Meta-Memory: An Empirical Exploration of a New Conceptual Schema for Understanding Ethnic Conflict in Cyprus
The Cyprus Problem is an intractable conflict and an unwavering reality for many generations; it occupies a central role in the lives of both communities, influencing their members' individual and collective decisions.4 For almost 50 years, Greek and Turkish Cypriots have been divided along eth...
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| Published in: | Cyprus review (Nicosia, Cyprus : 1989) Cyprus : 1989), 2023-04, Vol.35 (1), p.59-20 |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | eng |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | The Cyprus Problem is an intractable conflict and an unwavering reality for many generations; it occupies a central role in the lives of both communities, influencing their members' individual and collective decisions.4 For almost 50 years, Greek and Turkish Cypriots have been divided along ethnic lines, with distinct language, religions and, crucially, diverging social representations of the Cyprus Problem and its origins.5 The long periods of conflict and confrontation between the two communities resulted in the accumulation of animosity and hostility; yet they also motivated initiatives which lifted hopes for a solution. For the Greek-Cypriots it is a tragedy and a violation of the legal order that led to the de jure partition of the island, while the Turkish Cypriots see Turkey as a 'peace power' and the intervention as a 'peace operation' that legitimised their 'State'.12 The 'inferno'13 of one community is the 'paradise' of the other, as determined by their perspective on the historical event.14 According to Bar Tai,15 the collective memory of past events determines how new events or prolonged experiences- even if unrelated- are understood, as long as this serves society's needs and aims. For the first time, Cyprus was territorially partitioned and Greek and Turkish Cypriots were separated on account of their ethnic origin.18 Another defining feature of this period was the mass relocation of Turkish Cypriots and the creation of enclaves in the northern part of Cyprus,19 where a greater number of Turkish Cypriots resided, for the protection of the community from acts of aggression by Greek-Cypriot nationalists.20 The movement was carried out in an organised manner, under pressure from the leaders of the TMT21 who were 'determined that the refugees shall not move back to the Greek-controlled areas from the Turkish enclave and the fortified villages at any cost'.22 From villages and areas near the green line '26,000 Turkish Cypriots - more than a fifth of the Turkish Cypriot population - fled into the enclave', where they were packed into Red Cross tents.23 Due to the deterioration of bi-communal relations, the United Nations Security Council recommended the creation of a United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus with the aim of preventing the resurgence of hostilities between the two communities and restoring law and order.24 The United Nations' (UN) peacekeeping force, the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), the longest running p |
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| ISSN: | 1015-2881 2547-8974 |