european journal of social sciences issn: 1450-2267 - EuroJournals

European Journal of Social Sciences – Volume 5, Number 3 (2007)
In 1996, a workshop was sponsored by the United Stated Agency for International
Development (USAID) and held by the Harvard University Conflict Management Group, college
students from both Turkish and Greek Cypriot communities were asked for their perceptions of the
conflict that each has dealt with through their respective communities 19 . This workshop revolved
around determining their understanding or articulation of the nature of the political and cultural
struggle, what it meant to reside in a community, and developing skills at negotiation and dialogue in
order to resolve the conflict on a personal level. The results of this workshop make it quite clear that,
while many of the students do not have a profound mistrust of the other as individuals or groups, they
do mistrust the nature of the civic and national orientations that have been put in place; politically,
economically, culturally, and educationally.
The relevant time frames both groups refer to in the context of the present situation range from
the years of the Cypriot Republic (1963-1974) and to the present. Greeks and Turks both place causal
factors to what occurred during this frame of time. The Turkish community focuses on 1963-1974
because this was a time where there was a large degree of social unrest and illegal entities such as the
Greek terrorist organization EOKA committed acts that terrorized residents of Turkish communities on
the island. Their activities and persecution forced many people to flee these communities on the
southern portion of the island for the northern part of the island where the Turkish population was
larger. The Greek coup de grace added to this and, legitimate in the eyes of the Turkish population,
brought about the Turkish invasion of 1974. The time from 1974 on is the era focused on by the
Greeks as this represents a violation of the sovereignty of the island by Turkish forces. This same
event is looked at as being legitimate by the Turkish community, due to the same coup 20 . As is replete
through the recent history of the island, two groups see the same set of circumstances in very different
ways.
Both groups cite historical links to the past with the Greek Cypriots citing their Greek heritage
and the Turks their own heritage. It should be noted that neither group placed the totality of their
respective identities within the historical parameters of their cultural progenitors, but they hold fast to
the fact that these different groups give them their roots. Neither group, especially the Cypriots of
Greek heritage, desires a permanent division of the island. But with history still as fresh as it is, these
acts of division are still quite fresh in the minds of the younger generation and so they must be
resolved.
Historically, with the physical border that exists on the island between the two groups, there is
an economic result which comes about with regard to the prosperity of each community. As a result,
the Greek community to the south has a much higher standard of living than their northern counterparts
due to their ties with Greece, and subsequently Europe. Northern Cyprus trades almost exclusively
with Turkey and this substantially limits the degree of foreign investment and prosperity that have
come to their part of the island. The infrastructure of the southern part of the island is better developed
and, since it is recognized as the legitimate Republic of Cyprus in the eyes of the world community,
enjoys a far greater degree of trade and prosperity.
Cyprus joined the European Union in 2005, though not as a unified or reconciled people 21 .
Though both the north and south are members of the E.U., only the southern Greek portion of the
island receives the monetary and trade benefits which accompany state membership. The situation is
further complicated by the fact that Turkey is the main sponsor for northern Cyprus. Turkey desires to
join the European Union itself, but the issue of its military and financial support of TNRC (Turkish
Northern Republic of Cyprus) serves as a stumbling block for their acceptance. At this point, Turkey
needs the Cyprus issue to be resolved so they can pursue their own interests with acceptance to the EU.
19 Erduran, S. (1996). “Reflection on Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot students’ perceptions of the Cyprus conflict:
Implications for peace education.” Paper presented at the 1996 annual meeting of the American Educational Research
Association. New York. Eric document: ED427985.
20 Cyprus conflict narrative, http://www.cyprus-conflict.net/www.cyprus-conflict.net/index.html (accessed July 11, 2007).
21 Country profile: Cyprus, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1016541.stm (accessed July 11, 2007).
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