History of Cyprus since 1878 accepted by both sides. Both Greece and Turkey along with Britain were appointed as guarantors of the island's integrity. Some of the major points of the Zurich agreement are: On August 16, 1960 Cyprus gained its independence from the United Kingdom, after the long anti-British campaign by the Greek Cypriot EOKA (National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters), a guerrilla group which desired political union with Greece, or "enosis". Archbishop Makarios III, a charismatic religious and political leader, was elected the first president of independent Cyprus. In 1961 it became the 99th member of the United Nations. The Zurich agreement, however, did
History of nationality in Cyprus the creation of a United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP ) to restore law and order, even the adoption of this UN resolution did not prevent further fighting. Turkey's intervention into Cyprus’ constitutional and ethnopolitical crisis marked an important beginning to a new phase of internationalization of the problem. Greece responding by coming in to defend Greek Cypriots, external intervention amplified the already tense climate of communal violence. With Greek and Turkish contingents already stationed on the island joining in the fighting. Britain proposed the establishment of a joint peacekeeping force, but while all the parties involved agreed to