Leon wrote:I think a lot of people do forget that the reason Turkey invaded northern Cyprus was simply to save the Turkish-Cypriots' lives. I diagree with a lot of things that both sides have done, but why do the Greek-Cypriots protest that Turkish troops should get out of Cyprus. They're helping to keep peace amongst each other.
I think you should qualify that statement somewhat Leon. I would agree that the initial landing of Turkish troops in July 1974 was aimed at defending the position of TCs who were at direct risk following the coup. If you look at the land occupied by Turkish troops as of July 23rd 1974, this pattern is clear, with them occupying a small section of the island from Kyrenia, across the northern range and into northern Nicosia, i.e. where the greatest concentration of TCs was to be found.
However, the creeping of these lines from July to August, and the subsequent second phase of operations in mid-August are harder to justify, particularly since they took place during a time of negotiations, which the Turkish government broke off to conduct the operation that resulted in their grabbing a further 25% of the island. Even as someone who always tries to adopt a view sympathetic to TCs (or at least in equal measure to GCs), I find it hard to wrestle with my conscience and see the justification in that phase - even more so because there appeared to be a deliberate policy of grabbing the most economically important areas of the island.
In regard to the continued presence of Turkish troops, I can understand why they remain, but why they remain in such huge numbers is also an enigma to me. My understanding of the GC mentality is such that I can see they have no intention of striking north, nor would they have the capability to do so, nor would it be of benefit to their cause domestically or internationally.
In a similar light, my understanding of the Turkish and TC mentality is that the Turkish troops remain to deter such an attack, they also have no intention of striking south. Therefore, if the troops remain in a purely defensive capacity, it's a bit odd that it requires 40,000 heavily armed troops to defend 1,000 sq. miles of land - that's one heck of a troop concentration.
So their purpose in such numbers remains rather ambiguous and an unnecessary drain on Turkey's military resources, and also provides capital to GC politicians who argue that Turkey is an occupying power bent on the destruction of the RoC. Furthermore, it gives credence to the arguments of GC militants to maintain high military spending and the import of advanced weapons systems which just add to the concentration of dangerous military resources on the island.
As for the maintenance of peace being down to the Turkish troops, initially yes, I think you can claim that. But Cyprus has now settled into a more 'natural' and stable peace (or 'unnatural' depending on your position), which isn't a consequence of soldiers on the lines today, but is a consequence of the division having given a lot of people 'thinking time', which has reduced the level of militancy significantly.
The opening of the line has proved that on a day-to-day basis, GC and TC can interact in peace, which is a first step to bringing the barriers down. It's only going to work if it's done incrementally, simply opening up the borders and allowing a free mixing of the two communities can only spark tension in the short term.
If the whole process is slowed down and the barriers between the two communities removed gradually, then I think you'll see a solution that works. Whatever happens, both Greek and Turkish soldiers have to be removed from the island whatever happens, otherwise trust will always be subject to the barrels of foreign guns.
!)), my mother (who has been) has told me numerous times that there is army camp after army camp after army camp and the amount of times you see them is ridiculously high, so I'll look out for that when I go (not that I can miss it by the sounds of it!).
