London and Zürich Agreements in the context of "Nicosia"

Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a de facto state comprising the northern third of the island of Cyprus. It is recognised only by Turkey, with the international community considering it territory of the Republic of Cyprus under Turkish military occupation. It extends from Cape Apostolos Andreas (the tip of the Karpass Peninsula) in the northeast to Morphou Bay in the northwest, with Cape Kormakitis at its westernmost point and the Kokkina exclave west of the mainland. A buffer zone controlled by the UN forms a barrier between both sides of the island and runs through Nicosia, the island's largest city and the capital of both sides.

After gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1960, Cyprus was dominated by intercommunal violence between the island's Greek and Turkish populations. Greek Cypriots favoured enosis (union with Greece), while Turkish Cypriots favoured taksim (partition of the island). A coup d'état in 1974, performed as part of the Greek military junta's attempt to annex the island, prompted Turkey to invade Cyprus and capture the northern third of the island. This resulted in the eviction of much of the north's Greek Cypriot population and the flight of Turkish Cypriots from the south; the Turkish-occupied north unilaterally declared independence in 1983. UN Security Council Resolution 541 rejected the declaration as illegal and urged UN members not to recognise it. Attempts to resolve the Cyprus problem have been unsuccessful; Northern Cyprus and Turkey favour a two-state solution, while the Republic of Cyprus, the EU, and the UN favour a federalised Cyprus.

British Cyprus (Greek: Βρετανική Κύπρος; Turkish: Britanya Kıbrısı) was the island of Cyprus under the dominion of the British Empire, administered sequentially from 1878 to 1914 as a British protectorate, from 1914 to 1925 as a unilaterally annexed military occupation, and from 1925 to 1960 as a Crown colony. Following the London and Zürich Agreements of 19 February 1959, Cyprus became an independent republic on 16 August 1960.

Nikos Sampson (Greek: Νίκος Σαμψών; born Nikolaos (Nikos) Georgiadis, Νίκολαος (Νίκος) Γεωργιάδης; 16 December 1935 – 9 May 2001) was a Greek-Cypriot journalist, militant and politician, who was installed as acting President of Cyprus during the 1974 coup.

A former journalist and EOKA militant pardoned under the London and Zürich Agreements, Sampson was first elected Member of the House of Representatives in 1960 on a platform of Enosis (unification with Greece). As a prominent supporter of the 1974 coup, he was installed by its leaders as the island’s President. However, the Turkish invasion of Cyprus forced him to step down eight days later. Following the return of the legitimate government to power, Turkish troops refused to leave, causing the division of Cyprus. Sampson was sentenced to twenty years in prison for his role as the political leader of the coup (although for 13 years of the sentence he was granted medical leave). Convicted specifically of abuse of power, he is the only person to have been held criminally liable for the events. Following his release in the mid-1990s, Sampson returned to the media industry.