Cyprus dispute

The "Cyprus Dispute" refers to the dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots over Cyprus, an island in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. This dispute led to the de facto separation of the island into a mostly Greek speaking southern and a mostly Turkish-speaking northern part, the latter having been occupied by Turkish troops since 1974.

Enosis or Taksim? The starting point of the conflict

Under Ottoman Rule: 1821 – 1914

The Ottoman Empire ceded Cyprus to Great Britain in 1878 as part of an agreement with the British to deter Russian expansion into areas occupied by the Ottoman Empire. At the reception for the first British High Commissioner held in Larnaka, the bishop of Kition delivered a welcome speech in which he asked the British to expedite enosis for Cyprus as it had done with the Ionian Islands in 1864.

Cyprus had been largely ignored by the Sublime Porte, and the quality of life on the island was not very high. In the late 19th century, Cyprus technically remained the sovereign territory of the Ottomans while under the administration of the British. Turkish Cypriots were very skeptical of enosis as they feared retaliation and oppression once the island came under Athens' administration.

British Colonial Rule: 1914 – 1948

These policies, in addition to the brewing tensions between the two communities, led to open rebellion in 1931. A riot resulted in the death of six civilians, injuries to others, and the burning of the British Government House in Lefkosia. About 2,000 people were convicted of crimes in connection with the violence.

Britain reacted by imposing harsh restrictions. Military reinforcements were dispatched to the island, the constitution suspended, press censorship instituted, and political parties banned. Two bishops and eight other prominent citizens directly implicated in the riot were exiled. In effect, the governor became a dictator, empowered to rule by decree. Municipal elections were suspended, and until 1943 all municipal officials were appointed by the government. The governor was to be assisted by an Executive Council, and two years later an Advisory Council was established; both councils consisted only of appointees and were restricted to advising on domestic matters only. In addition, the flying of Greek or Turkish flags or the public display of portraits of Greek or Turkish heroes was forbidden.

In 1946, the British government announced plans to invite Cypriots to form a Consultative Assembly to discuss a new constitution. As a demonstration of good will, the British also allowed the return of the 1931 exiles. Instead of reacting positively, as expected by the British, the Greek Cypriot hierarchy reacted angrily because there had been no mention of enosis. The Orthodox Church of Cyprus had expressed its disapproval, and twenty-two Greek Cypriots declined to appear, stating that enosis was their sole political aim.

The idea of "enosis and only enosis" became more attractive to the general population. The Church of Cyprus solidified its control over the Greek Cypriot community, intensifying its activities for enosis and opposing communism. Prominent among its leaders was Bishop Makarios, spiritual and secular leader of the Greek Cypriots. The Church's main opposition came from the Cypriot Communist Party (officially the Progressive Party of the Working People; Ανορθωτικό Κόμμα Εργαζόμενου Λαού; or AKEL), which viewed itself as the alternative political voice to the Orthodox Church of Cyprus, also shifted its own platform from backing full self-government to supporting enosis, even though the right-wing government in Greece was hostile to communism.

The Makarios era begins: 1948 – 1960

On June 13, 1948, Bishop Makarios was elevated to Archbishop Makarios III in the Cathedral of Larnaka. In his inaugural speech, he vowed not to rest until union with "mother Greece" had been achieved.

In Athens, enosis was a common topic of conversation, and a Cypriot native, Colonel George Grivas, was becoming known for his strong views on the subject. In anticipation of an armed struggle to achieve enosis, Grivas visited Cyprus in July 1951. He discussed his ideas with Makarios but was disappointed by the archbishop's reservations about the effectiveness of a guerrilla uprising. From the beginning, and throughout their relationship, Grivas resented having to share leadership with the archbishop. Makarios, concerned about Grivas's extremism from their very first meeting, preferred to continue diplomatic efforts, particularly efforts to get the UN involved. The feelings of uneasiness that arose between them never dissipated. In the end, the two became enemies.

