Tensions flare between Greece, Turkey over Cyprus

Feb. 11 (UPI) -- Tensions flared between Greece and Turkey over the divided island of Cyprus after Greek officials accused the Turkish military of violating its air space and the Greek-controlled Cypriot Parliament passed a law the island's Turks deemed offensive.

The twin military and political clashes come a month after United Nations-backed reunification negotiations failed to resolve the decades-long conflict.

Cyprus is an island in the eastern Mediterranean that has been divided into ethnic Turkish and Greek-controlled areas. There are an estimated 1.1 million Greek Cypriots and about 200,000 Turkish Cypriots located on the northern portion of the island. The Turkish military invaded Cyprus in 1974, after a failed coup intended to annex the island to Greek control. The Turkish minority declared its independence in 1983, though the international community only recognizes the Greek-controlled national government.

Both Turkey and Greece maintain a strong military presence on the island after the 1974 war.

On successive days, tensions flared over Cyprus. A Turkish naval vessel carrying Turkish Chief of Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar entered the Aegean Sea on Friday, accompanied by an air force escort. Athens accused Turkey of violating its air space 138 times on Friday during the vessel's tour.

Turkish Cypriot leaders called foul when the Greek-controlled Parliament passed a law mandating schoolchildren commemorate the 1950 enosis referendum, where the Cypriot population voted overwhelmingly to become part of Greece. Turkish Cypriot leaders said the mandated celebration, which was introduced by a far-right political party, is offensive to the Turkish minority and fostered feelings of inferiority among Turkish Cypriot children.

The U.N.-backed peace talks failed to produce a lasting agreement for a "bi-zonal" Cyprus that includes both Greek- and Turkish-controlled areas. Progress was noted, however, when the two sides exchanged proposals for borders between the two zones on the island. It was the first time either side put forth specific geographic proposals for the Greek and Turkish zones on the island.