In Depth

Cyprus 101

Cyprus is another one of these divisive territorial issues not entirely dissimilar to the Northern Ireland, Palestinian, or Kashmir conflicts. Situated 65km (40 miles) off the Turkish coast, Cyprus was a part of the Ottoman Empire for centuries, with sizable migrations of Muslim Turks adding to the Orthodox Christian Greek inhabitants of the island. The island became a British colony in 1878 in exchange for support of Turkey against Russian aggression. Anti-British terrorism by Greek Cypriots in the mid-1950s incited riots in Istanbul; Turks were fearful that Greek ownership of the island would be a threat to Turkish national security. The London agreement, negotiated by Britain, Greece, and Turkey, established the independent republic of Cyprus in 1960, with a Greek president, a Turkish vice president, and a fair proportion of representatives in the government.

This bicommunal state functioned for only 3 years, as militant Greek Cypriots (backed by Greece) ousted the Turkish Cypriot members, which resulted in a series of brutal attacks on both Greek and Turkish villages. Once again, it is a case of finger-pointing about who threw the first punch. For the next 10 years, the Turkish Cypriots lived as refugees, during which time Turkey unsuccessfully sought support from a U.S. government unwilling to intervene on behalf of either the Greeks or the Turks. A Greek coup aimed at annexing the island and aided by local Greek Cypriot forces in 1974 called Turkey to action. A Turkish expeditionary force was deployed, occupying the northern third of the island, which in 1983 proclaimed itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Greek inhabitants of the northern territory fled south.

The United Nations has called for a unified state made up of two politically equal communities, and in 2005, Turkey voted yes for reunification. But the Greek Cypriots voted no. There have been no further attempts at negotiation as the international community pretty much waits for the dust to settle. Meanwhile, the United Nations still does not recognize the northern republic and U.N. peacekeeping forces continue to patrol the border zones between north and south. Now that the E.U. has cleared the way for accession talks with Turkey, it remains to be seen how much Cyprus will remain a thorn in the side of Turkey.

The Kurdish Question

Who are the Kurds, these people without a country? History books pinpoint their origins to western Iran, but it's more accurate to say that the Kurds have roots in many different lands. Over time, the Kurds have developed a distinctive culture, and today the Kurdish population spreads over eastern Anatolia, northeastern Iraq, Syria, and western Iran.

In the wake of World War I, Kurdish demands for an independent state were met in the Treaty of Sèvres (1920), but the treaty was nullified by Atatürk's victories over foreign occupation and replaced by the Treaty of Lausanne (1923). This new treaty made no mention of the Kurds. The Kurds have been struggling for independence ever since, suffering from repression not only in Turkey but in other countries in the region. In the 1980-to-1988 Iran-Iraq War, entire Kurdish villages were annihilated due to Iraq's use of poison gas; as a result the Turkish government allowed 100,000 refugees to flow over the border into Turkey.

In 1978 Abdullah Öcalan formed the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) as an organized separatist movement, accusing the Turkish government of oppression, repression, torture, and censorship. The Turkish government labeled the PKK a terrorist organization with a limited following intent on destabilizing the Turkish nation and threatening its sovereignty. Turkey considers its Kurdish population Turkish citizens, although in practice, many of the predominantly Kurdish territories, typically in remote regions, are impoverished and lack basic public services.

The PKK took up arms in 1984, and the violence persisted until Öcalan's capture in 1999. In the 16-year armed conflict, the Turkish government estimates that over 30,000 people lost their lives, although this estimate is probably a modest one. At the end of Öcalan's trial, the PKK leader was sentenced to death; since that time, Turkey has abolished the death penalty and Öcalan can expect to live out his days in a Turkish prison.

The PKK declared an end to the cease-fire in 2003, and since then, assassinations, attacks, and counterattacks have been on the rise in the southeast. Increased tensions on the Iraqi-Turkish border don't bode well for the U.S. policy of support for Iraq's Kurdish north, as both Turkey and northern Iraq are key U.S. allies in American foreign policy in the region. For now, it's a wait-and-see situation.