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Cyprus in August 1996

By Eleni Pitsillidou <elenip@spidernet.com.cy>, 26 August 1996

Publisher's note: Text slightly revised for clarity. I have made the links hot, although they will tend to become obsolete. The historical attachment referred to in the document was not available to me.

I will tell you what happened in August 1996 in Cyprus:

Cypriot bikers went into the buffer zone to protest the continuous occupation of the Turkish army in Cyprus and the deprivation of basic human rights, i.e., the freedom of movement throughout our island. Turkey sent fanatics - Islamists (kouvalitous - The Grey Wolves) from Turkey, which had planned to beat up and kill Cypriots. They were armed with clubs and rocks and hunting guns. A few unarmed Cypriots were trapped on the barbed wire and about 30 Turkish people beat them up. (you will see this in the pictures and the videos below). They hit one of them to death. Actually the camera showed this on the Euronews. His mother saw her son on tv beaten to death by the Turks. You can not believe how brutal that murder was. He was on the ground, and they still beat him to death.

Please see the following article by the Irish Times on this matter:

http://www.irish-times.com/irish-times/paper/0812/for3.html

After his funeral on Wednesday many people went into the buffer zone again to protest against the Turks. This time it was the Cypriots who started to throw stones at the Turkish soldiers for a while, but they were far away and so the stones did not hit them. The second cousin of the one who was murdered on Sunday tried to take down the Turkish flag, and the Turks opened fire at him and at other unarmed people. He died, and there were another 11 injured, among them two UN soldiers.

Also See:

http://guide-p.infoseek.com//DB?arn=a0753roptp-19960817&dbid=4&sv=V1 &lk=noframes&col=NW&pg=article.html&ud3=C4FF60659C952DE56E6B53F6 2354BD3B

A brief history on the Cyprus problem:

The Turks invaded Cyprus in 1974 because of their aggressive foreign expansive policy and because of the strategic location of Cyprus.

OCCUPIED CYPRUS - Brief History

On 20 July 1974, Turkey launched a brutal invasion against defenseless Cyprus, and using more than 40,000 heavily armed troops captured 37% of the island. The invasion of Turkey and the occupation of 37% of the island's territory as well as the continuing violation of the fundamental human rights of the people of Cyprus have been condemned by international bodies, such as the UN General Assembly, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Commonwealth and the Council of Europe.

In 1974 200,000 Greek Cypriots, 33% of the total Greek Cypriot population, were forced to leave their homes and were turned overnight into refugees. For the last 21 years these refugees have been denied one of the most basic of human rights, the RIGHT of RETURN and SETTLEMENT to their paternal homes.

Please look at the following locations to see pictures and videos about what happened in Cyprus in August 1996:

http://www2.spidernet.net/pws/%7Edarsalam/
http://www.logos.cy.net/cyprus-probl/bikers/murder_1.html

We are "safe" but in fact there has been a few times that the Turks threw stones at the windows of the houses on the "green line." Yesterday someone reported to the police that the Turks shot on their car that was passing near the green line but within the Greek teritory.

Denktash brought all those islamist terrorists (3000 to be correct) from Turkey to cause that incident so that it would seem to the Cypriot and the international community that the Greek and Turkish cypriots can not live peacefully together. On that fatal Sunday the Turks even tried to fool the UN soldiers that there was nothing happening by having waiters taking food to the journalists and the Turkish officers who were at the "border." After the killing of the Cypriot on Sunday, in the Turkish frontpage newspapers you could see Denktash rewarding the murderers by having them for dinner and celebrating with these murderers.

What is the solution I think is fair? For all the Greek and Turkish Cypriots to go back to their homes. The Turkish military and the immigrants from Turkey to go back to Turkey. In return to give them a fair represantation in the parliament and in the governement, i.e., 18% representation, which is the size of the Turkish Cypriot population in Cyprus. They do not want this solution though. Thay want the two communities to live in different countries as if they own our land and homes which they had taken by force in 1974.

You will find a brief history on the Cyprus problem attached.

Regards,

Eleni