Flash Point in Cyprus
By R. F. LAMBERT R. DUNCAN SANDYS'S success in replacing
with British troops the Greek and Turkish Cypriot forces confronting each other in Nicosia may have averted civil war throughout the island as well as armed Turkish intervention. The task of persuading the two communities to revise the constitution—admitted on both sides to be un- workable—will tax his skill even further. At present Greek and Turk in Cyprus are as hostile to each other as Indian and Pakistani twenty years ago, with partition ruled out as a solution.
The fault lies primarily in the facts of history which confront the twentieth century with a population four-fifths Greek and one-fifth Turkish inextricably mixed in every town and village; in the facts of geography which have placed a predominantly Greek island within sight of the Turkish mainland; above all, in the magical appeal through the Eastern Mediter- ranean of Greece herself, strong enough to hypnotise the island's Greek population.
The troubles which were ended by the Zurich Agreement three and a half years ago arose from a longing not for independence but for Enosis. Although on Greek advice this was renounced by Archbishop Makarios on behalf of fellow Greek Cypriots, his renunciation made no differ- ences to their wishes, which, indeed, are openly expressed in the island's newspapers. Nor, as the Archbishop has himself pointed out—there is no doubt where his sympathies lie—is it possible in a free country to prevent people from giving voice to a national aspiration.
It is against this background that the Turks have steadfastly withheld all co-operation in making the government effective. This has not been difficult for them. The constitution not only gives the Turkish Vice-President extensive powers of veto, but also requires separate majorities of the Greek and Turkish groups in the House of Representatives over a wide field of legislation. As a result, the island now has no legal means of collecting income tax and no legal municipal authorities in the five main towns.
In Cyprus this is less disastrous than it sounds, because the Greek and Turkish Communal Chambers collect rates and carry out essential municipal services on an illegal, strictly com- munity but reasonably effective basis. The situa- tion is paralleled in the villages, where the Greek and Turkish mukhtars organise separate services with the minimum of co-operation. In this state of uneasy truce, murderous reprisals for atrocities committed during the troubles have been commoner than is supposed. In some villages the minority has already packed and left.
Such a precarious basis of law and order has largely spoilt the remarkable economic spurt which independence brought Cyprus after 1960. In the space of three years the national income increased by a third and capital which fled from the island returned. Many projects for increasing the national wealth are in hand. But in each village the co-operative which used to sell produce in common has split into two; farmers irrigate their land on alternate days, the café where the village population used to meet at night irrespective of nationality has been replaced by separate Greek and Turkish cafés.
Yet Cyprus, wealthy already by Middle East standards—the average income of £137 a year is' greater than her neighbours'—is capable of further development. A UN report published in 1961 set out an ambitious five-year plan. It aims
principally to develop power, agriculture, com- munications and tourism. The key to all these is water conservation. Although Cyprus is in general parched and arid, the forty inches of annual precipitation on the Troodos heights, if trapped, could transform agriculture and provide for tourist and industrial needs. An FBI team visiting Cyprus last year suggested that a British con- sortium might undertake this task. French, Ger- man, Italian and Yugoslav teams are already working on various projects.
The UN estimated the cost of implementing the plan at £62,000,000. The Cyprus Govern- ment (perhaps optimistically) proposes to put up half, obtaining the rest as loans or grants or long-term manufacturers' credit. Some countries and firms are already working on these terms. But the chances of obtaining enough foreign capital for full implementation, uncertain even before the present troubles, are now low. More- over, unlike other Middle East rulers, Arch- bishop Makarios cannot well force the pace by turning to the Soviet bloc. Akel, the tiny Greek Cypriot Communist Party, is not important.
Apart from this, the economy has for some time been in serious trouble. Up to a year or so ago, a disparity exceeding £20,000,000 a year between exports and imports was largely cor- rected by between £15,000,000 and £20,000,000 pumped annually into the island for services rendered to the British forces. The 1962 Defence White Paper, however, which foreshadowed the development of forces in Britain ready to fly direct to trouble spots, has led to a progressive rundown of our Cyprus garrison which has put 1,500 Cypriots out of work, withdrawn thousands of potential tourists and millions of pounds and deprived Cyprus of certain technical and educa- tive services which were a by-product of British activities. It is not, in fact, only as peace-makers that our troops are now so popular in the island.
This situation is serious, but not economically
disastrous. it is even posible that changes in our defence needs—further trouble in Aden. for in- stance—might lead to another build-up. In any case, Cyprus will continue to be a major RAF staging post and headquarters of Near East Command. With grants from Britain which will have totalled £13,000,000 by the end of 1965 and may be extended, with loans from the World Bank and other sources, Cyprus could un- doubtedly improve upon her present position if the two communities were united in trying.
Apart from the Enosis issue, their differences are not irreconcilable. The ostensible objection of the Turks, for instance, to the joint munici- palities proposed by the Greeks is that, being Greek-dominated, they would discriminate against the Turkish districts. A year ago, Archbishop Makarios proposed to insert a clause guarantee- ing that more than the Turkish contribution would be spent on Turkish services. Within twenty-four hours of the issue of a joint com- munique expressing agreement, however, Ankara ordered Dr. Kutchuk to withhold his consent.
Faced with this behaviour in every sphere of government activity, the Archbishop cannot be blamed for proposing changes designed to make the constitution effective. The prospects of agree- ment by the Turks, unfortunately, seem negli- gible. Yet three and a half years ago, when the situation was even worse, the Governments of Greece and Turkey, meeting at Zurich, pro- duced a formula which seemed at the time to cause the trouble to dissolve like morning mist. Greece and Turkey have, in fact, been compara- tively quiet during the present crisis and have declined to inflame the situation any further. Now that Makarios seeks Britain's mediation alone, it is just possible that the two powers will stand down and another agreement be reached. But there will still be a need for a guaranteeing power and it is doubtful whether Britain will be prepared to commit herself alone.
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