COEXISTENCE IN THE DISAPPEARED MIXED NEIGHBOURHOODS OF NICOSIA

During the mediaeval period, the Pedios river used to run in the middle of Nicosia. When the Venetians decided to build the walls surrounding the town in 1567, the river’s bed was diverted for strategic reasons outside the walls, following its present course through the Greater Nicosia. The old river-bed within the present city walls from Paphos Gate to Famagusta Gate was covered in 1882 by the British in order to serve as the city’s principal drainage system. This line follows today’s Paphos Street and the Ermu Street, which were both lively centres for trade. There were four bridges on this river-bed: First one was near the Paphos Gate, the second was at the place, where we call now Lokmadji Gate, the third was at the junction, where the Goldsmithstreet near the Municipality Bazaar crosses the Tricoupis Street and this was called Köprübaşı (Head of the Gate) and the fourth one was at Tahtagala Neighbourhood.   

At the time of the Ottoman conquest of Nicosia in 1570, the town was originally divided into 12 neighbourhoods and the 12 generals in command of the divisions of the Ottoman Army, which conquered the island, were posted to these neighbourhoods, so that the names were said to be derived from these 12 generals, like Arab Ahmet Paşa, İbrahim Paşa and Mahmut Paşa.

Later the old city Nicosia was divided into 24 neighbourhoods. Each neighbourhood was organized around a mosque or a church, where mainly the respective Moslem and Christian communities lived. It was natural to have a church near a mosque or mesdjit and the hodja’s call for the prayers could get mixed with the sound of the church bells. For example behind the Dükkanlarönü Djami on the Paphos Street, there were the Armenian and the Catholic Churches or the Ayios Loucas Church was near the Akkavuk Mesdjit. Near the Phaneromeni Church was the Araplar Mosque, which was used until 1951.  

In some neighbourhoods, the majority population were Turkish Cypriots and in the others the Greek Cypriots. In the Arab Ahmet and Karamanzade neighbourhoods, the Armenian Cypriots were the majority. Almost all of the Nicosians were living mixed, in other words the Mohammedans or the Turkish Cypriots and the Christians or the Greek Cypriots and the other ethnicities used to live as neighbours side by side.

In the census of 1946, the population of Nicosia was 34,485 and in this census report, the distribution of the population was given for the first time not as “Moslems” and “non-Moslems”, but according to their ethnic origins, such as Turks, Greeks, Armenians, Maronites etc.

In 1946, there were 10,330 Turkish Cypriots, 20,768 Greek Cypriots and 3,387 persons of ethnic origin living in Nicosia.

Population in Nicosia in 1946

Neighbourhood                      Christian         Moslem           Others            Total

1. Abdi Çavuş                         74                    799                  29                    902

2. Akkavuk                             107                  1094                1                      1202

3. Arab Ahmet                       576                  846                  1195                2617

4. Aya Sofya                          632                  1239                65                    1936

5. Ayii Omoloyitadhes           1678                9                      123                  1810

6. Ayios Andreas

    (Tophane)                           2224                152                  636                  3012

7. Ay.Antonios                        2045                   7                    38                    2090

8. Ay.Ioannis                          1375                  57                    4                      1436

9. Ay.Kassianos

      (Kafesli)                            1061                115                  1                      1177

10. Ay.Loucas                         263                  536                  7                      806

11. Ay.Savas                          1211                39                    16                    1266

12. Haydar Paşa                     45                    334                  6                      385

13. İbrahim Paşa                    650                  1539                145                  2334

14. Karamanzade                   124                  61                    412                  597

15. Chrysaliniotissa                865                  29                    7                      901

16. Korkut Efendi &

      İplik Pazarı                       116                  232                  208                  556

17. Mahmut Paşa                    61                    713                  101                  875

18. Nöbethane                        438                  19                    63                    520

19. Ömerge                             917                  249                  27                    1193

20. Phaneromeni                    1065                10                    13                    1088

21. Tahtakale                          902                  518                  13                    1433

22. Tabakhane                         701                  20                    36                    757

23. Tripiotis                            2982                27                    238                  3247

24. Yeni Cami                          656                  1686                3                      2345

Total:                                      20,768             10,330             3,387               34,485

Within the walls:                    24,967

Outside the walls:                    9,518 in quarters like Köşklüçiftlik (part of Arab Ahmet Neighb.), Yeni Kapı (New Gate-part of Yeni Djami N.) and Yeni Şehir (Neapolis-part of Ibrahim Pasha N.).

In the outskirts of  the old city Nicosia, there were 9 villages, where a total of 18,839 persons were living. These villages were Ayios Dhometios (Incirli), Eylenje, Hamit Mandraları, Büyük Kaymaklı, Küçük Kaymaklı (Omorphita), Ortaköy, Pallouriotissa, Strovolos and Trakhonas (Kızılbaş).

(Source: Report by D.A.Percival, Cyprus: Census of Population and Agriculture, 1946, Report and Tables, London 1949)

ARAP AHMET NEIGHBOURHOOD

Arab Ahmet neighbourhood was the most prestigious residential area of Nicosia, where the Turkish high-ranking officials and the Kadis and the Pashas had their homes. First of all it was near the old Ottoman Saray (previously Lusignan palace) and easy for the high-ranking officials to go to their work on foot. Secondly it was the coolest place in the evening during the summer. Because it could get the best of the evening breeze, coming from the west, from the direction of the Morphou Bay into the Mesoira plane.

When the Turks arrived, they confiscated the houses, the churches and the other properties of the Latins and settled mainly in the towns and in the empty Latin villages. The Greek Cypriots, the Armenians and the Maronites continued their living in their traditional quarters of the towns and the villages.

The Armenian Cypriots did not like the Latins and it was recorded that they opened the Paphos Gate and helped the Ottoman soldiers to enter into Nicosia during the siege of the town on 9th September 1570. Later the control of the Paphos Gate was given to the Armenians as a gift, together with the Benedictine Monastry, which was used by the Latins. With a special firman of the Ottoman Sultan, the Armenians could use for their religious services both the Monastry and the Church near the Paphos Gate.

