"Cyprus conflict: Which way forward?
Sunday, November 13, 2005
USMAN A. ABUBAKAR
NICOSIA - TDN Guest Writer
Cyprus, located in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea and its third largest island, has been in a dilemma ever since it gained its independence in the 1960s. The years following Cyprus' independence from British rule saw constitutional wrangling and rising tension between the island's Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities. This eventually led to a coup in 1974 in which the Turkish government sent its army into Cyprus with the ostensible aim of protecting the minority Turkish Cypriot community. However, for the Greek community and for the international community at large, it was seen as an invasion and an illegal occupation that continues today. As a result, a heavily guarded buffer zone called the Attila Line, or the Green Line, has been established to maintain and reinforce ethnic, administrative and political separation as well as security on both sides. "
More:Turkish Daily News - Cyprus conflict: Which way forward?
