PARTITION FOR CYPRUS?

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84-00825R000100450001-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 5, 2005
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: July 14, 1958
• Content Type: IM

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CONFIDENTIAL
Copy No..
GEOG2APHIC
INTELLIGENCE
MEMORANDUM
CIA/RR-GM- 7
14 July 1958
PARTITION FOR CYPRUS ?
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND REPORTS
This material contains information affecting the National Defense of the United States within
the meaning of the espionage laws, Title 18, USC, Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission
or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
CONFIDENTIAL
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Although overshadowed by the larger crises of the Middle :East and the
Mediterranean, the Cyprus question has persisted in troubling the international
scene during recent years, affording one more instance of the declining influence
of Western Europe and causing one more strain on relations within the NATO
alliance. With a population of 531,000 that is 80 percent Greek and 18 percent
Turkish, the island is an object of interest to both Greece and Turkey, as well
as to Great Britain, the present possessor.
The desire of Greeks and Greek Cypriots for ultimate enosis (union of Cyprus
with Greece) has long challenged Britain's position. Turkish interest in Cyprus
is due not only to the desire to protect the rights of the Turkish minority but
also to the proximity of the island to the southern coast of Asia Minor. Cyprus
lies only 44 miles from the Turkish coast, whereas it is some 250 miles from
Rhodes, the nearest large island of Greece. For a long period, Turkey seemed
satisfied with continued British sovereignty over Cyprus; more recently, Turkish
Cypriots and the Turkish Government have pressed increasingly for partition of
the island between Greece and Turkey. The Greek Government is adamantly opposed
to partition. Great Britain regards its military and air bases on Cyprus as
necessary in carrying out its international treaty obligations in this part of
the world. The strategic importance of these bases was illustrated. during the
Suez invasion of 1956 and might again emerge should the Lebanon crisis continue
to deepen. The island lies about 240 miles from the northern entrance of the
Suez Canal and about 100 miles from the coast of Lebanon.
On 20 June 1958 the British Government proposed a plan for governing the
island that would involve a "partnership" among the Greek and Turkish communities
of Cyprus and the governments of the United Kingdom, Greece, and Turkey. Although
the plan was immediately rejected by both Greece and Turkey, further negotiations
are not precluded. Since partition, strongly backed by Turkey, is proposed as a
possible solution, the question arises as to the practicability of such a measure
in terms of the distribution of the Greek and Turkish communities, and the
location of valuable resources and military bases.
According to the 1946 census -- the most recent source for the details of
community distribution -- the proportion of Moslems (Turks) to the total popu-
lation is highest in the two southern districts of Paphos and Larnaca, where they
comprise respectively 24 and 21 percent of the total. The proportion of Turks is
lowest in Limassol District in the south, with 12 percent, and in Kyrenia District
on the north coast, with 13 percent (see table). Throughout all six districts of
the island, however, Greeks and Turks are intermixed, and no large area can be
described as purely Greek or purely Turkish.
There are six towns on Cyprus, each functioning as the administrative and
commercial center of its respective district. The Turkish community comprises
a somewhat higher percentage of the total population in these six towns than in
rural Cyprus, a hangover from the period of Ottoman sovereignty, when the Turkish
ruling class lived mostly in the towns. Since the beginning of British adminis-
tration, however, the Greek element in the urban population has increased at a
more rapid rate than the Turkish, owing to townward migration from the predomi-
nantly Greek countryside. The rapid urban growth in recent years -- amounting
to about 50 percent in the decade 1946-56 -- has probably still further increased
the "Greekness" of the towns. In 1946 the six towns had Turkish populations
ranging from 15 percent of the total in Limassol to 37 in Paphos. In general
the proportion of Turks in a town reflects that of its surrounding countryside
(see table). Thus, Paphos, the town with the largest percentage of Turkish
population, is the center for the district that has the highest percentage of
Turks in its rural population. Nicosia, the capital and largest town, with a
1956 population of 81,700, is more cosmopolitan than the other centers and
includes Aremenians, British, and others as well as Greeks and Turks.
The rural population of the island is distributed among numerous villages,
many composed of a single ethnic group. There are, nevertheless, a considerable
number of mixed Greek-Turkish villages throughout Cyprus. Maronite Christians,
who live in several villages in the northwest, constitute the only other group
of any importance in rural areas. The typical rural Cypriot is a small farmer
owning his own farm, which consists of several scattered plots. The large
estates of medieval and Turkish times have disappeared, except for holdings of
the Orthodox church, the Moslem communal properties, a few remaining Turkish
estates in the south, and an Israeli-owned commercial plantation on the east
coast. According to one estimate, the Greek community owns about 59 percent of
the land, the Turkish community about 12 percent, and the government a substantial
portion of the remainder.
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CONFIDENTIAL
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PARTITION FOR CYPRUS ?
