The people of Cyprus are broadly divided into two main ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, who share many cultural traits but maintain distinct identities based on ethnicity, religion, language, and close ties with Greece and Turkey respectively. Before the dispute started in 1964 the peoples of Cyprus were dispersed over the entire island.
The member states of the United Nations comprise 193 sovereign states. The United Nations (UN) is the world's largest intergovernmental organization. All members have equal representation in the UN General Assembly.
A United Nations General Assembly resolution is a decision or declaration voted on by all member states of the United Nations in the General Assembly.
The Cyprus problem, also known as the Cyprus conflict, Cyprus issue, Cyprus dispute, or Cyprus question, is an ongoing dispute between the Greek Cypriot community which runs the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriot community in the north of the island, where troops of the Republic of Turkey are deployed. This dispute is an example of a protracted social conflict. The Cyprus dispute's causes stem from ethnic Greek nationalist ideology, Greek-Cypriot sentiment, the Megali Idea and Enosis, and some of the ethnic Turkish peoples' desire for the partition of the island of Cyprus through Taksim as a means of protection of their people by what they considered to be the threat of Greek-Cypriots.
Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a de facto state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. It is recognised only by Turkey, and its territory is considered by all other states to be part of the Republic of Cyprus.
The Annan Plan, also known as the Cyprus reunification plan, was a United Nations proposal to resolve the Cyprus dispute. The different parts of the proposal were based on the argumentation put forward by each party in meetings held under the auspices of the UN. The proposal was to restructure the Republic of Cyprus to become the "United Republic of Cyprus", a federation of two states. It was revised a number of times before it was put to the people of Cyprus in a 2004 referendum, and was supported by 65% of Turkish Cypriots, but only 24% of Greek Cypriots.
The United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus is a demilitarized zone, patrolled by the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), that was established on 4 March 1964, then extended on 9 August after the Battle of Tillyria and extended again in 1974 after the ceasefire of 16 August 1974, following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, and the de facto partition of the island into the area controlled by the Republic of Cyprus and the largely unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the north. The zone, also known as the Green Line, stretches for 180 kilometres from Paralimni in the east to Kato Pyrgos in the west, where a separate section surrounds Kokkina.
The declaration of Independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was a unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) from the Republic of Cyprus by the Turkish Cypriot parliament on 15 November 1983.
The United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) is a United Nations peacekeeping force that was established under United Nations Security Council Resolution 186 in 1964 to prevent a recurrence of fighting following intercommunal violence between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, to contribute to the maintenance and restoration of law and order and to facilitate a return to normal conditions. Major General Ingrid Gjerde is the current Force Commander of UNFICYP, appointed in 2021, and preceded by Cheryl Pearce (Australia). Assistant Police Commissioner Satu Koivu (Finland) is the current Senior Police Adviser appointed in 2021.
The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of intercommunal violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, and in response to a Greek junta-sponsored Cypriot coup d'état five days earlier, it led to the Turkish capture and occupation of the northern part of the island.
Kokkina is a coastal exclave (pene-exclave) of the de facto Northern Cyprus, and a former Turkish Cypriot enclave in Cyprus. It is surrounded by mountainous territory, with the Morphou Bay on its northern flank. Kokkina sits several kilometres west of mainland Northern Cyprus and is a place with symbolic significance to Cypriots, because of the events of August 1964. In 1976, all Kokkina inhabitants were transferred to Yialousa and the enclave has since functioned as a North Cyprus Defence Force military camp for the Turkish forces.
The Politics of Northern Cyprus takes place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the president is head of state and the prime minister is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Assembly of the Republic. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Varosha is the southern quarter of the Famagusta, a de jure territory of Cyprus, currently under the control of Northern Cyprus. Varosha has a population of 226 in the 2011 Northern Cyprus census. The area of Varosha is 6.19 km2 (2.39 sq mi).
Northern Cyprus is recognised only by Turkey, a country which facilitates many of its contacts with the international community. After it was occupied by Turkey, Northern Cyprus' relations with the rest of the world were further complicated by a series of United Nations resolutions which declared its independence legally invalid. A 2004 UN Referendum on settling the Cyprus dispute was accepted by the Turkish Cypriots but rejected by the Greek Cypriots. After that, the European Union declared its intentions to assist in reducing the economic isolation of Northern Cyprus and began giving aid to the territory. However, due to pressure from Greece and the Republic of Cyprus, this aid coming from EU funds cannot be used on Greek Cypriot land and property nor on public bodies. As a result, these funds can be used only on 29 percent of people on the island of Cyprus.
Strovilia, is a small Cypriot village located at the border of the de facto Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) with the British Sovereign Base Area (SBA) of Dhekelia. It is the site of a Green Line crossing between Cyprus and Northern Cyprus. Some of Strovilia lies in Northern Cyprus, some in UK's SBA.
Northern Cyprus declared its independence in 1983 with its official name being the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). It is recognized by Turkey.
United Nations Security Council resolution 550, adopted on 11 May 1984, after hearing representations from the Republic of Cyprus and reaffirming resolutions 365 (1974), 367 (1975), 541 (1983) and 544 (1983), the council condemned the illegal secessionist activities in the occupied part of the Republic of Cyprus from Turkey, in violation of the previous resolutions.
The Turkish Federated State of Cyprus (TFSC) was a state in Northern Cyprus, declared in 1975 and existed until 1983. This state was not recognised by the international community. It was succeeded by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
Human rights in Northern Cyprus are protected by the constitution of Northern Cyprus. However, there have been reports of violations of the human rights of minorities, democratic freedom, freedom from discrimination, freedom from torture, freedom of movement, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, right to education, right to life, right to property, and the rights of displaced persons. The rights of Greek Cypriots displaced by the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, notably their rights to property and right of return, is one of the focal points of ongoing negotiations for the solution of the Cyprus question.
The two-state solution for the Cyprus dispute refers to the proposed permanent division of the island of Cyprus into a Turkish Cypriot State in the north and a Greek Cypriot State in the south, as opposed to the various proposals for reunification that have been suggested since the island was split into two by the 1974 Turkish invasion. The two-state solution would entail the legalisation of the status quo, where Greek Cypriots govern the southern part of the island and Turkish Cypriots govern the northern part, the latter of which is currently not recognised by any country other than Turkey.
