Religious differences have augmented the existing political divergencies between the two groups: While Greek Cypriots adhere to the Greek Orthodox Church. the Turkish Cypriots are Muslim. These dissimilarities have led to the overthrow of three governments and a Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The 1974 invasion resulted in Turkish forces controlling over 40 percent of the Islands territory and encouraged the resurgence of internecine violence between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. As a result. over onethird of Cyprus population are refugees in their own country. I wish to Join my colleagues in calling for an end to the violence. antagonism. and bloodshed in Cyprus. During the early 1960s. peace did exist in Cyprus between the two antagonistic groups.
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refugees