ABSTRACT
The rise of ethnicity as a governing force resulted directly from colonial rule and, since the 1950s, Cyprus has remained an almost continuous flashpoint. It is no exaggeration to suggest that Greek-Turkish relations and the security of the eastern Mediterranean depend crucially upon a settlement of the Cyprus issue. The National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters (EOKA) for the Greeks and the Turkish Resistance Organisation (TMT) for the Turks. Segregation was re-enforced and the best-known movement against the islands president Archbishop Makarios was that calling for enosis with Greece. The Greek Cypriot government controls the southern 70 per cent of the island and the northern third now forms the Turkish republic of Northern Cyprus. Furthermore, improved relations between Greece and Turkey would bring stability to the southern flank of NATO. Another key issue is the importance of Turkey in the development of the Black Sea and the Caspian Basin. The Cyprus problem is therefore multi-layered and far reaching.
