyprus while the Turkish-speaking population has moved to northern Cyprus. Turkish settlers from the mainland of Turkey, estimated at approximately 80,000 as of March 1990, have settled in the northern area, frequently appropriating the property of the Greek Cypriots who fled. Furthermore, an unspecified number of the more recent settlers are Bulgarian Turks who fled Bulgaria. Concurrently, only an estimated 80,000 Turkish Cypriots remain on the island, the remainder, approximately 20,000, having emigrated. These population movements have significantly altered the demography of northern Cyprus. Freedom of movement between the two sectors is severely restricted, the Greek Cypriots being denied the right to enter northern Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriots permission to enter the south. Furthermore, approximately 35,000 Turkish troops still occupy the northern part of the island while a United Nations peacekeeping force (UNFICYP) monitors the line separating northern from southern Cyprus and provides some humanitarian aid to “enclaved” Greek Cypriots in the north.”
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Adamantia Pollis, The Missing of Cyprus