- Principal road
o
District administrative seat
--
Major airfield
District boundary
?
Military base
-~
Mine railroad
Mine
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CAPE KORMAKITI
Ay ROT IRI
trrsxovr \ AKROTIRI yq y
RAY T
CAPE ZEVGHARI' APE GATA
CYPRUS: RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES, 1946
Percent of Total Population
Districts
Orthodox
Nicosia
78
Urban
60
Rural
84
Kyrenia
81
Urban
75
Rural
81
Famagusta
83
Urban
81
Rural
83
Total Cyprus
80
Urban
71
Rural
83
Moslem
19
30
15
13
20
13
17
17
17
18
23
16
RIELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES
RURAL URBAN
? l Greek Orthodox
? Moslem
-04 ? Mixed
? Other
EACH DOT REPRESENTS A VILLAGE
State forest
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Other
District
3
Larnaca
77
21
2
10
Urban
72
20
8
1
Rural
79
21
-
6
Limassol
87
12
1
5
Urban
83
15
2
6
Rural
89
11
-
-
Paphos
76
24
-
2
Urban
62
37
1
-
Rural
77
2
a. The urban population given
6
for each district is that of the
1
district administrative center.
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in economic functions and occupations the Greek and Turkish communities
duplicate each other, with few occupations being specifically Greek or Turkish.
The two communities are similar in standards of living, family structure,
education, and agricultural practices. The casual observer cannot readily
distinguish between their houses, stores, and farms. The Moslem Turks, like
their Christian neighbors, practice monogamy. The two communities, however, do
not mix socially or intermarry.
As the Greeks and Turks are now distributed, it would be impossible to draw
a partition line that would set apart any area of substantial size within which
Turks are in the majority. Partition would doubtless be accompanied by exchanges
of population, which would probably involve transfers of real estate also. From
the standpoint of economic functions, an exchange of populations should not pre-
sent insuperable difficulties, since the two communities are functionally similar
rather than complementary.
Over half the labor force of Cyprus is agricultural, and any partition would
have to take into account the equitable division of the principal agricultural
regions. Most of the crops are raised for local consumption, but a significant
proportion is sent abroad. The principal agricultural exports are carobs,
potatoes, oranges, grapefruit, wine, and, in some years, wheat. Sheep and goats
are the principal classes of livestock. The Mesaoria or central plain is the
outstanding agricultural region, producing almost half of the total output by
value. Although field crops are of major importance here, citrus fruits, olives,
and almonds are also raised. Much of the land is irrigated, and the area of
irrigation is being increased annually. In the hill lands bordering the Troodos
Mountains and along the southern coast, vines, olives, and fruits are grown.
Carobs or locust beans are raised extensively for stock feed and gum, mainly on
the seaward slopes facing the north and south coasts.
One of the principal problems that would arise in connection with partition
would be the equitable division of mineral areas. Mineral products constituted
66 percent of the value of all exports in 1956, and mining employs a larger
amount of foreign capital than any other industry. The mines are located along
the periphery of the southwestern mountain region and in the Troodos Mountains
in the center of this region. Copper and iron pyrites are the principal minerals.
An American company, the Cyprus Mines Corporation, is the largest producer. Its
principal mine, south of Morphou Bay, yields some 700,000 tons of copper-bearing
ore per year and has an estimated reserve of 15 million tons. The Hellenic Mining
Company, Ltd., a Greek concern, ranks second, operating on the south coast and the
north flank of the mountains. Near the coast beyond the western edge of the
mountains are the properties of the Cyprus Sulphur and Copper Company, Ltd., a
British company. Asbestos quarries belonging to a British company and a chrome
deposit worked by a Swedish firm are located in the heart of the Troodos range.
Among the minerals of lesser importance are gypsum and terra umbra.
The southwestern mountain region also contains the principal timberlands of
Cyprus; and, before the region became a hideout for EOKA, it was beginning to
build up a thriving tourist business -- attracting summer visitors from Nicosia
and other parts of the lowlands and even from the Arab countries. Thus, although
the southwestern mountain region is sparsely populated, its mineral and timber
resources and its resort attractions would doubtless make it a prize to be sought
by both Greek and Turkish communities in case of partition.
The disposition of three British military bases would have to be provided
for in case of partition, -- the Episkopi base, which was planned as the head-
quarters for both the Middle East Land Forces and the Middle East Air Force; an
army cantonment located at Dhekelia; and an airfield at Akrotiri. The principal
commercial airport of Cyprus is at Nicosia.
Any form of partition for Cyprus would result in considerable economic
derangement, since it would mean the splitting of areas that are now integrated
units. In addition, population transfers under even the most peaceful conditions
would cause much suffering and inconvenience. On the other hand, should there be
continued stalemate in the dispute and should relations between Greeks and Turks
on the island continue to deteriorate, disorders might result in enforced
migration, and partition might become the only solution possible.
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