Many other Armenians, who escaped from the massacre in Anatolia, settled in the Arab Ahmet neighbourhood and lived there until the inter-communal troubles of 1963, when they were forced by the TMT, the Turkish Cypriot fascist organization, to leave to the south of the Green Line.

Since most of the Armenians, who came from Anatolia could speak the Turkish language, they preferred to live side by side with the Turkish Cypriots, using the same language. The Armenians were known as tradesmen and they were famous especially in the fields of jewelry, tailory, photography and carpet-selling.

During the Ottoman period, the Lusignan Palace in Sarayonu Square was taken over by the Turkish governor of the island and until the British demolished it in 1905, one could see its last remains. The British built there in 1901 the present Law Courts. The only remains of this Lusignan Palace is a unique carved window in Gothic style, common to cathedrals in the 15th century, which is kept now in the Lapidary Museum near Ayia Sophia Mosque.

Until the inter-communal troubles started in 1956, there were a lot of law offices around the Nicosia Sarayonu Law Courts, belonging to the famous Greek Cypriot lawyers like John Clerides, the father of Glafkos Clerides. The Nicosia main police station was also near Sarayonu Square during the British rule.

TOPHANE NEIGHBOURHOOD

Tophane was another prestigious neighbourhood, where Turkish, Greek and Armenian Cypriots used to coexist together with the Latins. Tophane means literally in Turkish the cannon’s house or the store for artillery ammunition. The mediaeval building near the Paphos Gate, Casteliotissa, was originally a part of the second Royal Palace of the Lusignans and it was used as a munitions-store by the Ottomans. Tophane gave the name of the nearby neighbourhood.

The Turkish Cypriot writer Hizber Hikmetagalar describes in his book “Heighbourhoods and Memories from old Nicosia” some Turkish and Armenian families from the Tophane neighbourhood, where Turkish Cypriots, Greek Cypriots, Armenians and Latins were living side by side until 1950’s.

In September 1945, the Ottoman name of the Tophane neighbourhood was changed into Ayios Andreas. The nearby small neighbourhoods of Tabakhane and Nöbethane were abolished and attached to the Ayios Andreas neighbourhood, which after this had two muhtars, a Turkish Cypriot and a Greek Cypriot.

The Turkish Cypriot daily newspaper Yankı wrote that a new church was to be built further to that neighbourhood near the Pedios river and Ayios Andreas would be the name of this church. Yankı was complaining on 17 September 1945 that there were Turkish Cypriot villages in Paphos district with the names of the Christian saints, like Ayios Nicholas, Ayios Yannis and that these names were never tried to be changed by the Turkish Cypriots. The daily Halkın Sesi reported on 16 October 1945 that all the three Turkish Cypriot members of the Nicosia Municipality Council gave a protest letter about this alteration to the Nicosia Commissioner on 15 October 1945, to be handed over to the British Governor.

The columnist Yavuz wrote in Halkın Sesi on 19 Ekim 1945 that the name of the Alemdar (Bairaktar) Street, used for 370 years, had been changed previously into Tricoupis Street. Hasan Fahri Uzman wrote on the same issue in Yankı newspaper on 29 October 1945 that the name of a historical Turkish neighbourhood was changed with the stroke of a pencil and that the British still use the Tophane as a store for armaments, which gave the name to the neighbourhood.

Ouzunian was the only Armenian street name in the Tophane neighbourhood. When Dikran Ouzunian bought the garden of a Turkish Cypriot, named Hadji Sofu, he parcelled the garden. The new street passing through the plot was given after his name. Nearby was the Tophane Mesdjidi.

No Turkish Cypriot was living in this neighbourhood after 1960 and the last Turkish name of the Tophane Mesdjidi Street, which was mainly resided by the Turkish Cypriots, was changed into Granikou Street after 1963.

Nöbethane was the headquarters of the Ottoman soldiers, patrolling the town. Until he died in 1956, Hodja Salih Efendi used to open the Nöbethane Mesdjit at the corner of the Pygmalion (previously Çizmeci) Street and the Paleon Patron Germanou (previously Usta Kadi) Streets. Artemis Street was previously called Nöbethane Street. Several shops were built in the garden of the mesdjit, hiding the main building behind them.

Tabakhane (the tannery) Mesdjit was on the Pericleus Street (previously Kalkancı Street), where Musa Nami Efendi used to live. He was a Turkish Cypriot village judge and one of the founders of the Nicosia Turkish Bank. His son Şevket Nami was also a village judge, later a tradesman on the Ledra Street as the general distributor of many trademarks for Cyprus like Quink, Parker, His Master’s Voice, Singer and Hilmann. Musa Efendi’s other son, Reşit Nomer was a judge in Istanbul. His daughter Nezire Hanım lived in their family house in the Pericleous Street until she died in 1960, as the last Turkish Cypriot, living in this neighbourhood.

Famous Turkish Cypriot tanners, who used to work at the tannery and live nearby within the walled city at the Tabakhane Neighbourhood, were Hallumazade Tabak Hacı Salih Ağa, Tabak Hacı Mehmet Bektaş Efendi, Debbağ Fellah Efendi, Tabak Emin Efendi (Grandfather of Kemal Rustem) and Tabak Mulla İsmail Ağa. Pharmacist Hasan Hilmi Bey, who was the father of Mrs. Şefika Durduran, used to live in the Megalu Aleksandru (Ahmet Efendi) Street. Old police chief Ali Raci Bey had to move to Izzet Efendi Street near Ayia Sophia, because his children were being harassed by the Greek Cypriot boys. He was the next door to Prof. Dervish Manizade’s home, whose family were living also in the same Vasilis Vulgaroktonou (Behçet Efendi) Street.

The famous bar of Antonaki was also on this street, serving all the ethnic communities of Nicosia like the other well-known bar, which belonged to the Armenian Cypriot Gamavor.