In August 1954, Greece's UN representative formally requested that self-determination for the people of Cyprus be included on the agenda of the General Assembly's next session. Turkey rejected the idea of the union of Cyprus and Greece. The Turkish Cypriot community had consistently opposed the Greek Cypriot enosis movement, but had generally abstained from direct action because under British rule the Turkish minority status and identity were protected. The expressed attitude of the Cypriot Turks was that, when Britain withdrew, control of Cyprus should simply revert to Turkey – although Turkey gave up all rights and claims to Cyprus in the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne.

Turkish Cypriot identification with Turkey had grown stronger, and after 1954 the Turkish government had become increasingly involved as the Cyprus problem became an international issue. In 1957 the Turkish Resistance Organization (Türk Mukavemet Teskilati – TMT), a guerrilla group that fought for Turkish Cypriot interests was founded. In response to the growing demand for enosis, a number of Turkish Cypriots became convinced that the only way to protect the interests and identity of the Turkish Cypriot population in the event of enosis would be to divide the island – 'taksim' ("division" in Turkish) into a Greek sector and a Turkish sector.

In the late summer and fall of 1954, the Cyprus problem intensified. On Cyprus, the colonial government threatened advocates of enosis with up to five years' imprisonment. In December, the UN General Assembly announced the decision "not to consider the problem further for the time being, because it does not appear appropriate to adopt a resolution on the question of Cyprus." Reaction to the setback at the UN was immediate and violent, resulting in the worst rioting in Cyprus since 1931.

In January 1955, with Makarios' blessing, Grivas founded the National Organization of Cypriot Fighters (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston – EOKA). On April 1, 1955, EOKA opened a campaign of violence against British rule in a well-coordinated series of attacks on police, military, and other government installations in Lefkosia, Famagusta, Larnaka, and Lemesos.

A bombing incident at the Turkish consulate in Thessaloniki, Greece, in June led to serious rioting in İstanbul and İzmir. It was later learned that the bombing had been carried out by a Turk, and that the riots had been prearranged by the government of Turkey to bring pressure on the Greeks and to show the world that Turks were keenly interested in Cyprus. Greece reacted by withdrawing its representatives from the NATO headquarters in Turkey, and relations between the two NATO partners became quite strained.

Beginning in December 1958, representatives of Greece and Turkey opened discussions of the Cyprus issue. Participants for the first time discussed the concept of an independent Cyprus, i.e., neither enosis nor taksim. Subsequent talks yielded a compromise agreement supporting independence, laying the foundations of the Republic of Cyprus. The scene then shifted to London, where the Greek and Turkish representatives were joined by representatives of the Greek Cypriots, the Turkish Cypriots, and the British. The Zurich-London agreements that became the basis for the Cyprus constitution of 1960 were the Treaty of Establishment, the Treaty of Guarantee, and the Treaty of Alliance.

The general tone of the agreements was one of compromise. Greek Cypriots, especially members of organizations such as EOKA, expressed disappointment because enosis had not been attained. Turkish Cypriots, however, welcomed the agreements and set aside their demand for taksim. According to the Treaty of Establishment, Britain retained sovereignty over 256 square kilometers, which became the Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area, to the northwest of Larnaka, and the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area to the southwest of Lemesos.

Cyprus achieved independence on August 16, 1960.

A Troubled Republic: 1960 – 1974

The constitution and its consequences

According to constitutional arrangements, Cyprus was to become an independent republic with a Greek Cypriot president and a Turkish Cypriot vice-president; a council of ministers with a ratio of seven Greeks to three Turks instead of in proportion to the composition of the population which was 82% to 18%. A House of Representatives of fifty members, also with a seven-to-three ratio, were to be separately elected by communal balloting on a universal suffrage basis. The judicial system would be headed by a Supreme Constitutional Court, composed of one Greek Cypriot and one Turkish Cypriot and presided over by a contracted judge from a neutral country. In addition, separate Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot Communal Chambers were provided to exercise control in matters of religion, culture, and education. The entire structure of government was strongly biased in favour of the Turkish Cypriot minority giving them blanket veto powers and superior privileges contrary to the basic principles of the functionality of a state, such as the prohibition of racial discrimination and the rejection of democratic principles. It was therefore dysfunctional and divisive.

