Posted on: 22/07/2010
Canadian War Museum presents new exhibit on Cyprus peacekeeping mission
Ottawa, Ontario, July 20, 2010 — The Canadian War Museum is pleased to announce the opening of a new permanent exhibit that presents Canada's involvement in the United Nations Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), the longest-running peacekeeping mission to which Canada has contributed. The new module is part of the Canadian Experience Gallery 4 - A Violent Peace, the Museum's permanent exhibition of Canadian military history since 1945.
Between 1964 and 1993, approximately 30,000 Canadians served on the Mediterranean island, patrolling the "Green Line," a narrow buffer zone separating combatants in the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities. In July 1974, at the height of the conflict, two Canadians were killed by gunfire and 17 others were wounded.
"Canada's involvement in peacekeeping is a key component of our military history since the end of the Second World War," said Mark O'Neill, Director General of the Canadian War Museum. "This new module will help our visitors gain a better understanding of Canada's contribution to this major peacekeeping mission."
The new module features reconstructions of a UN observation post and a section of the "Green Line," as well as artifacts and audio from Canadians who served on the mission, and a short film on the history of peacekeeping.
The module has three main sections. The first provides an insight into the day-to-day activities of Canadian soldiers along the "Green Line." The second section examines Canada's important role during a crisis in 1974, when fighting erupted in the wake of a Turkish invasion. The final section features interesting audiovisual and oral history recordings from Canadians who served on the island.
The Canadian War Museum is Canada's national museum of military history. Its mission is to promote public understanding of Canada's military history in its personal, national and international dimensions.
Media Information:
Chief, Media Relations
Canadian War Museum
Telephone: 819 776-7167
Media Relations Officer
Canadian War Museum
Tel.: 819 776-8607
Fax: 819 776-8623
Backgrounder
The United Nations Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) was established in March 1964, three and a half years after the Mediterranean island was granted political independence and a few months after the outbreak of violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
The fighting between the two communities threatened to escalate into a wider war between Greece and Turkey, both members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). When peace talks failed, the United Nations Security Council voted to establish a peacekeeping force.
Canada rapidly deployed 1,100 soldiers to the island, helping to defuse the crisis. They were joined by contingents from the United Kingdom, Australia, Austria, Finland, Denmark and Ireland.
Operating under the UN flag, the force monitored a ceasefire along the "Green Line," a buffer zone stretching across the entire island, separating the combatants from one another. At its widest point, the buffer is 7.4 kilometres; at its narrowest, just 3.3 metres.
In July 1974, a Greek-Cypriot coup on the island led to a Turkish military intervention and intense fighting. The UN force was caught in the middle. When the fighting ended the next month, the Canadian Airborne Regiment, which was on rotation to the island, had suffered 19 casualties, two of them fatal. UNFICYP marked the ceasefire lines and resumed its patrols along the buffer zone, a mission that continues to this day.
UNFICYP now has been in continuous existence for 46 years. It is the UN's longest peacekeeping mission.
Canada ended its major contribution to the force in 1993 as it took on new peacekeeping commitments in the Balkans, Africa and elsewhere. During the previous 29 years, approximately 30,000 Canadian soldiers served in Cyprus, many of them returning for multiple tours. Twenty-eight Canadians were killed on the mission.
Today, Canada maintains a single officer in the headquarters of UNFICYP, and Cyprus remains divided.
