Another tragic consequence of the Turkish aggression against Cyprus is the case of those Greek Cypriots who remained in their homes in the areas of the island occupied by the Turkish armed forces.
In August 1974, 20.000 Greek Cypriots (out of the 200.000 who were living in those areas before the Turkish invasion of the island) decided to remain in their homes under Turkish occupation. In August 1975 an agreement was reached in Vienna, providing that those Greek Cypriots who remained in the Turkish occupied areas were to be given “every help to lead a normal life, including facilities for education and for the practice of their religion, as well as medical care and freedom of movement”. Unfortunately, Turkey has never implemented the provisions of the Vienna Agreement. On the contrary, in an attempt to take advantage of the de facto situation and divide the island by changing its demographic character, Turkey has implemented a series of well-planned coercive and suppressive measures, imposed on the Greek Cypriot “enclaved”, in order to force them to leave their homes and properties.
It is interesting to point out that in 1975 only 9.600 “enclaved” were still living in the occupied areas of Cyprus, while their number was decreased to 685 in 1996 and 631 in Junuary 1998.
It must be stressed that the homes and properties of those Greek Cypriot “enclaved” who are forced to move to the government-controlled areas of Cyprus are given to Turkish settlers who were illegally brought from mainland Turkey to the occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus.
21/07/09_Adapted from The Pancyprian Association for the Protection of Human Rights
