Turkish Soldiers Open Fire On Greek Cypriot Protesters

In the worst violence on this divided island since the 1974 Turkish invasion, soldiers in the Turkish-occupied north opened fire Wednesday on a crowd of Greek Cypriot demonstrators in the United Nations buffer zone, killing one and injuring two British U.N. peacekeepers.

The shootings, in which several other persons also were wounded, came as hundreds of Greek Cypriot protesters charged across cease-fire lines after leaving a funeral for a Greek Cypriot man beaten to death in a demonstration Sunday.

Fears were raised that more clashes might occur on Cyprus, further undermining efforts to negotiate a solution here and worsening the fractious relations between Greece and Turkey. Turkey has an estimated 30,000 troops on Cyprus.

In New York, U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali called on both sides to “calm tempers” and resume negotiations. In Washington, the State Department said a “vigorous message” was being sent to both sides that “provocative acts really have to stop.”

The Greek Cypriot government, concluding an emergency national security meeting last night, said new measures would be taken to halt what they see as the “expansionist plans of Turkey.”

“But taking into account the expansionist plans of Turkey, it is not permitted for irresponsible acts to continue which may lead to a military confrontation,” said a statement issued after the two-hour meeting headed by Greek Cypriot President Glafkos Clerides.

In Athens, Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis had unusually harsh words in turn. “This new criminal act by the occupying forces of Cyprus is an unprecedented provocation,” he said in a statement.

But Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash accused the Greek Cypriot leader of not doing enough to hold protesters in check. “Clerides, you can halt these youths, you have enough power,” Turkey’s Anatolian news agency quoted Denktash as saying.

The violence was a setback for the Clinton administration’s efforts to broker a peaceful solution on the island. The administration had made a settlement in Cyprus a foreign policy priority this year.

Cyprus has been divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion, despite countless efforts to bring the two sides to a settlement. The invasion occurred after a coup backed by the military junta in Greece. In 1983, the Turkish Cypriots declared independence, but only Turkey recognizes the breakaway state.

The U.N. chief of mission in Cyprus, Gustave Feissel, said the 1,200 U.N. peacekeepers here would remain in a “heightened state of alert” until tensions diminish. He added that the commander of U.N. forces patrolling the buffer zone would lodge a formal complaint to the commander of Turkish forces.

“The shooting was totally unwarranted and inexcusable,” Feissel said. “The U.N. was controlling the crowd and in a position to get them out.”

The U.N. peacekeepers who were shot suffered light injuries.