VZCZCXRO0188
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHNC #2051/01 3541549
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 201549Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY NICOSIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7349
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0726

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 NICOSIA 002051 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL UNFICYP PHUM PREF TU CY
SUBJECT: GREEK CYPRIOT ENCLAVES IN THE NORTH: HANGING BY A 
THREAD 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY.  On December 14, political section staff 
joined United Nations civil affairs personnel on one of their 
weekly monitoring visits to the enclaved Greek Cypriot 
community on the Turkish Cypriot-administered Karpass 
peninsula.  Embassy officers accompanied UNFICYP personnel on 
two home visits before observing the delivery of Christmas 
gifts to the Greek Cypriot school in the town of 
Rizokarpasso.  While the 300-odd Greek Cypriots of Karpass 
continue to live in challenging conditions -- and face some 
difficulties in their relationship with the Turkish Cypriot 
authorities -- the opening of this school (the first Greek 
Cypriot secondary school to operate in the north since the 
1974 war) has marked an important improvement in the lot of 
the enclaved.  Although the fate of this aging, dwindling 
community is an open question, the continued support they 
receive from the GOC and the UN -- as well as the 
comparatively accommodating stance of the post-Denktash 
"TRNC" -- suggests that this community stands a better chance 
of long-term survival than at any time since 1974.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
WHO ARE THE ENCLAVED? 
--------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) In the wake of the 1974 war, a large and comprehensive 
population transfer took place, with all but a small number 
of Turkish Cypriots moving north, and all but a few Greek 
Cypriots and Maronites fleeing to the Government of 
Cyprus-controlled south.  Those who remained behind are 
commonly referred to as "enclaved."  Their numbers have 
dwindled significantly over the past 30 years.  Today, 
approximately 500 Turkish Cypriots remain in the south 
(mainly around Limassol), while approximately 300 Greek 
Cypriots and 150 Maronites live in the north.  The Greek 
Cypriot enclaved are concentrated in three villages on the 
Karpass Peninsula at the northeastern tip of the island: 
Leonarisso (Ziyamet in Turkish), Agias Trias (Sipahi), and 
Rizokarpasso (Dipkarpaz). 
 
¶3. (U) The enclaved in the north make up less than 0.2 per 
cent of the population of the "TRNC," but their political 
significance has always outweighed their numerical strength. 
During the 30-year reign of Turkish Cypriot strongman Rauf 
Denktash, the "TRNC" took a fairly aggressive stance toward 
the enclaved, denying them schooling, hampering their 
religious life, and making economic activity difficult.  This 
policy of persistent harassment lead to the gradual shrinking 
of the enclaved populations in Karpass, as well as the 
outright disappearance of Greek Cypriot life from towns like 
Bellapais -- where an enclaved community that had held on for 
some years after 1974 eventually pulled up stakes and fled 
south.  Those that remain today in Karpass are, with a few 
notable exceptions, elderly and completely reliant on the GOC 
for support.  For its part, the GOC remains committed to the 
material and financial upkeep of enclaved Greek Cypriots, as 
a symbol that the division of the island is not an acceptable 
or permanent state of affairs. 
 
UN REACHES OUT 
-------------- 
 
¶4. (U) Under the terms of the 1975 Vienna III Agreement, 
civil affairs officers from the United Nations Peacekeeping 
Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) monitor the condition of the 
enclaved in the north, facilitate medical care, deliver 
supplies money provided through the Red Cross by the GOC 
(pension payments and the like, usually in cash), and 
informally seek to resolve disputes involving the enclaved, 
their Turkish Cypriot neighbors, and "TRNC" officials. 
Accordingly, UNFICYP conducts regular weekly patrols to the 
Karpass region, visiting the designated Greek Cypriot 
spokespersons in each of the three villages and making 
informal home visits.  UN convoys also visit the enclaved 
Maronites in the northwest every fortnight. 
 
¶5. (U) To facilitate their monitoring and assistance 
activities, UN civilian police (CIVPOL) maintain a post in 
Leonarisso, normally manned by two officers (currently, one 
cop each from India and the Netherlands).  On December 14, 
poloffs joined a small UNFICYP convoy, which called on this 
liaison post before setting off to visit Greek Cypriots in 
the three enclaved villages.  The situation of the enclaved 
in each village is different, but each settlement nonetheless 
highlights some of the common challenges faced by all Greek 
Cypriots residing in the north. 
 
