Cyprus Village
Cyprus
In July 2000, Turkish forces established a checkpoint in a location adjacent to the Greek Cypriot village of Strovilia and the British eastern SBA. Although access to Strovilia had been largely unimpeded, the checkpoint provides Turkish forces the ability to control the approach to the village. Despite protests from the UNFICYP and others, Turkish forces remained at the contested checkpoint at year's end in violation of the status quo. Turkish forces restricted UNFICYP movement, including refusing to allow the UNFICYP to man a checkpoint in Kokkina. On July 31, 2000, Greek Cypriot officials responded to those moves and denied Turkish Cypriots land passage to Kokkina. Visits to this pocket of land (which contains a memorial and is surrounded by the government-controlled area) are included in the 1997 reciprocal visit agreement. In August and November 2000, Turkish Cypriot officials denied access to southern Greek Cypriots to visit the Apostolos Andrea ... [Read More]
Cyprus
The Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respects this right in practice. The basic law in the Turkish Cypriot community also provides for freedom of religion, and the Turkish Cypriot authorities generally respect this right in practice. However, the politically divisive environment on Cyprus occasionally affected aspects of religious freedom. There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom during the period covered by this report, and government policy continued to contribute to the generally free practice of religion. [Read More]
Cyprus
Since 2000 Turkish and Turkish Cypriot forces operated a checkpoint in a location adjacent to the Greek Cypriot village of Strovilia and the British eastern SBA. Although access to Strovilia had been previously largely unimpeded, the checkpoint provided Turkish forces the ability to control the approach to the village. Despite protests from the UNFICYP and others, Turkish forces remained at the contested checkpoint at year's end in violation of the status quo. Turkish forces restricted UNFICYP movement, including refusing to allow the UNFICYP to operate a checkpoint in Kokkina. ... [Read More]
Cyprus
Turkish and Turkish Cypriot forces continued to operate a checkpoint adjacent to the Greek Cypriot village of Strovilia and the British eastern Sovereign Base Area that restricted UNFICYP movement. After April 23, Turkish Cypriot authorities began using a Greek Cypriot house as a control post for a newly established crossing point in Strovilia. UNFICYP protested the unauthorized takeover of private property. At year's end, Turkish Cypriot authorities continued to use the property. ... [Read More]
2004 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Cyprus
In November 2003, authorities filed criminal charges against five journalists with the daily newspapers Kibris and Ortam for insulting the army in their reports about police actions against demonstrators in the village of Doganci in March 2003. The journalists faced possible prison sentences of 21 to 81 years and were informed that they would be summoned to appear before a Turkish military court. However, in September, the "National Assembly" enacted a law that prevents civilians from being tried in military courts. Authorities have not scheduled a trial for the five journalists, and the charges remained pending at year's end. ... [Read More]
V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G
Ghana is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced domestic and commercial labor. Ghanaian children are trafficked internally for forced labor in fishing villages and cocoa plantations, and to urban areas in the south to work in exploitative conditions as domestic servants, street vendors, and porters. Ghanaian children are also trafficked to Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Nigeria, and The Gambia for exploitation as laborers or domestic servants. Recruiters typically target poor children who are removed from the home community with their parents’ consent. Ghanaian women and girls are trafficked to Western Europe — principally Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands — for sexual exploitation. Some young Ghanaian women are trafficked for involuntary domestic servitude in the Middle East. Nigerian female ... [Read More]
Documents 176-193
/4/Reference is to the fighting around this village in August 1964 that provoked Turkish air attacks and the subsequent crisis. ... [Read More]
Documents 26-54
He added that something had to be done about continued harassing indiscriminate fire from Castle into Karmi village. Roll-back helped but probably would not completely stop. (Comment: Turks were extending positions and have been firing into Karmi but Greeks have accomplished more than mere roll-back. They now command Turk airfield at Krini as well as Aghirda and other villages on south slope.) ... d. USG will increase our consultation efforts both in New York and in Nicosia to be as helpful as possible. In particular, USG prepared press UN see what further it can do with respect Turk localities and villages under siege and to urge UN have its force interpret its mandate as vigorously as possible. In addition, we would consider any other steps that GOT might develop. ... [Read More]
Documents 78-97
There followed a detailed briefing by Gen. Burchinal on the military forces that would participate in any hostilities on Cyprus. The attached memorandum records the substance of this briefing./7/ Mr. Ball, at the end of the briefing, highlighted the fact that the Turk goal is limited to establishing a beachhead for bargaining purposes; the Turks do not want the kind of war that complete conquest would require. Mr. Ball also estimated that perhaps 20-25,000 villagers might be slaughtered once an invasion started. General Burchinal suggested that Turk air mastery might prove some deterrent since Greek villages would be vulnerable. No one responded, but the feeling seemed to be that this would only increase the carnage. ... [Read More]
Documents 360-375
2. Athens-Nicosia relations--relations between GOC and GOG appear to have been affected on various levels. First, in terms of official government-to-government relations colonels' hand seems to be strengthened by obvious demonstration they can force Makarios to take action he supposedly reluctant to take. (Degree to which Makarios "reluctant" to fire Georkadjis is moot since His Beatitude may well have been looking for opportunity to dump increasingly powerful Interior Minister.) In any case, Makarios outwardly seems to have knuckled under to GOG demands for Georkadjis' scalp and this has disappointed many Greek Cypriots. Second, by forcing Makarios to accept Georkadjis' resignation GOG has further angered those politically powerful Greek Cypriot elements (i.e., city lawyer-politicians) who resent GOG meddling in GOC affairs, who are not pro-enosis and who are in favor of accommodation with Turk Cypriots (Clerides and Demetriades to name two), although they at least equally angry with ... [Read More]
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