EOKA, TMT, and the Akritas Plan

Underground organizations of both communities revived during 1961 and 1962. Officially disbanded in 1959, EOKA, along with the TMT, began training again, smuggling weapons in from Greece and Turkey, and working closely with national military contingents from Greece and Turkey that were stationed on the island in accordance with the Treaty of Alliance.

Some Greek Cypriots believed the constitutional impasse could be ended through bold action. Accordingly, a plan of action – the Akritas Plan – was drawn up sometime in 1963 by the Greek Cypriot minister of the interior, a close associate of Archbishop Makarios. The plan's course of action began with persuading the international community that concessions made to the Turkish Cypriots were too extensive and that the constitution had to be reformed if the island were to have a functioning government. Another of the plan's goals was the revocation of the Treaty of Guarantee and the Treaty of Alliance. If these aims were realized, long term peace and stability would become possible within a unitary state. The plan foresaw that the Turkish Cypriots would refuse to accept these changes at first and might resort to paramilitary action backed by Turkey, therefore ways were considered of how to combat terrorism decisively.

When the documents were leaked, Turkish Cypriot extremists presented them as proof that the Greek Cypriots were aiming for the extermination of the Turkish population on Cyprus.

The events of 1963 and their consequences

On November 30, 1963, Makarios advanced a thirteen-point proposal designed, in his view, to eliminate impediments to the functioning of the government. The thirteen points involved constitutional revisions, including the abandonment of the veto power by both the president and the vice president. Turkey rejected it on December 16, declaring the proposal an attempt to undermine the constitution. Most of the Turkish Cypriots, including Vice-President Fazil Küçük, withdrew from the government, and Turkey withdrew diplomatic recognition of Cyprus' government.

In this politically charged atmosphere, violent unrest erupted, leading to the deaths of 350 Turkish Cypriot terrorists and 200 members of the Greek Cypriot security forces between 21 December 1963 to 9 August 1964. (Over a decade later the Turkish Cypriots began to claim that 600 additional members of their community went missing). At the same time, Greece and Turkey (both NATO member countries at the time) were on the brink of military confrontation. Following the passing of Security Council resolution 186 of March 4, 1964, the UN established the United Nations Peace-keeping Force on Cyprus (UNFICYP), and the two ethnic groups separated themselves.

Most of the Turkish Cypriot population withdrew to enclaves around villages with a turkish majority, with all towns being completely divided between predominantly greek and predominantly turkish neighbourhoods. This relocation was and still is viewed by Turkish Cypriots as a forced expulsion from their homes, while most Greek Cypriots claim that either it happened out of free will or it was forced by the TMT. The enclaves formed an separate administration centering around Vice President Küçük, and demands for complete separation of the two communities began.

Attempts of the Cypriot National Guard (which had just been formed and was under a mandate emanating from UN resolution 186(1964)) to capture the village of Mansura in the region of Tylliria/Dillirga caused the intervention of the Turkish airforce which bombed the area with Napalm bombs. This bombardment was condemned on 9 August by the Security Council in resolution 193(1964).

From the conflict to the Turkish Invasion

The Turkish Cypriot leadership imposed an embargo on the Turkish Cypriots in the Turkish Cypriot enclaves.

Below is a set of rules issued by the Turkish Cypriot leadership to the Turkish Cypriots on 18 December 1964:
"Turkish Cypriots not in possession of a permit are prohibited to enter the Greek sector.

1. Those who disobey the order with a view to trading with Greek Cypriots should pay a fine of £25 or be punished with imprisonment.

2. A fine will be imposed on:-

(a) Those who converse or enter into negotiations with Greek Cypriots or accompany any stranger into our sector.

(b) Those who come into contact with Greek Cypriots for any official work.

(c) Those who appear before Greek Cypriot courts.

(d) Those who visit the Greek Cypriot hospitals for examination or in order to obtain pharmaceuticals ....