HARD TIMES IN A SMALL TOWN 
-------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Leonarisso, which is some 100 kilometers from 
Nicosia, is the site of both the UNFICYP liaison post and the 
 
NICOSIA 00002051  002 OF 004 
 
 
smallest enclaved community.  Of the 200-odd residents of the 
town, who are both Turkish Cypriots and Anatolian "settlers," 
only four are Greek Cypriot.  (COMMENT: A local cop from the 
"political bureau" of the "TRNC" police -- whose job was 
apparently both to monitor the UN convoy and to relay their 
questions and requests back to Turkish Cypriot authorities -- 
joined the convoy in Leonarisso and stayed with us throughout 
the day.  He was a visible, but fairly unobtrusive, presence, 
and seemed to have an easy rapport with the enclaved we 
visited.  END COMMENT.)  Even though the liaison post gave 
the impression that neither life nor work was too hectic for 
the UN in or around the village, it was quite clear from the 
convoy's home visit to Leonarisso enclaved spokesperson 
Panayiota Kananka that the seriousness of problems faced by 
the enclaved are in inverse proportion to the size of their 
community. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Ms. Kananka, the youngest of the four elderly, frail 
and isolated Leonarisso enclaved, greeted the UN delegation 
in her small, drafty, mud-and-wood home (which had 
electricity but no indoor plumbing, and was filled with 
decades-old family photos, religious memorabilia, and the bed 
of her invalid mother who had died some months previously). 
She rattled off a series of complaints suggesting that life 
in the village was very difficult.  Although some of her 
complaints would probably have been echoed by her 
poverty-stricken Turkish Cypriot neighbors, she also 
highlighted several problems that were clearly particular to 
the enclaved.  Totally dependent on the Government of Cyprus 
for supplies and financial aid (and on the UN for delivery), 
Kananka reported that she had been the victim of theft 
several times; robbers had made off with a significant amount 
of assistance cash she had squirreled away in her cupboard, 
while "gypsies" had cut down some olive trees on a plot of 
land she worked for extra cash -- presumably making off with 
the logs for firewood.  This, noted the "TRNC" cop, was a 
common complaint made by villagers from both communities. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Although Kananka did make a somewhat cheerful remark 
in Turkish that "Talat is OK!", it was clear that 
ethnically-tinged friction continued between her and the 
Turkish Cypriot authorities.  She complained to the UN that 
the "government's" road upgrading scheme had not included the 
paving of a 40-meter lane leading to the Greek Cypriot 
cemetery outside of town.  This prompted an indignant reply 
from the Turkish Cypriot cop, who claimed that this was the 
first he had heard of Kananka's complaint -- and who accused 
her of making a show by raising the issue with the UN before 
even approaching the local authorities with her request. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Kananka also updated the UN on her continued dispute 
with the local muhktar (village mayor) over the town's 
church.   The church, which had been used for Muslim worship 
for years (a hand-made metal minaret top was still perched 
awkwardly on top of the steeple), was reopened for Orthodox 
prayer after a brand new mosque was built nearby four years 
ago.  A dispute erupted, however, between Kananka and the 
village mukhtar over control of the keys to the building, and 
the authorities reportedly closed the church and began using 
it for agricultural storage in retaliation. Although the 
Talat administration has since cleaned the building, the 
mukhtar still holds the keys. 
 
¶10. (SBU) According to CIVPOL, the UN has repeatedly 
intervened in the matter, and even gained assurances from 
"TRNC" officials in Nicosia that the keys would be handed 
over to Kananka.  But local officials in the town claim that 
they have not been authorized "by the state" to surrender 
control of access to this "cultural heritage site," although 
they reportedly assure the UN that the enclaved may still 
have access to the church for prayer at any time.  (UNFICYP 
personnel commented to us that the deadlock smacked of a 
personal war of wills between the tenacious Kananka and 
stubborn local authorities.  Nonetheless, they felt her 
request to have custody of the keys was a reasonable one, and 
said they would continue to press for this.  Deputy Chief 
Civil Affairs Samba Sane told us that UNFICYP might seek 
Embassy intervention with high-level "TRNC" officials if 
their efforts to resolve the dispute continue to be 
unsuccessful.) 
 