MUNICIPAL OR PUBLIC GARDEN (MİLLET BAHÇASI)

Tannery was a traditional Turkish artisanship and the working place was just outside the Paphos Gate. After the British took over the administration of the island in 1878, they decided in 1890’s to move the tannery away from the town, to Köşklüçiftlik (old name was Tabana=Tabakhane), near the Pedios river. Later, when Koskluciftlik was populated with Turkish and Armenian houses, starting from 1930 onwards, the tannery was moved to another place near Piroyi village in 1953.

The site of the original tannery near Paphos Gate, which was Evkaf property, was turned into a public garden by the Nicosia Municipality, according to a proposal of the then British Delegate of Evkaf. Later this garden became the most popular and respected place for strolling Nicosians. When the Nicosia General Hospital was built in 1925 on a nearby plot, the importance of the Public Garden grew. There was a wooden pergola in the middle of the garden. Every Sunday the police band would give an open air concert under this pergola and the people used to go and listen to them as a weekend entertainment.

According to an article published in Hürsöz of 19 July 1953 under the title “Ahirevan Dede?”, the  grave of the master of the old tanners was kept in the Public Gardens until the beginning of the 1950’s. This grave, which was supposed to belong to a certain “Vah Veli” (like the Grandfather Ahirevan-Shieh of the Tannery Guild), used to be visited by the newcomers to the profession as a respect. The Hürsöz writer was complaining that some Greek Cypriots hanged a picture there and started to call this grave as “Ayios Dimitrios”. He called the Evkaf Administration to take action against the decision of the Municipality Council, headed by the Greek Cypriot nationalist Dr. Dervis that changed the name.

TAHTAKALE

Tahtakale is the neighbourhood, near the Famagusta Gate. The Ottomans named it as “Taht-el-kale”, meaning the lower part of the fortress, i.e. Famagusta Gate. But the word was corrupted as “Tahtakale or Tahtagala”, meaning wooden fortress. The street going from the gate to the west was called Çarşı (Market) Street, now the Ammohosto Street.

Tahtakale was one of the biggest mixed neighbourhoods of Nicosia with a population of 518 Turkish Cypriots and 902 Greek Cypriots. Now the only sign of this coexistence is the Tahtakale Mosque and the Koran School, which were built in 1826 by the Ottoman Governor Es-Seyyid Mehmet Ağa, at the same place of the old mosque. There were also a small graveyard and a koran school for the minors, which had its first teacher appointed in 1594. The Evkaf Administration built shops on the site of the graveyard in the 1950’s. In 1881, there was a fountain near the mosque, which Salvatore draw a picture of it, but it did not survive today. The original minaret was cracked in 1936 and it was rebuilt in 1948.

Hasan Karabardak Ağa was one of the most popular personalities of Tahtagala neighbourhood, where several Turkish Cypriot butchers and cattle-dealers used to live. Karabardak was one of the rich Turkish Cypriots, who were imprisoned during the First World War in the Kyrenia Castle, because they were accused of helping the Germans.

The imam of the Tahtagala Mosque was Ratip Efendi until 1935. He was the father of Ahmet Ziyaeddin Bey, the owner of first Turkish Cypriot macaroni factory. The signboard-maker Cahit Usta was the son of Ahmet Efendi, the muezzin of the Tahtagala Mosque. In front of the mosque was a Greek Cypriot businessman, making gyps-powder out of the baked gyps masses. Behind his shop was the mosaic factory of Pittarilli, that had its entrance from the Ermu Street. The first Turkish Cypriot cheese producers, Ahmet and Hüseyin Efendi brothers, were also among the well-known inhabitants, that had later their workshop in Kaimakli.

The Turkish Cypriots living in the Tahtagala neighbourhood were forced to leave their home twice, in 1958 and in 1963. That is why the younger generations do not remember Tahtagala as a Turkish Cypriot settlement.

OMERIYE

In the southern part of Nicosia and again near the Archbishopric there is another neighbourhood, called Omeriye with a population of 249 Turkish Cypriots and 917 Greek Cypriots in 1946. The Omeriye Mosque was the second biggest Christian place of worship after Ayia Sophia Cathedral in Nicosia, which was turned into a mosque by the Ottomans after the conquest of Nicosia. It was believed that Chalif Omer prayed in the sofa of this Chapel of St.Marie des Augustin. After the conquest, Lala Mustafa Pasha turned it into a mosque.

The last muhtari and muezzin of Omeriye Mosque was Ahmet Seyfi Efendi, who was addicted to snuffing. His daughter, Peyker Hanım was killed by the EOKA fighters, who asked from her a glass of water and as she went to bring it, she was shot from behind.  

The Omeriye Mosque, which has two balconies like the one in Peristerona, is used today by Moslems other than the Turkish Cypriots and the Turkish Bath Omeriye is renovated and is used as a tourist attraction that won a Europa Nostra Prize. The street near the hamam was called Soutsos Street,which was out of bounds as there were borthels, where Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot women were serving the men from both communities. Karannaki was famous helping the youngsters with his syringe after their visits to the borthels. 

Among the Turkish Cypriot big landowners in this neighbourhood, we can name Galip Bey, the shopkeeper; Ata Dayanç, the manifacturer; Ali Riza Efendi, the tradesman; Osman Mısırlızade and others.

WOMEN’S BAZAAR (KADINLAR PAZARI, YENEKOPAZARO)

The Women’s Bazaar was on the east side of the Makri Dromo (Uzun Yol) which is called today Ledra Street and it used to convene on every Friday. It was established in 1850 by the Ottoman governor of Cyprus, Mehmet Ali Pasha, whose aim was to promote the trade within the island. He also established the weekly “Animal Bazaar” outside the Kyrenia Gate. It was originally convened every September for fifteen days and the villagers from far villages used to bring their animals to be sold there. There were also people coming from the neighbouring countries to buy animals and to shop in the Women’s Bazaar. (Ses, 26 February 1937, No.:82)

According to Kevork K.Keshishian, the courtyard of the extensive square block of shops and offices within Ledra, Liperti, Phaneromeni and Nicocles Streets, which belonged to the Phaneromeni Church, was used as Women’s Market. This area was known as the Garden of Orta Odası with a Persian well in the middle (alakadi in Greek and dolap kuyusu in Turkish). The owner lived in Istanbul and in 1893 the Phaneromeni Church Committee bought the place for 1100 Ottoman pounds through the intermediary of Michali Papadopoulos of Istanbul.

