Defiance And Optimism As Greek Cypriots Mark 30 Years Of Division

NICOSIA, July 19 (AFP) - Greek Cypriots on Tuesday mark 30 years since Turkey invaded and occupied the northern third of Cyprus with a mixture of defiance and cautious optimism that the two sides will someday be reunited.
Greek Cypriots will hold rallies to denounce the July 20, 1974, Turkish invasion and continued occupation of the northern third of the island by 35,000 troops, while in the north, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul will be on hand for an annual military parade marking the anniversary.
Thirty years ago Tuesday, Turkish soldiers landed at the northern holiday town of Kyrenia, five days after ultra-nationalist Greek Cypriots had seized power at the urging of a junta of colonels in Athens which wanted to unite the island with Greece.
After an initial UN-brokered ceasefire, Turkey launched the next phase of the invasion August 14-16, occupying 37 percent of the island and seizing Famagusta (also known as Varosha), Cyprus's second city and premier tourist resort, now a ghost town.
Despite countless failed initiatives, Cyprus remains stubbornly divided, with barbed wire running some 180 kilometers (110 miles) along a UN-patrolled "green line" and Nicosia having the dubious distinction of being Europe's last divided capital.
Under a UN reunification plan, Varosha would be returned to its rightful inhabitants, absorbing around half of the 200,000 Greek Cypriots who fled the invasion.
The so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, self-proclaimed in 1983 and recognized only by Ankara, has a population of 200,000.
Kyrenia mayor-in-exile Constantinos Orologas told AFP: "We've been waiting for 30 years with Kyrenians and other refugees bearing the burden of invasion and occupation. We will continue to wait until a just solution comes along."
The "black anniversary" comes just weeks after Cyprus joined the European Union on May 1.
Three-quarters of Greek Cypriots had rejected the UN peace plan, ensuring that only the internationally-recognised south entered the EU, despite 65 percent of Turkish Cypriots backing the deal.
The EU responding by rewarding the Turkish Cypriots for their "yes" vote, offering to help end the north's economic isolation, notably by pledging 259 million euros (320 million dollars) in aid.
Nicosia came under heavy international pressure and censure for snubbing the UN reunification blueprint, which had been touted as the last best chance for peace.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has indicated he is not prepared to renegotiate the plan, calling on Greek Cypriots to go into "deep reflection".
Intercollege research analyst Nicos Peristianis told AFP: "On the whole, Greek Cypriots are not pessimistic (about a Cyprus settlement). There is a hope that everything is not over."
On Tuesday, church memorial services will pay homage to the conflict's several thousand dead and missing. Sirens will pierce the morning sky across the Greek Cypriot south at 5:30 am on Tuesday, recalling the start of the invasion. Three minutes of silence will be observed at midday.
The disappearance of some 1,500 Greek Cypriots left a scar that still runs deep, hindering confidence-building between the two sides, while the Turkish Cypriots also say hundreds of their people are missing.
"Relatives of the missing suffer every day because they do not know what happened to their loved ones, due to a lack of goodwill on the part of Turkey," said Nicos Theodosiou, a spokesman for relatives of the Greek Cypriot missing.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Greek Cypriots are no nearer to "going home" than they were after fleeing the north in 1974, many losing their homes and property.
Under the UN plan, around 100,000 refugees would be able to recover property that would return to Greek Cypriot control.