BIGGER TOWN, (SOMEWHAT) BETTER LIFE 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) The patrol then proceeded to the village of Agias 
Trias, which is some 20 or so kilometers past Leonarisso. 
The village consists primarily of mainland Turkish settlers 
(approximately 900, according to one UN estimate) but also 
hosts an enclaved community of 85 Greek Cypriots.  The 
enclaved of Agias Trias are clearly in better shape than the 
beleaguered shut-ins of Leonarisso.  A larger community, they 
 
NICOSIA 00002051  003 OF 004 
 
 
are less isolated and have a more vibrant community life. 
The convoy called on spokesperson Savvas Liasi in his home. 
Mr. Liasi, a spry and gregarious man in his mid-80s, 
complained about his health (he had traveled to the south for 
medical treatment on several occasions) but said that, by and 
large, the situation in the village was "pretty much okay." 
 
¶12. (U) Coincidentally visiting on the name day of the patron 
saint of a neighboring village, UN officials also spoke 
briefly with Father Zaharias, the Orthodox priest who has 
ministered to the enclaved (spending alternate weeks in Agias 
Trias and Rizokarpasso) since being allowed entry to the 
"TRNC" after the end of the Denktash regime.  Zaharias 
conducts services in all three of the Karpass churches 
currently in operation (as well as at a fourth, which Turkish 
Cypriot authorities have not officially opened, but is 
nonetheless used in practice without special arrangement). 
Offering an almond-and-pomegranate dish made especially for 
the saint's day, Liasi and his wife recalled their 
as-yet-unanswered request that Turkish Cypriot officials 
allow the assignment of a second priest to take up some of 
the slack.  The first candidate, who had been named by the 
Government of Cyprus, withdrew from consideration "for 
personal reasons," while a second one was rejected by Turkish 
Cypriot authorities for making allegedly "nationalistic" 
comments. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Although Liasi was visibly happier and more 
prosperous than Kananka (he joked with the Turkish Cypriot 
cop who accompanied the patrol and stressed to us that the 
villagers got on quite well with their neighbors, learning 
each other's languages and interacting freely) the Greek 
Cypriots of Agias Trias face the same demographic pressures 
that threaten the Leonarissa enclaved.  While more numerous, 
Agias Trias's villagers are still comparatively old, since 
nearly all of the town's children moved south long ago in 
search of education, jobs, and marriage prospects.  The 
village's only wedding in recent memory had taken place a few 
months earlier, between a local woman in her sixties and a 
former resident (now living in the south) who was at least as 
old.  Even if Turkish Cypriot authorities respond positively 
to the new husband's request for permission to reside in the 
village permanently (he can now visit on a "tourist visa" for 
90 days at a time), it still seems likely that Greek Cypriot 
life in Agias Trias will slowly fade away as the residents 
die off. 
 
RIZOKARPASSO: HOPE FOR THE FUTURE? 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶14. (U) The patrol's final stop was Rizokarpasso, home to the 
largest community of enclaved -- approximately 270 Greek 
Cypriots living among 2000 or so Turkish settlers in the 
Karpass peninsula's principal town.  UNFICYP personnel 
visited the secondary school in the town and chatted with the 
headmaster and his staff, since the local spokesman for the 
enclaved had gone south that day for medical treatment.  They 
also delivered Christmas gifts for local primary school 
students, courtesy of the GOC. 
 
¶15. (SBU) The enclaved community of Rizokarpasso is 
relatively prosperous and far less isolated than the 
communities of Leonarissa and Agias Trias.  Greek Cypriots 
there reportedly mingle freely with their settler neighbors, 
and enjoy reasonably good relations with local officials (who 
provide free clinic-style medical care and look the other way 
when the enclaved regularly fail to pay their utility bills). 
 According to the secondary school principal, there was also 
a modicum of economic activity (with some Greek Cypriots 
tending goats, growing olives, or operating the occasional 
restaurant and coffee shop), even though relying on transfer 
payments from the government was still the "easiest option" 
for most of the town's enclaved. 
 
¶16. (SBU) There is also some embryonic political life in 
Rizokarpasso, with enclaved Greek Cypriots seeking to elect 
their own muhktar in ROC local elections December 17.  The 
headmaster noted that the current Greek Cypriot muhktar (as 
opposed to the Turkish Cypriot mayor who actually governed 
the town from the local city hall) lived in exile in the 
south, having been elected thanks to the support of 
Rizokarpasso refugees in the government-controlled areas. 
For the first time, however, a local man was standing for 
election.  Rizokarpasso's enclaved were hoping he would win 
out over the exiled candidate, so that their municipal leader 
(and their main advocate with GOC authorities) would be 
"closer" to the enclaved and their day-to-day concerns.  (On 
December 17, the Larnaca-based mukhtar was reelected -- no 
doubt a disappointment for the enclaved still residing in the 
town.) 
 
