Georgia L Gilholy is a freelance journalist.
Most Brits associate Cyprus with sunny, boozy holidays. Nor are they wrong to do so, with more than 1.33 million British tourists visiting the Republic of Cyprus in 2019, accounting for about 33 per cent of the total arrivals.
Despite its equally scenic spots and array of historic excursions, the lack of direct flights to Northern Cyprus from the UK, which must be reached via Turkey, means only tens of thousands of Brits touch down there annually. However, what may seem like a mere inconvenience to the rest of the world, or would-be tourists, is the product of this beautiful island’s dark and complex recent history.
Cyprus has been politically divided since 1974, with the southern part controlled by the Greek Cypriot Republic and the northern region governed by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), where most Turkish Cypriots reside. A United Nations peacekeeping force is permanently deployed to monitor the de facto border between the two regions. While the Greek Cypriot Republic boasts global recognition only Turkey acknowledges the TRNC.
There are varying interpretations of Turkey’s decision to intervene in the north in 1974. At the time, a coup had put Athens under the control of colonels seeking “enosis,” the full unification of Cyprus with Greece. The 1960 bicommunal, bicameral constitution, established after independence from the United Kingdom, had collapsed. This period was marked by intense communal violence, leaving many Turkish Cypriots fearing for their safety.
The Greek Cypriot nationalist group EOKA B attacked both Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots who opposed their cause. While in North Cyprus this summer, I was horrified by visiting the sites of EOKA B attacks on Turkish Cypriot civilians. 126 Turkish Cypriot villagers – mainly women, children, and the elderly – from villages near Famagusta, were slain.
Nowadays many Turkish Cypriots expressed their distress at the UK’s apparent abandonment of the issue. While in Kyrenia, several Turkish Cypriots and British expats told me they were upset that the British High Commissioner in the unrecognised TRNC has allegedly refused to attend Remembrance Day services at British Cemeteries in the North, due to them, like the rest of the TNRC, lying on disputed territory.
During the so-called Cyprus Emergency between 1955 and 1959 a volunteer force of around 900 British police officers were deployed to Cyprus. During this tumultuous period, 371 British servicemen lost their lives fighting Greek Cypriot right-wing nationalist guerrilla organisations, many of whom were laid to rest in the yet undivided North.
As former Jack Straw, the former New Labour Foreign Secretary, has admitted, by rights, the Republic of Cyprus should never have been permitted to join the European Union in 2004, while these disputes remained unresolved. Twenty years on and there has been little progress, as incentives for the Greek side to make concessions continue to crumble.
By freezing out the North, the UK is not only once again abandoning its former colonial subjects but pushing away a possible ally against extremism in the region. Turkey proper has seen a growing shift towards Islamism in recent years, driven by political, social, and cultural factors, particularly under the leadership of Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP). Should the conflict remain frozen in Cyprus, the likelihood of mainland influence growing is high, drawing Turkish Cypriots under the sway of an Ankara they increasingly have much less in common.
Turkish Cypriots, on the whole, tend to be less religiously conservative than their mainland cousins. While in the TRNC I only saw two women wearing hijabs, including an Arabic-speaking tourist who I tried (and failed) to offer directions to. Northern Cyprus has a small population, and its historical experience, both under Ottoman rule and later under British colonial administration, created a culture where religion was more a matter of private tradition and less central to political or public life.
While Northern Cyprus relies on Turkey for political and economic support, there has been increasing resistance to attempts by the Turkish government, especially under Erdoğan, to impose more stringent Islamist policies. In recent years, some Turkish Cypriots have expressed concern over Turkey’s growing influence, particularly regarding religious institutions and practices. Protests and public debates have emerged around issues like the construction of new mosques and the promotion of religious education, which many Turkish Cypriots see as an imposition of Turkey’s more conservative Islamic policies.
The United Kingdom remains one of three “guarantor nations” for Cyprus, alongside Turkey and Greece. Additionally, it maintains significant defence infrastructure within the Greek Cypriot Republic, including two “Sovereign Base Areas” that were formerly British territories.
While the U.K. can hardly single-handedly implement a two-state solution for Cyprus, we still punch far above our weight in global diplomacy. The UK can and should take steps to bring this sensible option into the conversation. By advocating for this route, London could work to convince other stakeholders that it represents the most viable path to resolving the longstanding conflict. But Turkey and the Middle East are changing, fast. Surely now is the time to break this painful impasse before it is too late?