On August 16, 1960, Cyprus became an independent republic with a constitution that was intended to balance the interests of the island's Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities. On September 20th, the Republic of Cyprus became a member of the United Nations. Relative calm prevailed on the island until 1963, when the situation gradually deteriorated because of political differences between the two communities. Fighting broke out in December.
On March 4, 1964, the Security Council unanimously recommended the creation of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). Its mandate would be to prevent a recurrence of fighting, and to contribute to the maintenance and restoration of law and order and a return to normal conditions. In addition, the Security Council requested that Secretary-General U Thant designate, in agreement with the four governments concerned, a United Nations Mediator to promote a peaceful solution and agreed settlement to the Cyprus problem.
UNFICYP was to be stationed on the island initially for three months, with all costs to be met by the governments providing the contingents and by the government of Cyprus. The Secretary-General was authorized to accept voluntary contributions. The force was to use its best efforts to prevent the recurrence of fighting and to contribute to the maintenance and restoration of law and order and a return to normal conditions. Its Commander was appointed by the Secretary-General and reported to him. As early as that June, the force comprised 6,238 military personnel. Despite the efforts of UNFICYP, hostilities would continue to occur intermittently from 1965 to 1974.
In 1974, disquiet erupted again in Cyprus. This time, the conflagration drew in the Turkish army, which occupied part of the island. The peacekeepers arranged local cease-fires in various villages, provided relief to fleeing civilians, evacuated foreign diplomats and their families and occupied the Nicosia airport. A Greek Cypriot mob, certain that the United States sided with Turkey, sacked the US embassy in Nicosia and murdered the ambassador. Eventually, a cease-fire was arranged between the parties. UN forces patrol the cease-fire lines and monitor compliance.
UNFICYP is still in operation. For more than 30 years, the peacekeepers have patrolled cease-fire lines between the belligerents while repeated attempts at mediation have failed to resolve the dispute. Although UNFICYP has suffered over 165 casualties, Cyprus is considered the kind of operation of limited danger that the UN does best. As long as the UN stood between them, the two sides usually held back their fire. Many UN officials lost patience, however, fearing that so long as the UN was there, the belligerents would always balk at reaching a settlement. The Security Council, however, is unwilling to test this theory and risk another blood-bath in Cyprus.
The political situation in Cyprus gradually deteriorated during the latter half of 1996. There was increased violence along the cease-fire lines. Accordingly, the Secretary-General recommended that UNFICYP be renewed through June 1997.
Source: United Nations: The First Fifty Years, by Stanley Meisler. Copyright 1995 by Stanley Meisler. Used by permission of Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