3. A fine of £25 or other severe punishment and one months imprisonment or whipping should be imposed on those who enter the Greek Cypriot sector:-

(a) For Promenade.

(b) For friendly association with Greek Cypriots.

(c) For amusement...."
The UN, however, managed to make them lift the sanctions. The living conditions in the enclaves were very poor, even though the Turkish government sent food and supplies. The Greek government of George Papandreou secretly sent an army division (about 10000 men) in Cyprus.

Dean Acheson proposed uniting Cyprus with Greece and giving Turkey a big military base on the north coast. George Papandreou's comment was : "We are offered a building with only being asked for the penthouse", however both his son and minister Andreas Papandreou and Makarios were not satisfied considering it a partition plan.

Following the military coup d'état in Greece in 1967 and the installation of an American backed junta, Turkish Cypriot terrorist action intensified as the Turkish military saw an opportunity to form a bridgehead in the south. Turkish paramilitaries occupied positions on the high ground above Ayios Theodoros, the neighbouring village to Kofinou and thus prevented access to the junction of the Larnaka to Limasol main highway. Cypriot police patrols that tired to keep the junction open were repeatedly fired at and eventually armed conflict resulted prompting an appeal from the President of the Security Council on 24 November 1967. American intervention led to the withdrawal of the Greek army division. President Makarios distanced himself from his earlier enosis convictions in his 1968 presidential campaign and argued for the independence of Cyprus. There were negotiations between the two communities and there was relative peace until 1974. The Greek junta, however, began supporting armed Anti-Makarios groups with the backing of the American CIA such as Ethniko Metopo (National Front) and EOKA B.

In 1971, General Grivas returned to Cyprus and started a guerilla war against Makarios resurrecting EOKA (as EOKA B) which he led until his death in January 1974.

The Turkish occupation of Cyprus

During the spring of 1974, Cypriot intelligence found evidence that EOKA B was planning a coup and was being supplied, controlled, and funded by the military government in Athens. Early in July, Makarios wrote to the president of Greece, accusing the junta of plotting against his life and against the government of Cyprus.

Declassified top secret US documents reveal that National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger who was effectively in change of the US government during the Watergate crisis gave the order for Makarios assassination in May and June of 1974.

"DEPARTMENT OF STATE
TELEGRAM

TOP SECRET 4398

RAGE 01 WHASHINGTON DC 041622Z

11

ACTION K-12

INFO CO 03 ISO - CP C

R41317Z MAY 74
FM SECSTATE WASHDC 5954
TO AMEMBASSY NICOSIA

TOPSEC WASHDC 4398

SUBJECT: FINAL CURE

H PASS: AMBASSADOR/COS ME

THERE: YOU WILL PROCEED TO THE FINAL CURE OF THE ARCHBISHOP MAKARIOS.
THE FINAL CURE IS A DECISION OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL/PRM-42.
FOLLOW THE SPECIAL DIRECTIONS.
KISSINGER

TOP SECRET 4398"

"DEPARTMENT OF STATE

TELEGRAM

TOP SECRET 6374

PAGE 01 WASHINGTON DC 041842

11

ACTION K-12

INFO OCT-01 ISO /006 ME

R 041329Z JUN 74
FM SECSTATE WASH 5954
TO AMCOS/MIDEAST

TOPSEC WASHDC 6374

SUBJECT: AMBASSODOR OF CYPRUS

CLEAN THE TABLE OF OUR AMBASSADOR IN CYPRUS, THE CLEANING IS A DECISION OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL/PM-36
FOLLOW THE PROGRAM DIRECTLY
KISSINGER

TOP SECRET 6374"

Makarios sent his letter to the Greek president on July 2, 1974; the reply came 13 days later, not in the form of a letter but in an order from Athens to the Cypriot National Guard to overthrow its commander in chief and take control of the island. The United States had planned the coup against Makarios from the start because he would not agree to the partition of Cyprus.

Makarios narrowly escaped death in the attack. He fled the presidential palace and went to Pafos, where the British managed to retrieve him and smuggle him out of the country.

