Articulating Goals and Monitoring Progress in a Cyprus Conflict Resolution Training Workshop

Abstract

The conflict on Cyprus between Greek and Turkish Cypriots shares a number of important characteristics with other intransigent ethnic conflicts. First of all it is both a domestic conflict, splitting the inhabitants of the island, and an international one drawing in its larger neighbours Greece and Turkey both members of NATO and the United Nations which has a large peacekeeping force stationed in Cyprus and maintains the division of the island into the Turks in the north and the Greeks in the south. Since 1973 there has been little contact between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and little movement towards the development of a political solution which both can accept. Some argue, in fact, that the presence of the UN troops and the not-so-hurting stalemate provide little incentive for the two sides to make peace. Seeming to fear that this is the case, the UN regularly threatens to withdraw its troops unless progress towards peace is made. Indeed, several years ago the Canadian contingent which up to then had been the largest one is the UN force was significantly reduced for just this reason.