Fanatic Greek Cypriot groups on Tuesday threw stones and insulted Turkish Cypriots at the border area dividing the capital Lefkoşa (Nicosia) on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston (EOKA) terrorist group.
According to sources from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), a group of 15 black-dressed fanatic Greek Cypriots, who were attending the anniversary celebration of the establishment of their terrorist group, threw stones at civilians in the Yiğitler Burcu Park in Lefkoşa, on the TRNC border, from the territory of the Greek Cypriot administration.
Insulting civilians and chanting slogans in support of the terrorist organization EOKA, the group then fled the area.
Founded by Georgios Grivas in 1954, EOKA staged its first terror attack a year later. However, its primary objective was to fight against the British occupiers of the island in the East Mediterranean.
The terror group began committing more terror attacks and massacres against Turkish Cypriots in 1958, in line with its goals of clearing the island of Turks and uniting it with Greece.
The TRNC said that following the incident, security measures were enhanced at the border.
The latest tensions come as the two communities last month came together for a two-day meeting at the United Nations in Geneva to solve the island’s dispute.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the talks had made progress for the first time in years, and they had agreed to a series of joint initiatives, including the opening of crossing points.
The Mediterranean island was divided in 1974 after a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island. This led to Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. The TRNC was founded in 1983.
The Turkish side strictly adheres to a two-state solution based on sovereign equality, arguing that past efforts to reunify the island under a federal model have failed due to the Greek Cypriot administration's reluctance to share power and resources.
The island has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, under the auspices of the guarantor countries.
The Greek Cypriot administration joined the European Union in 2004, the same year that Greek Cypriots rejected a U.N. plan to resolve the dispute in a referendum.
