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Cyprus Intercommunal Violence, 1963-67
Three years of peace followed Cypriot independence in
1960.
Beneath the peace, however, lay the resentment of some
Greek
Cypriots at the prevention of enosis and a growing
conflict between
Greek and Turkish Cypriots over the bicommunal provisions
of the
constitution. The Cypriot army, which was to consist of
1,200 Greek
Cypriots and 800 Turkish Cypriots, never materialized
because of
differences over the six-to-four formula for integrating
the force.
EOKA had officially disbanded and surrendered its weapons
in 1959,
and Grivas had returned to Greece. In fact, however, many
former
EOKA members had retained their weapons, and some joined
groups of
armed irregulars. The Turkish Cypriot community responded
to the
growth of these groups by reviving the TMT in early 1962.
These
forces received arms and assistance from the Greek and
Turkish
contingents assigned to the island.
In late November 1963, the president, Archbishop
Makarios,
introduced a thirteen-point proposal to amend the
constitution in
a way that would ensure the dominance of Greek Cypriots
(see Republic of Cyprus
, ch. 1). In the tense atmosphere that
ensued, a
street brawl broke out on December 21 in Nicosia, between
Turkish
Cypriots and Greek Cypriot police. This fight was followed
by major
attacks by Greek Cypriot irregulars in Nicosia and
Larnaca. Looting
and destruction of Turkish villages forced many Turkish
Cypriots to
withdraw into defensible enclaves guarded by the TMT
paramilitary.
Fearful that Turkey might carry out its threat to invade,
Makarios
agreed to British intervention from its bases on the
island. On
December 27 British troops assumed positions between
opposing
irregular units, and the fighting, which had claimed 100
lives on
each side during the previous week, subsided temporarily.
The
cease-fire held in Nicosia, but by mid-February 1964 Greek
Cypriot
attacks at Limassol brought a renewed threat of Turkish
landings.
Britain appealed to the UN Security Council, and on March
4, 1964,
the UN approved a resolution to establish an international
peace-keeping force for duty in Cyprus. Contingents from
Canada,
Denmark, Finland, Ireland, and Sweden joined the British
soldiers
already in place; together they made up the 6,500-member
United
Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), which was
still
present on the island, though at much reduced strength, a
quarter
of a century later
(see United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus
, this ch.).
In June 1964, the National Guard was formed by the
Greek
Cypriot government, which also instituted male
conscription. The
National Guard absorbed the various private armies into a
single
national military force loyal to the government and served
as a
deterrent to a Turkish invasion. Greek Army soldiers were
clandestinely transferred to the guard on a large scale;
by midsummer the National Guard consisted of an estimated 24,000
officers
and men, about half from the Greek Army. Grivas, thought
to be the
only man who could enforce discipline over the disparate
armed
Greek Cypriot factions, returned from Athens to command
the
National Guard.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Cypriot community, in its newly
created
enclaves, organized militarily under the TMT, supported by
conscription of Turkish Cypriot youths. Turkish Army
troops trained
the Turkish Cypriot forces, totaling an estimated 10,000
fighters,
and directed the defense of the enclaves. Outbreaks of
fighting
continued, although the presence of UNFICYP prevented them
from
erupting into major hostilities. In August 1964, the
National Guard
carried out a coordinated sea and land assault against
Kokkina on
the northwest coast, in an effort to cut off the major
Turkish
Cypriot supply line to the mainland. Heavy attacks by
Turkish jet
fighter-bombers, operating beyond the range of the Greek
Air Force,
halted the Greek Cypriot offensive. Several years of peace
followed, while the two communities improved their
military
readiness.
In November 1967, units of the National Guard, at the
instigation of Grivas, launched a massive artillery
assault on two
Turkish Cypriot villages following a dispute over police
patrols.
The crisis was defused when United States mediation
brought an
agreement that endured for the next seven years: all
foreign troops
in excess of those permitted by the Treaty of Alliance
were to be
removed from Cyprus, and the National Guard was to be
dismantled in
exchange for an immediate Turkish demobilization. Grivas
was
recalled to Athens, along with about 10,000 of the Greek
troops
assigned to the National Guard. The National Guard,
however, was
not dissolved.
Data as of January 1991
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