Cyprus was a divided island from the moment of an ill thought- out Greek coup and the immediate arrival of the Turkish army.  Ever since, there have been two Turkish army divisions stationed in the Eastern end of the island and a Turkish policy of encouraging poor Turks to migrate there.  Once a minority, the Turks could be a majority.  Many Cypriot Greeks fear  annexation by Turkey unless there is reunification of the island.  Mainland Greece has other priorities, as we well know.

Thankfully, both Turks and Greeks have recently elected moderate leaders, and the good news is that there’s talk of a deal being put to a vote early next year. The bad news is that there’s also talk of putting any deal to a referendum. That’s what happened in 2004, with disastrous results. The UN negotiator, Kofi Annan, came up with the idea of a referendum as a way to get around opposition from the then Turkish Cypriot leader, hard-liner Rauf Denktash. But in the event, it was the Turks who voted in favour of that deal, and the Greeks who turned it down.

Now people fear a re- run of 2004:  “rejectionist” Greek politicians whipping up the fears of the many Greeks who have got used to partition and resist the idea  of  handing back expropriated Turkish properties. “No, let Cypriot leaders negotiate a final settlement on behalf of their two peoples. No war in history has ever ended with a referendum.”  (Loucas Charalambous, Cyprus Mail, Nicosia)