AYIOS LOUCAS NEIGHBOURHOOD

Many Greek Cypriots used to live in this neighbourhood around the Ayios Loucas Church in the northern part of Nicosia until the first inter-communal clashes in Nicosia in 1956. Ayios Loucas Church was dedicated to St.Luke and was built in 1758 in dressed limestone during the Ottoman period.

18th October was the day of festivities in the name of  Ayios Loucas, which was the most famous fair (panayiri) within the walls of Nicosia. A four-day- and- four- night-fair was organised annually in honour of Ayios Loucas, during which local products and seasonal fresh fruits and dried fruits, almonds and walnuts were sold, together with delicious shamishi and lokmades. The sweets, called pastellis, were brought in wooden boxes from Kazafani and the sudjuko, paluze and koefteri from the villages of Paphos.

However, by 1956, when the EOKA and later the TMT intensified their terror activities, the Greek Cypriot inhabitants of the Ayios Loucas neighbourhood were forced to leave their homes and also the church was evacuated. The Ayios Loucas Church remained in ruins until it was restored in 1986 and it was allocated to the Turkish Cypriot Folklore Association (HASDER).  

PARTITION POLICY DIVIDED NICOSIA FIRST IN 1956

After the attack of the EOKA on the Turkish Cypriot villagers in Vasilia and the killing of a Turkish Cypriot policeman, who was chasing two EOKA fighters, the inter-communal violence intensified. On 27th April 1956, the Turkish Cypriot newspaper Halkın Sesi wrote in its main title the following:

“Curfew was declared and applied in Nicosia yesterday afternoon from 5 o’clock until 4 o’clock this morning... During the 11 hours of curfew, the town was divided into North and South Nicosia, like East and West Berlin. The street from Paphos Gate until the Famagusta Gate remained closed at all.”

Halkın Sesi wrote in its edition on 28th April 1956:

“The Greek Cypriots, who had their homes, offices or shops in the Turkish neighbourhoods, have started to look for places in the Greek Cypriot neighbourhoods, so that they could abandon their previous dwellings.”

Bozkurt daily newspaper wrote on 3rd June 1957 about the first step of the partition policy of the Turkish Cypriot leadership: “Yesterday, after a meeting of the Cyprus is Turkish Party, the Turkish Cypriot councillors in the Municipalities of Nicosia and other districts gave up their resignations all together.” 

Bozkurt reported on 24th June 1958 that Dr.Tahsin S.Gözmen was named by the T/C leadership as the Turkish Cypriot mayor of the Turkish Cypriot Municipality of Nicosia. The others were named later.

Then came the TMT provocations, when the Turkish Information Centre of the Turkish Consulate in Nicosia was bombed by the TMT on 7th June 1958, after which the Greek Cypriot properties and houses were attacked and put on fire in the mixed neighbourhoods by the Turkish Cypriot terrorists. This was followed on 12th June by the Gönyeli provocation of the British police, where 8 Greek Cypriots were killed.

In June 1958, 600 Greek Cypriot families were forced to leave their traditional neighbourhoods, where they used to live side by side with the Turkish Cypriots. The grocery shops of the Greek Cypriots in the municipality market near the Ayia Sophia Mosque were looted by the Turkish Cypriot terrorists and on 26th June 1958 the municipal market was left to the Turkish Cypriot sector of the divided municipality by the British colonial government.  

The partition line of Nicosia, drawn two years ago in 1956, was running through the Paphos, Ermu and Famagusta Streets and the same line was used in summer 1958 in order to divide the Turkish Cypriot and the Greek Cypriot sector of  Nicosia with the barbed wires, which left the people from either community to the mercy of the other. This so-called Mason-Dixon line was used originally in 1767, because of the border disagreement between the States of Maryland and Pennsylvania in the USA.

It was the same line used again as the basis for the Green-line drawn by a green pencil in December 1963 during the inter-communal clashes. As you know the line dividing Nicosia, which was about 4 miles long (6.4 km) was extended through the whole island along the 180 km. in the summer of 1974, completing the imperialist partition plan of the Anglo-Americans.    

Resources:

1. An, Ahmet, The Values Cyprus Cultivated, Volume: 1 (1782-1899), Ankara 2002 (Turkish)

2. An, Ahmet, The Political History of the Turkish Cypriots (1930-1960): The Forgotten Political

    History of the Turkish Cypriots and the Struggles for the Leadership in the Mirror of the Press,

    Nicosia 2006 (Turkish)

3. Gürkan, Haşmet M., Nicosia of Yesterday and Today, Nicosia 1989 (Turkish)

4. Hikmetağalar, Hizber, Eski Lefkoşa’da Semtler ve Anılar, İstanbul 1996 (Turkish)

5. Keshishian, Kevork K., Nicosia, Capital of Cyprus, Then and Now, Nicosia 1978

6. Kyrris, Costas P., Peaceful Co-existence in Cyprus under British Rule (1878-1959) and

    after Independence: An Outline, Nicosia 1977

      

(This paper was read at the conference, “Nicosia: The Last Divided Capital in Europe”, organized by the London Metropolitan University on 20^th June 2011)

THE HISTORY OF PARTITION OF CYPRUS AND HOW TO AVOID IT THROUGH FEDERALIZATION?

Nowadays almost half of the world’s population lives in the countries, where the constitution and the structure of the state are federal. If we put aside the socialist federalism, implemented in the former socialist countries (e.g. the USSR, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia), the bourgeois federalism is being implemented today in 28 developed and developing countries.

