Cyprus

Marx wrote in the 18th Brumaire that history repeats itself first as a tragedy and then as a farce. This is what is happening in Cyprus. We are witnessing a situation similar to two years ago when the EU put pressure on Greece to accept a bail-out, but this time around 56 Cypriot politicians have created a huge problem for capitalists across Europe.

Cyprus is a small rarity in the Mediterranean sea. It's a country where the Communist Party (Workers' Progressive Party, AKEL) has strong roots in the labour movement and society as a whole and holds the Presidency of the Republic, as well as being the first party in parliament.

After nearly 30 years of partition the United Nations have come up with the Annan Plan to try and solve the Cyprus problem and reunite the island. We will soon be publishing an article by a Greek Marxist on this question. For now suffice it to say that again illusions are being raised that the UN can solve the problem. Again, as thirty years ago these illusions will be dashed. As a helpful introduction to the question we are making available an article by Ted Grant on the events that unfolded in Cyprus in 1974. It was originally published in two parts on September 20 and 27, 1974.

Cyprus is one of several countries that is to be admitted into the European Union in 2004. But there remains the problem of the unresolved national question on the island. Turkey's continued hold over the northern part of the island has become a major obstacle to Turkey being accepted as an EU member. The debate among the ruling elite in Turkey has swiftly turned into a blunt choice of "whether to abandon Cyprus or to annex it". This article by Zeynep Günes, a Turkish Marxist, presents a socialist perspective on the question of Cyprus.