In the meantime, the EOKA B member Nicos Sampson was declared provisional president of the new government after Glafkos Clerides who was the coupists original candidate declined the offer at the last moement.

Seizing the opportunity of an island in turmoil, Turkey invaded on July 20, 1974, with troops landing shortly before dawn at Kyrenia (Girne) on the northern coast. Ankara claimed that it was invoking its right under the Treaty of Guarantee to protect the Turkish Cypriots and guarantee the independence of Cyprus – a claim which is inconsistent with both the Treaty of Guarantee and Article 2 Paragraph 4 of the UN Charter which outlaws all military intervention in the affairs of an independent state without the approval of the Security Council and which until the present day is contested by Greeks and Greek Cypriots.

Democracy was restored in Cyprus eight days after the coup against Makarios and a ceasefire was declared with Turkey occupying 3% of Cyprus territory.

On 9 August 1974, when Turkey held only the narrow Kyrenia-Nicosia corridor, the Turkish foreign minister handed an ultimatum to the Greek Cypriot negotiator Glafkos Clerides demanding the immediate cessation of 35% of Cypriot territory to the Turkish army.

Tureky then lauched a second invasion on August 14, and proceeded to annex and brutally ethnically cleanse 37% of the island, from Morphou Bay in the west, through Lefkosia, to Famagusta in the east.

After repeated threats by Turkey that it would bomb the free areas the Cyprus government and United Nations consented to the transfer of 60,000 Turkish Cypriots to settle in the north.

20,000 Greek Cypriots who were enclaved in the occupied Karpass peninsula in 1975 were subjected by the Turks to systematic violations of their basic human rights so that by 2001 when the European Court of Human Rights found Turkey guilty of the systematic violation of 14 articles of the European Convention of Human Rights in its judgment of Cyprus v. Turkey (application no. 25781/94) less than 600 still remained.

Since the Turkish invasion and occupation of the northern third of the island over 120,000 illegal Turkish colonists have been imported from Anatolia in violation of Article 49 of the Geneva Convention, to occupy the homes of the Greek Cypriot refugees.

Negotiations and developments between 1974 and 1979

How the negotiations began

The Turkish military invasion changed the attitude of the United Nations towards the conflict on the island. In resolution No. 353 (external link), the UN Security Council called upon all states to "respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Cyprus" and demanded "an immediate end to foreign military intervention" as well as the "withdrawal ... of foreign military personnel present otherwise than under the authority of international agreements" (remark: the Turkish government claimed that their intervention was within the guarantee treaties, something which is heavily contested by the Greek government). After the second military intervention of Turkey on Cyprus, right after the failed negotiations in Geneva, the UN in its general assembly resolution 3212 demanded negotiations, which eventually took place in 1975.

Results of the negotiations

On February 12, 1977, Makarios and Rauf Denktaş signed an agreement laying the basis for further negotiations. Both sides agreed on their common aim to form an independent and bicommunal federal republic, stating that the definition of respective territory should be made according to the principles of economic potential, productivity and land ownership. On March 19, 1979, Kyprianou – successor of the late Makarios – and Denktaş concluded an agreement consisting of 10 major points. In this agreement, both parties agreed that the agreement dating from 1977 and the UN resolutions should form the basis of further negotiations, and that human rights as well as the civil rights of all citizens should be respected. Both parties agreed that the independence, sovereignty and non-alignment of Cyprus should be upheld; and it was also agreed that neither the island nor part of it would search to unite with any country, and that it was one country with no room for either enosis or taksim.

Negotiations and developments between 1980 and 1997

UN Resolution No. 37/253

On May 16, 1983, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution no. 37/253, initiated by the Spyros Kyprianou (external link). The Greek Cypriots celebrated it as a victory on international level, while the Turkish Cypriots called it an "execution order". The resolution demanded "the immediate withdrawal of all occupation forces from the Republic of Cyprus", welcomed the proposal for total demilitarization made by the Greek Cypriots and considered "that the de facto situation created by the force of arms should not be allowed to influence or in any way affect the solution of the problem of Cyprus".