 
NICOSIA 00002051  004 OF 004 
 
 
¶17. (U) Key to Rizokarpasso's comparative vitality, however, 
were the children and their school -- the only educational 
institution serving Greek Cypriots in the north.  According 
to school officials, the town's Greek Cypriot population fell 
from a high of over 3,000 in the 1974 to its current level of 
270 thanks in large part to Turkish Cypriot authorities' 
refusal to allow the opening of a secondary school for the 
enclaved.  Prior to 2005, when the Talat administration 
reversed years of Denktashian intransigence and gave 
permission for a secondary school, children regularly went 
south for any education beyond the primary level.  They 
rarely returned. 
 
¶18. (U) Although there were several months of disagreement 
and posturing between GOC and Turkish Cypriot officials 
(involving disputes over which "sovereign" entity should pay 
for the school, the content of textbooks, and the political 
proclivities of the teachers sent from the south to teach 
there), the headmaster told the UN patrol that the school was 
"now fully functioning, fully staffed, and fully equipped." 
Indeed, the teacher-to-student ratio at Rizokarpasso schools 
(to which 20 teachers commute from the south to work with 27 
secondary students, 15 primary students, and 13 nursery 
school kids) compares favorably to that of the 
government-controlled areas.  The facility appeared clean, 
modern, and well-equipped with computers, musical 
instruments, books, and so forth. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶19. (SBU) Although New York has reportedly raised serious 
questions about the wisdom of continued UN support for the 
enclaved since the opening of the Green Line in 2003 
(liability issues associated with the delivery of large cash 
payments from the government are a particular concern now 
that the enclaved have more regular access to banks), UNFICYP 
will likely insist on continuing to visit and provision the 
Greek Cypriots of Karpass.  Access to Karpass was a hard-won 
concession, and UN officials tell us that they do not want to 
abdicate their patrolling rights in the area lest the 
political situation deteriorate in the future.  Moreover, in 
the absence of direct and pragmatic contact between Turkish 
Cypriot and Greek Cypriot officials, the UN remains the only 
force that can advocate for the enclaved with the Turkish 
Cypriot authorities when something goes wrong -- as it 
inevitably does.  UNFICYP's quiet presence is probably vital 
to the continued correct (if not cordial) relations between 
the enclaved and their Turkish Cypriot neighbors. 
 
¶20. (SBU) For its part, the Government of Cyprus seems 
certain to continue its financial and logistical support of 
the enclaved, regardless of the cost.  A commitment to the 
survival of Greek Cypriots caught "under occupation" is 
something on which no Greek Cypriot leader could politically 
afford to waiver.  Furthermore, cutting support for supply 
runs (even unnecessary ones) would lend credence to the 
politically unacceptable idea that the division of the island 
has somehow become normal. 
 
¶21. (SBU) It is an open question whether Greek Cypriot life 
in the Karpass can endure in the long run.  For the elderly 
shut-ins of Leonarisso, the odds of survival past the next 
few years are pretty slim.  If current trends continue, even 
the more vibrant pensioners of Agias Trias will also 
eventually dwindle away.  Nonetheless, there is hope for the 
comparatively sizable and young population of Rizokarpasso, 
thanks to the continued support of the GOC and UN -- and to 
the quiet change in Turkish Cypriot attitude that came about 
when Talat replaced Denktash.  Although low-level friction 
may continue (as it does over the church keys of Leonarisso), 
the current Turkish Cypriot administration has made -- and so 
far stuck to -- a strategic choice.  Where Denktash actively 
sought to choke out the enclaved through outright harassment 
and subtle demographic pressure, the Talat administration 
(albeit after much haggling) has eased up, allowing the 
opening of a school and the assignment of a priest.  This 
could open the door to a modest demographic and religious 
bounce-back for Greek Cypriots in Karpass.  But, as Liaisi 
stressed when he took poloff aside and begged the USG to 
"keep working for a solution," a real renaissance of 
mixed-village harmony in Cyprus is unlikely absent a 
comprehensive political solution.  END COMMENT. 
 
Schlicher