The UN Secretary-General in his Report S/6426, of 10 June 1965, described the policy of the Turkish side at the time as follows: The Turkish Cypriot leaders have adhered to a rigid stand against any measures which might involve having members of the two communities live and work together, or which might place Turkish Cypriots in situations where they would have to acknowledge the authority of the Government agents. Indeed, since the Turkish Cypriot leadership is committed to physical and geographical separation of the communities as a political goal, it is not likely to encourage activities by Turkish Cypriots which may be interpreted as demonstrating the merits of an alternative policy. The result has been a seemingly deliberate policy of self-segregation by the Turkish Cypriots. The Government of Cyprus took various measures to restore normalcy on the island. These steps resulted in the elimination of intercommunal violence and dramatic reduction of tensions between the two communities. The Government also offered economic incentives to Turkish Cypriots, who had been forced by their leaders to move to Turkish controlled enclaves, to return to their homes. The Turkish side did not reciprocate, maintaining, instead, roadblocks in order to keep Greek Cypriots from Turkish enclaves. In 1968, the Government initiated talks with the Turkish Cypriot leadership under UN auspices for a negotiated agreement on a more functional constitutional system for the Republic of Cyprus. These talks had achieved considerable progress and, according to some reports, were close to success, when they were interrupted by the tragic events of 1974. Turkish military invasion and occupation5 The coup staged by the Athens' junta against the elected government of President Makarios on July 15, 1974, served Turkey as a pretext to impose its divisive plans against Cyprus. On July 20, 1974, Turkey invaded Cyprus, violating all rules of international law, including the Charter of the United Nations. The illegal Turkish invasion was carried out in two phases. During the second phase, Turkey took the city of Ammochostos, under its control and illegally occupies over 36% of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus ever since. As a result of the Turkish military invasion and occupation, approximately 200.000 Greek Cypriots fled their homes becoming refugees in their own country. To this day the occupying forces 5 See Appendix 3. The Cyprus Question| A brief Introduction 29
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