Cyprus Forces in the Government-Controlled Area
Soldiers of the National Guard
Courtesy Embassy of Cyprus, Washington
Under the provisions of the constitution of 1960, a
2,000-
member bicommunal force, the Cyprus Army, composed of 60
percent
Greek Cypriots and 40 percent Turkish Cypriots, was to be
the
primary security arm of the Republic of Cyprus. This force
was
never brought into being because of disagreement about its
organization, and since 1964 the National Guard--composed
mainly of
Greek Cypriot draftees--had served as the main armed body
in the
southern part of the island. In addition, a Greek Army
regiment of
950 men was present on the island in accordance with the
terms of
the Treaty of Alliance.
During the decade after its formation by Archbishop
Makarios,
the National Guard became increasingly oriented toward a
pro-Greek
junta, anticommunist, and, ironically, ultimately
anti-Makarios
position that culminated in the 1974 coup. The fall of the
military
from power in Greece led to the recall of the most avid
right-wing
Greek officers and their replacement by officers of more
moderate
views. By the late 1970s, the National Guard was no longer
identified with any political faction and exercised no
political
influence. Although it had not been regarded by Western
analysts as
a very effective professional military force because of
its earlier
intense politicization, the National Guard performed
credibly in
1974 in resisting the initial landing of overwhelmingly
superior
Turkish forces.
Although it had undertaken a major strengthening and
modernization program in the late 1980s, the National
Guard had
only a limited ability to deter a major Turkish offensive
or to
mount counterattacks. According to a statement by Minister
of
Defense Andreas Aloneftis in 1990, the National Guard
buildup was
strictly defensive in purpose. Aloneftis acknowledged that
the
Greek Cypriots would like to "liberate" the land in the
north but
said this was impossible in light of existing realities.
He said
that he was seeking to build a reliable deterrent force
against a
Turkish effort to occupy the whole island. The objective,
he
asserted, was to be able to delay the Turkish advance for
two to
three weeks until the UN Security Council could intervene.
Data as of January 1991
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