Especially after the Second World War, the former colonialist countries like Great Britain and France practised a new policy of federalism. In this new period of the capitalist general crisis, this federalization of the colonies was realized by bringing federative elements into the constitution of those countries and by making detailed legal arrangements. Through this, the possibility of influencing the character, the structure and the form of the new states, which were about to become independent soon, emerged as an element of the new colonialism. The aim of this new strategy of the imperialist powers was to keep the old colonial territories under their sphere of influence as long as it was possible and to protect their economic and strategic interests under the specific conditions of each region.[1]

  As it will be remembered, this policy was tried to be practised under “self-government” in Cyprus in 1948, but it was not successful, because of the ambition of the Greek Cypriots for enosis[2]. It was in the same year, when the radio monitoring facilities of the British and the Americans were transported from the Middle East to Cyprus[3] and the Great Britain spent 50 million pound sterling for the construction of the two military bases at Dhekelia and Akrotiri villages in Cyprus.

 There are enough archieval material in Claude Nicolet’s book “United States Policy Towards Cyprus, 1954-1974” about the strategic interests of the USA and Great Britain on the island of Cyprus[4]. Both countries have used the policy of “divide and rule” in the past and today. The British are still willing to keep their “sovereign base areas” on Cyprus[5] and the Americans are still willing to keep under security their communication facilities on the island, which they have been using since 1949.[6]

  Prof. Nihat Erim, who was teaching Inter-state Law and Constitutional Law in the University of Ankara, was asked in 1956 by Turkish Prime Minister Adnan Menderes to prepare a report on the Cyprus issue and to help the government in shaping the Turkish policy on Cyprus. Erim was also informed by Menderes that a retired American general, who was a friend of President Eisenhower, was sent to Ankara and he suggested partition, which was accepted as positive.[7]

  Prof. Erim’s first report to the Turkish government had the date of 24 November 1956 and he underlined: “The optimum form of solution is partition of the island of Cyprus. The idea of partition was discussed between the governments of Turkey, Greece, England and America in some secret, official or semi-official negotiations… In view of the probability of the acceptance of the partition proposal, authorized experts should determine as of today how Cyprus would be partitioned, so that it would serve the benefit of the Turkish population in the island and also to the military and economical aspect.” [8]

   We already know that there was an American expert on geography, Dr. Alexander Melamid of the New York University, who was sent to Cyprus after the USA warned England that the threat of communism was increasing in Cyprus. Dr. Melamid made a field research on the island and published his findings in the “Geographical Review” journal in July 1956 under the title “Geographical Distribution of the Communities in Cyprus”[9] The same expert published another article in March 1960 under the title “Partitioned Cyprus: A class study in applied political geography”, proposing two lines for the division of the island, the first one dividing the island as northern and southern parts and the other as eastern and western parts.[10]

  In June 1956, the US President Eisenhower asked his Foreign Minister Dulles during a meeting if it is possible to put an end to the conflict by partitioning the island, shifting the Turkish Cypriots to the northern part?[11] When the US President met British Prime Minister Macmillan in March 1957 in Bermuda island, he told him during the four-day meeting: “The military bases are enough for us. They can divide the rest among themselves.”[12]

The architect of the Turkish policy on Cyprus, Prof.Nihat Erim, suggested in a speech in Ankara on 14 January 1958 that a Turkish state with a population of 120 thousand could be established in Cyprus.  On the other hand, the Turkish Cypriots started to attack the British for the first time on 27/28 January 1958 in order to force the implementation of the partition plan. The common demonstrations of the Greek and Turkish Cypriots on 1 May 1958 against partition and the terror events were followed by a series of murder and intimidation attacks on the progressive Turkish Cypriot workers.[13] In summer 1958, the TMT staged many provocations in order to show that the Turkish Cypriot community should be regarded as one of the main players in the Cyprus problem.

  Nicolet writes: “Zorlu had told Dulles in Washington that the Turkish idea of partition did not necessarily need to include a geographical division of the island. It may be enough, the Foreign Minister had said, “that the two communities ... be given the idea that neither was being governed by the other.” This concept sounded surprisingly compatible with the status of independence of the island.”[14] Thus the Republic of Cyprus, which declared its independence in 1960, was the result of a diplomacy, which was driven “towards some form of partition of Cyprus, if not geographically, then at least in terms of administration.”[15]

According to an evaluation by Prof.Stanley Alexander de Smith, the most complicated and detailed constitution of the world after the constitution of Kenya was prepared in Cyprus. As the rights of the communities were to be controlled through guarantees and limitations and to be balanced, constitutionalism was parallel with communal egoism.[16] Through long and complicated precautions, it was planned to avoid the misuse of the rights by the both sides, but an influential organization of a state was not realized.

           

THE CONFLICT IN 1963 AND THE TURKISH THESIS

When Makarios declared his 13 points of amendments to the Constitution on 6 December 1963, they were immediately rejected by Turkey, since the amendments would give some minority rights to the Turkish Cypriot community.

On 21 December 1963, intercommunal clashes started and the underground organizations, which had their connections with the foreign powers, became influential again in both communities. The Greek Cypriot leadership was aiming the union of the island with Greece and the Turkish Cypriot leadership was planning to create the conditions for the partition of the island. Now Cyprus problem was once again on the international arena.

From Nicolet’s book we read that in a working paper, prepared by Donald A. Wehmeyer, a US legal adviser, on 11 December 1963 that a Treaty of Joint Sovereignty between Greece and Turkey was proposed. Wehmeyer added to his memorandum “Outline of Possible Cyprus Settlement” an important ingredient for a solution, which would be more attractive to Turkey: Cyprus should be divided into provinces. Certain provinces would be administered mainly by Turkish Cypriots and this would create an illusion of partition or federation.[17]

Salahi R.Sonyel writes that the British government hit upon an interesting solution, which was the reconstruction of Cyprus as a federal solution: “Thus on 3 January (1964), Sir Francis Vallat asked H.G.Darwin, a constitutional expert, to produce a paper examining the possibility of dividing Cyprus into a Turkish and a Greek area, which might be formed into a federal state. Even if such a plan was feasible a number of problems were foreseen in its application. Darwin composed a memorandum, in which he suggested a federation of two states, one predominantly of Greek, and the other of Turkish populations. He also suggested an exchange of population in order to realise the Turkish state. The capital of the Turkish state would be Kyrenia.”[18]  

In Summer 1964, Makarios rejected the Acheson Plan, which was discussed in Geneva and which envisaged the union of Cyprus with Greece on the condition that a military base would be given to Turkey in Karpas peninsula. President Makarios was re-elected in 1968 with his new policy of “feasible solution”, instead of enosis.

