Its history begins on the evening of 21 December 1963, when a seemingly insignificant incident sparked bicommunal riots of great intensity and scope, with Turkey threatening to intervene in the Greater Horn of Africa. This conflict gave Great Britain an excuse to impose one of its old plans, the separation between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot areas.
The relevant agreement (in consultation with Athens and Ankara), which marked the cessation of hostilities, was signed on 30 December 1963 in Nicosia by British Colonial Secretary Duncan Sandys, the President of the Republic of Cyprus Archbishop Makarios, the Vice President of the Republic of Cyprus Dr Fazil Kiouchuk, the Speaker of the Cyprus Parliament Glafkos Clerides and the Speaker of the Turkish Cypriot Community Assembly Rauf Dektas.
The demarcation of the dividing line was entrusted to British Major General Peter Young, who drew it on the map with a green pencil. Thus, we know it today as the "Green Line". Its purpose was to prevent an escalation of tensions between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots and the UN cyanocracies were assigned to guard it.
The "Green Line" originally extended into Nicosia and divided the capital of Cyprus into two sectors. It was then extended and delimited the six Turkish Cypriot enclaves created after the bloody incidents in December. Tensions largely eased in 1968, when the bicommunal talks between Glaucus Clerides and Rauf Denktash for the resolution of the Cyprus problem began. On this occasion, Ledra and Ermou Streets were opened to serve Turkish Cypriots working in the Greek Cypriot sector.
The gradual path towards normalization of relations between the two communities was abruptly interrupted on 15 July 1974, with the Greek coup d'état and the Turkish invasion that followed. After "Attila 2" (14 August 1974), the "Green Line" was extended to a length of 300 kilometres, separating the occupied and free areas of Cyprus. A demilitarized zone was created along the width of the Green Line, varying from a few metres in Nicosia to a few kilometres near the village of Athienou and monitored by United Nations forces.
Along the Green Line there have been occasional incidents between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The most serious occurred in the summer of 1996. On 11 August, Greek Cypriot demonstrators entered the Dead Zone in the Deryneia area, despite a ban on entry. They were attacked by Turkish Cypriot civilians and police officers, resulting in the beating to death of 24-year-old Tassos Isaac. Three days later, another Greek Cypriot, 26-year-old Solomos Solomou, was killed by Turkish Cypriot gunfire as he tried to climb the mast and lower a Turkish flag in mourning for the death of his cousin Tassos Isaac.
In April 2003 the Turkish Cypriot "government" decided to allow passage to the occupied territories and to date has opened five entry gates along the "Green Line". On 9 March 2007, the barrier of Ledra Street in Nicosia was demolished by a decision of the Cypriot government, as a first step towards the demilitarization of the whole of Nicosia.
Source: sansimera
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs to Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