The Turkish Cypriots' reaction was to declare the independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Only three days later, the UN Security Council declared this declaration of independence to be invalid. Ever since, only Turkey has recognised the TRNC as an independent state.

The New York negotiations

In September 1984, the negotiations continued in New York. At the end of the third round of negotiations, on November 24, 1984, the Secretary-General made a proposal based on an offer from Turkey for an independent, non-aligned, federal and bizonal republic, in which both communities were to enjoy equal political status. The proposal also included the conceding of 25% of Turkish Cypriot-administered territory to the Greek Cypriots and it also provided for the partial withdrawal of Turkish troops. Rauf Denktaş accepted the agreement with the provision that the Greek Cypriot side should accept it without any changes. A breakthrough seemed possible only to those who were so short sighted as to ignore the concerns of the Greek Cypriots. In January 1985, when the agreement was to be signed, Spyros Kyprianou voiced his objection with the backing of Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, as the agreement only provided for a partial withdrawal of the Turkish troops, not a total one. He asked for a reopening of the negotiations. Kyprianou's objection was met with support from the vast majority of the Greek Cypriot population who felt that such an agreement was neither democratic nor did it respect their basic human rights. The Turkish Cypriots considered this position a rejection of the solution in form of a bizonal federal state. A new proposal worked out by the UN Secretary-General Pérez de Cuéllar was rejected by Denktaş in April 1985, the reason being that the Turkish Cypriot side had not taken part in the working out of this plan.

The negotiations were stalled for a few years. Only when George Vasiliou was elected president of the Republic of Cyprus in 1988 were negotiations reopened. On January 30, 1989, the general conditions for the foundation of a federal republic and the solution of the Cyprus issue were presented to the UN. The talks between Vassiliou and Denktaş were conducted without help of the UN, but did not produce any results, as no compromise could be achieved regarding the level of sovereignty of the two constituent states.

The set of ideas

The set of ideas, worked out by UN Secretary-General Pérez de Cuéllar, was the most extensive and detailed proposal for the solution of the Cyprus conflict at that time. Its intention was to have both parties distance themselves from former positions. It provided for the establishment of three basic rights; it denied, however, the Greek Cypriot demands that all Greek Cypriots should have the right to return to their former homes. The treaties of guarantee dating form 1960 were confirmed, leaving both Greece and Turkey with the right to station troops "of equal force" on the island. Vassiliou agreed to the set of ideas; this time, the negotiations were blocked by Denktaş, who rejected the planned border drawing.

More measures taken by the UN

After the failure of the set of ideas, the UN put a stress on confidence-building measures on Cyprus. These included a perceivable reduction of Turkish troops on Cyprus, a reduction of Greek Cypriot military expenses, bicommunal contacts on expert level, cooperation on the issue of fresh water supply (a topic problematic for both sides) and on the reopening of the airport of Nikosia, as well as the return of the abandoned city of Varosha to the Greek Cypriots. After a promising start of negotiations, these proposals failed to produce any results. The Greek Cypriots feared that these confidence-building measures would recognise the existence of a Turkish Cypriot state. In the end, the Greek Cypriot president Glafkos Klerides aborted the negotiations, accusing the UN to have unilaterally concluded deals with the Turkish Cypriots.

The application for accession to the European Union by the Republic of Cyprus in 1990 introduced another controversial topic into the discussion of the Cyprus situation. The Turkish Cypriot government as well as the Turkish one protested, claiming that the Greek Cypriot government could not claim sole representation of the island. While the Greek Cypriots praised the positive effect the accession would have on the solution of the Cyprus issue, Denktaş rigorously rejected this argument and put forth that the conditions for his approval to the plan were EU membership for Turkey and the solution of the Cyprus question.

In June 1997, Klerides and Denktaş met in New York; the talks yielded no results, however both politicians agreed on discussing humanitarian questions during the following round of talks. The last round of negotiations took part in Switzerland in 1997, again without any results: The EU in the meantime had decided to invite the Republic of Cyprus for accession negotiations.