We read again from Nicolet’s book: “Acheson was fully indulging himself in studying the different proposals that had emerged in Washington throughout spring of 1964. In Brands’ words, “he was ready to devise a plan that would eliminate the Cyprus problem by eliminating Cyprus.” A suggestion he was particularly intrigued with was Don Wehmeyer’s scheme of 24 April, providing enosis with an illusion of partition or federation to the Turks by the establishment of certain provinces to be administered by Turkish Cypriot eparchs, as he cabled to Ball on 8 July.[19] And this was finally realized with a so-called “controlled intervention”[20] in summer 1974, which was decided by the Deputy Foreign Minister of Greece, Christos Ksantopoulos-Palamas and the Turkish Foreign Minister, Osman Olcay. The two ministers met on 3-4 June 1971 during the NATO ministerial meeting in Lisbon and discussed how to get rid of Makarios and put an end to the independence of the Republic of Cyprus by partitioning the island through  “double enosis”.

   

IMPERIALIST CONSPIRACY IN 1974

A de facto situation was created by an aborted coup d’Etat against President Makarios, organized by the fascist Greek junta and its military forces in Cyprus on 15 July 1974. This created an opportunity for Turkey to intervene five days later to the internal affairs of Cyprus. Turkey occupied the 37% of the northern part of the island and on 16 August 1974, on the 16th anniversary of the foundation of the Republic of Cyprus, the island’s territory was partitioned into two regions, one in the North for the Turkish Cypriots and the other in the South for the Greek Cypriots. With the transfer of population across the partition line, a bi-regional ethnically cleansed geographical division was attained de facto. It remained to form a de jure central government for the “federation”, which was the aim of the Turkish government since 1964. 

In a declassified Secret Memorandum sent from Helmut Sonnenfeld, Counselor of the US State Department to Secretary Henry Kissinger on 14 August 1974, the order was this: “...assuming the Turks quickly take Famagusta, privately assure Turks, we will get them a solution involving one third of the island, within some kind of federal arrangement.”[21]

After two further days of fighting, the Turkish military occupied the approximately 37 per cent of Cyprus that it still holds today, according to a plan that had existed since at least 1964, possibly even since the 1950’s.” [22]

Five rounds of intercommunal talks took place in Vienna from 1975 to 1976 and a summit meeting between G/C Leader Makarios and T/C leader Rauf Denktash declared in 1977 their agreement on four guidelines for a solution of the constitutional problem on a bi-communal federal basis. The intercommunal talks continued also after the unilateral declaration of independence in 1983 under the name “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”, which was recognized only by Turkey.

THE WAY TO UNITY IN CYPRUS PASSES FROM REAL FEDERALISM

Some circles seem to accept a federal Cyprus state, which will have a central government with weak authority, when they speak of re-unification of the two separate regions created de facto after 1974. But the official Turkish perception of a federation has the same meaning of a confederation, which envisages the partition of the island. One has to bear in mind here what the former Prime Minister of Turkey, İsmet İnönü spoke about the Turkish policy on Cyprus in the Turkish Grand National Assembly on 8 September 1964.

He underlined: “In order to be within the legal framework, we started to discuss instead of saying officially partition, we say a form of “federation”![23]

This official form of federation is synonymous with confederation, which envisages the partition of the island. Therefore, this statement is very important for the understanding of today’s Turkish policy on Cyprus.

Under the circumstances existing today on our island, the only way out is to transform the existing unitary or functional federal state into a bi-communal, bi-zonal federal state in order to gain the reunification of the state and the island of Cyprus. Therefore the following prerequisites are valid for a federal government, which the British Constitutional expert Sir Kenneth Wheare writes in his book “Federal Government”.[24]   

I quote from Ramesh Dutta Dikshit’s book “The political geography of federalism-An inquiry into its origins and stability” (New York 1975), where he refers to Wheare and writes that Wheare has tried to isolate various factors for union and separation, which appear to him as necessary factors in the origins of federalism. He enumerates the following half-dozen factors, all of which operated in the U.S., Switzerland, Canada and Australia, to produce a desire for union among the communities concerned[25]. Those factors are the following: [26]

1. Need for common defense: Is there a need for common defense for the Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, who have lived over 400 years side by side on this island? Of course there is such a need against imperialism and its aggressive organization NATO, which wishes the partition of the island and to stop the struggle of the people of the island for social liberation. It is imperative for the leaderships of both communities to follow a policy of peaceful coexistence consistently and to put Cyprus out of the sphere of influence of NATO.

2. Desire to be independent of some foreign power and a realization that only through union independence be achieved: From the point of view of the progressive and democratic forces, which have understood that the way to the complete independence of Cyprus is through unity, the demand for being independent from the imperialism and its military bases as well as from the “motherlands” are valid as ever.

3. Expectations of economic advantages from union: Expectations of economic advantages from union are very wide especially among the Turkish Cypriot working masses.

4. Some political association of the units involved prior to their federal union: From the point of view of certain political parties with class approach, there is an association of political aims of the Turkish Cypriots and the Greek Cypriots before the federal union. This association of political aim will be crystalized better in a democratic system.

5. Geographical neighbourhood: Geographical neighbourhood is the most appropriate in Cyprus, where the small island is divided into two.

