Cyprus: South Side

On July 20, 1974 the country of Turkey began the illegal invasion of the independent Greek island of Cyprus. It continues today.

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There is no American reason why the Turks should not have one-third of Cyprus.

Henry Kissinger
U.S. Secretary of State (1974)

On July 20, 1974 the country of Turkey began the illegal invasion of the independent Greek island of Cyprus. This led to the displacement of thousands of Cypriots and the establishment of a separate Turkish Cypriot regime to govern the invaded area in the north. This ongoing dispute has contributed to the de facto partitioning of the Republic of Cyprus into three main parts:
--the area under the effective control of the Republic, in the south of the island;
--the area not under the effective control of the Republic, styling itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (recognized globally only by Turkey), in the north; and
--the United Nations-controlled Green Line, separating the two.

I'm here in Cyprus representing the United States and I am accredited as Ambassador to the Republic of Cyprus. The Republic of Cyprus is essentially the Greek Cypriot portion of the island and that Republic of Cyprus is recognized by all of the members of the United Nations with the exception of Turkey. Turkey has recognized a government which has been established in the north of the island which is called the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus and Turkey has their Ambassador in the north. No other Ambassador is resident there except the Turkish Ambassador.

Galen L. Stone (quote from "Cyprus: South Side")
United States Ambassador to Cyprus, 1978-1981

The United Nations has condemned this illegal occupation of the northern 40% of the island, yet it still exists today.

Experience the pain of some of the 200,000 Greek Cypriots in refugee Camp Stavrou outside of Lefkosia (Nicosia) as they share their struggle in January of 1979. The film includes a 30 minute update with interviews and parades with Greek Cypriots from Toronto, Canada and New York in 1993 and 1994.

This first 20 minutes of this film was featured at the Amnesty International convention in Los Angeles in May 1991.

Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Mediterranean, attracting over 2.4 million tourists per year. A former British colony, it gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1960 and became a Commonwealth republic in 1961. The Republic of Cyprus is a developed country, and has been a member state of the European Union since 1 May 2004.