Endeavours on reunification and accession to the EU

Three parts

A possible reunification of the island will affect three parts

• The Republic of Cyprus, is officially recognised as the sole representative of the island and all of its territory and people (mostly populated by Greek Cypriots, with a small Turkish Cypriot minority).
• The northern part of the island, occupied by Turkish troops, calling itself Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (populated by Turkish Cypriots and mainland Turkish people outnumbering them 2:1, with smaller Greek Cypriot and Maronite minorities) is not recognised by any other country except Turkey.
• The sovereign military bases of the United Kingdom.
  (The United Nations controlled buffer zone is considered to be part of the Republic of Cyprus.)
  In the case of a reunification, the UK have already announced that they would give up at least part of their territories. Simultaneously, a tripling of the UN contingent is expected. Currently, however, the EU has suspended the Acquis Communitaire in the occupied areas but has decided to allow limited travel of persons and goods in both directions, for the first time since 1974 under strict conditions following the adoption of the Green Line regulation.
  

  Cyprus' EU accession

The UN plan for the reunification of Cyprus (Annan Plan)

The proposed government form was a loose confederation of two associated states. The northern Turkish Cypriot State would emcompass about 28.5% of the total surface, the southern Greek Cypriot State 71.5% (currently TRNC holds about 36% of the total surface. It is claimed that 90% of the legitimate population and property owners are Greek Cypriot refugees). Kofi Annan had presented two different maps for the partitioning.

Each part would have had its own parliament, with a bicameral parliament on the federal level. In the Chamber of Deputies, the Turkish Cypriots would have been represented as more than double their actual proportion of the population (one quarter Turkish Cypriots, three qaurters Greek Cypriots). The Senate would have consisted of equal parts of members of each ethnic group.

A demilitarisation was envisioned: a reduction of the stationed Turkish troops from 35,000 to 6,000 was planned in the long term; Greece would have had the right to station 2,000 troops on the island. Both states, as well as the British Crown, would have remained guarantors of the peace and all current residents of TRNC, some of which are claimed to have immigrated from Turkey after the intervention of 1974, would have been given full citizenship.

Final negotiations and referendum

At the end of the final negotiations in Switzerland in March 2004, a consensus was not achieved. The aim of the negotiations was to reunify the island before the Enlargement of the EU in 2004. Under leadership of the UN and most especially Kofi Annan, the plan was revised several times. It provided for a loose confederation of the two parts, which was supposed to be based on Swiss model, but critisized to be nothing to do with it by conservatives from both sides. The agreement included many constraints for the Greek Cypriots, which was claimed to potentially result in serious permanent violations of their democratic and human rights, most significantly a limited right of return to the northern confederate state with no right to vote unless they spoke fluent Turkish. On the other hand, conservative Turkish Cypriots, led by Rauf Denktash, were critical about the plan with similar concerns about the rights of Turkish Cypriots.

The referendum on April 24, 2004, put an end to the plan: Tasos Papadopoulos, the president of Republic of Cyprus, urged the Greek Cypriot community to vote no in the referendum on the UN's 11th hour revised settlement plan. For the plan to be put in effect, both parts of the island would have had to approve it. While the Turkish Cypriots approved the plan with a two third majority, only one quarter of the Greek Cypriots voted in favor. As a result, the whole island joined the EU on May 1, 2004 with the EU acquis suspended in the de-facto independent north.

Detailed results:

On 17 April 2005, Rauf Denktash, the president of TRNC, left his office to the newly elected Mehmet Ali Talat. Denktash has been accused of blocking a solution by not only Greek side, but also the Turkish Cypriots. Talat, on the other hand, is assumed to be in favor of a solution, but is critisized by some Turkish Cypriots as willing to trade the rights of Turkish Cypriots in exchange with EU accession. On the Greek side, Papadopoulos remains to be the major influential figure and his policy appears to be postponing dialogue as much as possible, given that Republic of Cyprus is already in EU and TRNC is unrecognized. Moreover, the presidential elections in TRNC did not receive any public attention in Republic of Cyprus, which raised concerns about the willingness of Greek Cypriot population about a peaceful solutions.

External links