6. Similarity of political institution. Although there is a similarity of the political institutions on both sides, there is a difference in the level of maturity of the democratic life. But this can be developed with mutual solidarity and especially with the elimination of the anti-democratic elements, without any outside interference. Moreover, there will be common political organizations based on class approach rather than on ethnic-national origin.

It will be noted that Wheare excludes from this list of prerequisites for union, factors such as community of language, of “race”, of religion or of nationality.

To these six prerequisites Wheare adds one more: “Leadership or statesmanship at the right time” which is the most wanted patriotic merit that we need nowadays from all the political leaders in Cyprus.

Another point of view, which should not be overlooked is that the solution of the problem in the concrete conditions of Cyprus depends on one hand on the elimination of the influences of imperialism and neo-colonialism and the military bases and on the other hand to decide how to solve the internal question of nationalities, which I see as the main issue. But the determining factor is not the difference between the two communities. On the contrary, it has to be stressed that the class struggle in the whole country and in the international arena will be decisive.[27]

It seems that the following fear of the imperialists is still valid, first mentioned in the 1989 International Yearbook of Communist Affairs: “If the north and the south of Cyprus will be united in a future “Federal Cyprus”, the electoral power of the Greek and Turkish communists can win the majority of the votes in any Presidential elections of such an unusual government.[28] But here the crucial problem is not, as the bourgeois circles suggest, “which community will govern the other one”, but “which class will have the power in his hand on the whole of the island.” This is my evaluation.

(This paper was read at the two-day Conference entitled “The Cyprus Problem, its Resolution and the Broader Implications” organized by The Center for European and International Affairs” at the University of Nicosia, on 11 and 12 March 2016.)

[1] W.G.Grafski-B.A.Straschun, Federalism in the developing countries of Asia and Africa, Moscow, 1968, quoted in Ertan Yüksel, Federal Solution in Cyprus, Ortam newspaper, Nicosia, 22-23-24 January 1985

[2] Greek word for union of Cyprus with Greece

[3] New York Times, 17 May 1949

[4] Claude Nicolet, Removing the Greek-Turkish Bone of Contention, Mannheim und Möhnesee 2001. For a review of the book, see Ahmet An, The origins of Cyprus Conflict in the light of the American Documents, Yeni Çağ newspaper, Nicosia, Three articles on 21 and 28 March 2003 and 4 April 2003.

[5] Nicolet, ibid, p.87

[6] Nicolet, ibid, p.141

[7] Nihat Erim, Cyprus  as I know and I have seen, Ankara 1975, p.18

[8]Erim,  ibid, p.22 and 24

[9] Vol.46, No.3, New York 1956, s.355-374

[10] Vol.59, March 1960, Chicago, s.118-123

[11] Nicolet, ibid, p.92

[12] ibid, p.101

[13] Ahmet An, The victims of the TMT, Nicosia 2008, pp.25-39

[14] ibid, p.133

[15] ibid, p.133

[16] Prof. S. A. de Smith, The Common­wealth and its Constitutions, London 1964, p.285

[17] Nicolet, ibid, p.226 and 229

[18] Cyprus, The Destruction of a Republic and its Aftermath, British Document 1960-1974, Extended second edition, Ankara 2003, pp.78-78

[19] Nicolet, ibid, p.257

[20] Nicolet, ibid, p.213

[21] Cyprus Weekly, 10 August 2007

[22] Nicolet, ibid, p.452

[23] Dışişleri Belleteni, October 1964, Number:2, p.63

[24] Sir Kenneth Wheare, Federal Government, London 1953

[25] ibid, p.37

[26] ibid, pp.220-222

[27] See also Ertan Yüksel, The way to unity in Cyprus passes not from a confederal, but from federal state, Ortam newspaper, 20-21 December 1984

[28]  p.530, see also Ahmet An, How the USA look at the Turkish Cypriot Left? Socialist Observation, Nicosia, October 1993, No.5

SENDALL IN CYPRUS 1892-1898, A GOVERNOR IN BONDAGE

SENDALL IN CYPRUS 1892-1898, A GOVERNOR IN BONDAGE BY DIANA MARKIDES, Moufflon Publications, 2014, 233 pp, ISBN-10: 996362322

Reviewed by Ahmet An (*)

Written by British-Cypriot historian Diana Markides, this book was published in 2014 by the Moufflon Publications Ltd in Nicosia. The author writes in the “Preface” to her book that “the Sendall years remained shrouded in obscurity.” Therefore, she took the task to research those years, when the British High Commissioner, Sir Walter Joseph Sendall, was in service in Cyprus. In order to get a full picture of events and developments from 1892 to 1898, she studied letters, memoirs and other official documents in libraries and archives in England, Athens and Cyprus. The six years of the British occupation were written in the six separate chapters of the book, ending with an epilogue. It is a good and recommendable study. Let us make some interesting notes from those years:

“The administration of Cyprus had been in a sorry state when he arrived in April 1892” (p.29) and “in September 1892 the Times of Cyprus was grumbling about the ‹disgraceful› state of the principal road in Cyprus, the Larnaca-Nicosia road and described the rest of the roads in the island as ‘impassable.” (p.34) The road to Paphos did not exist. There was lack of bridges. Little had been done to extend the road network once the ‘spend nothing policy was strictly enforced. (p.31) Therefore Sir Sendall started with several construction works, building bridges and maintaining the existing roads. The Pyroi bridge on the main Larnaca-Nicosia road was opened by Sir Walter ceremonially on 25 November 1893 (p.60). The Peristerona bridge was completed in 1897. (p. 141) No less than 30 bridges were built. The building of dams for better irrigation was another project and the dam in Kuklia was completed in 1900 (p.203).  

