Freedom in the World 2001 - Cyprus

2001 Scores

Status: Free
Freedom Rating: 1.0
Civil Liberties: 1
Political Rights: 1

Overview

Resolution of the conflict that has kept Cyprus divided since 1974 continued to prove elusive throughout the year. United Nations-sponsored "proximity" talks, so-called because the two Cypriot leaders refuse to meet face-to-face and only in proximity to one another through intermediaries, took place in New York in September and with no substantive results. Talks resumed in November in Europe but quickly collapsed.

Annexed to Britain in 1914, Cyprus gained independence in 1960 after a ten-year guerrilla campaign to demand union with Greece. In July 1974, Greek Cypriot national guard members, backed by the military junta in power in Greece, staged an unsuccessful coup aimed at unification. Five days later, Turkey invaded, seized control of 37 percent of the island, and expelled 200,000 Greeks from the north. Currently, the entire Turkish Cypriot community resides in the north, and property claims arising from the division and population exchange remain unsettled.

A buffer zone called the "Green Line" has divided Cyprus since 1974. The capital, Nicosia, is the world's last divided city. The division of Cyprus has been a major point of contention in the long-standing rivalry between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean. Tensions and intermittent violence between the two populations have plagued the island since independence. UN resolutions stipulate that Cyprus is a single country of which the northern third is illegally occupied. In 1982, Turkish-controlled Cyprus made a unilateral declaration of independence that was condemned by the UN and that remains unrecognized by every country except Turkey. [See Turkish Cyprus under Related Territories.]

Cypriot president Glafcos Clerides attended negotiations in New York in September 2000, organized to lay the groundwork for meaningful negotiations toward a comprehensive settlement of the conflict. The negotiations marked the fourth round of proximity talks which began in December 1999 under UN auspices. UN mediators, hoping the round of talks would address the core issues – and historic deal breakers – of territorial allotment and reunification, insisted that each party to the conflict treat the other as political equals. Taking this to mean that Turkish Cyprus had a claim to independent statehood in its own right, Clerides balked, objecting to what he perceived as a slight to his status as president of all of Cyprus. Negotiations resumed in November but ended abruptly, with the two sides unable to narrow their differences. The collapse of the talks further imperiled Turkey's chances of ascension to the European Union.

Peace in Cyprus remains fragile. Propaganda in schools and in the media has sustained hostility among Cypriot youth. Blatant economic disparity exists between the prosperous south and the stagnating north. Cyprus ranks among the most heavily militarized countries in the world.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Greek Cypriots can change their government democratically. Suffrage is universal and compulsory, and elections are free and fair. The 1960 constitution established an ethnically representative system designed to protect the interests of both Greek and Turkish Cypriots. The independent judiciary operates according to the British tradition, upholding the presumption of innocence and the right to due process. Trial before a judge is standard, although requests for trial by jury are regularly granted.

Freedom of speech is respected, and a vibrant independent press frequently criticizes authorities. Several private television and radio stations in the Greek Cypriot community compete effectively with government-controlled stations. In addition, the government also publishes a Cyprus Internet home page, which features information regarding efforts to resolve the island's protracted dispute as well as regarding current developments and policy statements by Cypriot leaders.

Cypriot authorities moved to counter the influence of alleged religious cults operating on the island, some of which use religion to mask illegal activities such as drug trafficking. While necessitating close monitoring of suspect religious groups, and not ruling out potential crackdowns, authorities assured citizens during the year that they would act within the guidelines of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its provisions protecting religious freedom.