The construction of the Papadopoulos Theatre began in 1893 for an audience of 600 people near Phaneromeni church in Nicosia as a replica of a small opera house in Italy. It was completed in 1900 and was used also by British and Turkish Cypriots. (p.54) The British High Commissioner secured permission and a tiny loan from the Treasury for the capital’s municipality council, so that the Pedios river, which was used as Nicosia main drain, passing through the old city, could be covered for sanitary reasons. (p.47)  

The old Venetian Palace, which was used during the Ottoman administration as the Serai of the Governor, was demolished in 1897, in order to build new offices, but it did not get underway until Sendall’s departure. The only government office constructed in Nicosia during his term was the small government printing offices opposite the secretariat (in 1896), which housed the government printing office, but which has recently been converted into a crèche for PASYDY, the Civil Servants Association.

 A new Evkaf office was proposed by Sendall, but it was excluded from construction plans by Chamberlain, Secretary of State for Colonies. (p.155)

When Sir Sendall arrived the island, it was observed that the crime rates were rising with gangs of brigands active. This never occurred during the Turkish administration, when there was corporal punishment. (p. 35) Law and order was the priority. Reform of the police force started in 1894 from top down. (p.84) The Büyük Khan, an Ottoman caravanserai in the middle of the old city, was converted into a prison (p.42), like the old forts in Limassol and Larnaca, which had no facilities for isolating prisoners. (p.69) Sir Sendall’s first decision was to build a new central prison in Nicosia, which was finally completed in 1904.  

The author gives us two cases of notorious bandits, one of Yiallouris, who was convicted of murdering the mudir of Paphos (p.77) and the other of Hasanpouli brothers, Mehmet Ahmet and Hasan Ahmet, who were escaped convicts for over a year and had committed eleven murders, five acts of abduction and rape, nine of shooting and wounding and numerous acts of highway robbery. (p.137) They were all eventually hanged in 1895.

Lady Sendall was an energetic fund-raiser, who worked hard for local charities, particularly the lepers. The chief medical officer, Dr. Heidestam, who had been in the island since Ottoman times and was fluent in Turkish and Greek, had a close friendship with Sendalls and Lady Sophia had collected in England and in Cyprus, enough money to build Greek Orthodox church for the 80 or so lepers colony outside Nicosia. (p.75) Lady Sendall also raised money for the new Anglican church, being built outside Nicosia. Both the Christian and Moslem leaders were present as she laid the first stone to foundation of the Anglican church of St. Paul’s. (p.53) 

In the summer of 1893, Sendall made a start on educational reform. (p.65) Both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot schools were extended to include lyceum. The author reports on the new Hellenic school, inaugurated ceremonially on 24 December 1893, where the chief cadi and principal Turkish notables were also present. (p.71) But she omits to report about the inauguration ceremony of the Turkish Cypriot school on 26 December 1897, which was raised from the status of rüştiye to idadi (wrongly written as rusty’e and i’dade-p.157. Also the name of the chief cadi, Mustafa Fevzi Efendi, is wrongly written twice as ‘Ferzi’ -p.65-67):  “Both Sir Sendall and Lady Sendall were also present, when the new building of the school was inaugurated on 26 December 1897. They were greeted with the British national anthem ‘God save the Queen’.” (A.An, The Values Cyprus Cultivated (1782-1899), Ankara 2002, p.145)

Since the author does not know Turkish language and could not use Turkish Cypriot archives, she had asked me to prepare some material for this purpose, but she did not to use this in her book. There is only one reference to a Turkish Cypriot newspaper, Kıbrıs, dated 15 April 1985 (p.106). This weekly newspaper was published by Kufizade Asaf Bey, from 1893 until 1898, covering almost the whole period when Sir Sendall was in office.

Diana Markides writes: “A deputation of leading Muslims, headed by the mufti, urged Sendall to prohibit the meetings” (p.106), but she does not mention about the protest letter of the Turkish Cypriot delegation headed by Mufti Hacı Rıfkı Efendi, which could be found in the famous English book “A History of Cyprus” by George Hill. We read from there that the delegation complained to Sir Walter Sendall about the articles, published in the Greek Cypriot newspaper “Foni dis Kipru”, defending the union of the island with Greece (enosis). The Turkish Cypriot newspaper “Yeni Zaman” responded to these articles on 23 January 1893. The delegation was happy with the British administration in Cyprus and told Sir Sendall that Cyprus would remain to be a part of the Ottoman Empire. (Cambridge 1972, Vol.4, pp.498-499)  

Diana Markides allocates several pages (pp.171-179) for the activities of Ethniki Etairia in 1897 and writes: “The dispatch of Greek soldiers to Crete was a move which intensified nationalist emotions in Cyprus.” (s.174) without giving the reactions of the Turkish Cypriot notables and the newspapers. On the other hand, rightly enough the author reproduces the petitions to Queen Victoria in Greek and Ottoman Turkish script by Christian and Muslim leaders, asking for Sir Walter Sendall to be granted a second term as High Commissioner (pp.196-197), but he and Lady Sophia caught the next mail boat to Egypt on 1 January 1898. (p.195)    

As a last point, I can say that Diana Markides’ book Sendall in Cyprus 1892-1898, A Governor in Bondage is a scholarly academic work like her first book, published in q998: Cyprus 1957-1963: From Colonial Conflict to Constitutional Crisis: The Key Role of the Municipal Issue. She illustrated there in detail the origins of the separatist policy of the Turkish Cypriot leadership. My review of that book was published in the Turkish Cypriot weekly, Yeni Cag, on 11 July 3003 (http://can-kibrisim.blogspot.com/cy/2013/11/ayri-belediyeler-anlasmazligi-uzerine.html) Especially Cypriot readers will benefit a lot from reading her last book about Governor Sendall, which took a spotlight to an early and formative time in the British-Cyprus relationship.

(*) Ahmet Cavit An is a retired paediatrician who has devoted his adult life to the reunification of his country.  In 2003, just before the Green Line opened, he won an ECHR case against Turkey for preventing him from meeting with his Greek Cypriot compatriots, with whom they formed the bicommunal Movement for an Independent and Federal Cyprus. His archives and books, mainly in Turkish, are the basis of many other studies more available in English or Greek.

(Friends of Cyprus Report, New Year 2016, Issue No.58, pp.49-50)