Canadian Forces soldiers from 5th Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (5CMBG) in light armoured vehicles (LAV III) and Leopard tanks participate in an attack scenario during Exercise Maple Resolve on October 24, 2012 in Wainwright, Alberta.

 

Des membres du 5e Groupe-brigade mécanisé du Canada (5 GBMC) à bord de véhicules blindés légers (VBL III) et de chars de combat Leopard participent à une attaque simulée lors de l’exercice Maple Resolve, à Wainwright (Alberta), le 24 octobre 2012.

 

Photo : Cpl Tina Gillies

 

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U.S. Soldiers of Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division prepare to dry fire an M109A6 Paladin howitzer during exercise Combined Resolve II at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, May 20, 2014. Combined Resolve II is a multinational decisive action training environment exercise occurring at the Joint Multinational Training Command’s Hohenfels and Grafenwoehr Training Areas that involves more than 4,000 participants from 15 partner nations. The intent of the exercise is to train and prepare a U.S. led multinational brigade to interoperate with multiple partner nations and execute unified land operations against a complex threat while improving the combat readiness of all participants. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Brian Chaney)

The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence is given a tour of the urban training area by a member of the United States Army Special Forces Group at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, during Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE on May 12, 2022.

 

Please credit: Master Sailor Dan Bard, Canadian Forces Combat Camera, Canadian Armed Forces photo

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Un membre du groupe des forces spéciales de l’armée américaine fait visiter le secteur d’entraînement en zone urbaine à l’honorable Anita Anand, ministre de la Défense nationale, à la Base des Forces canadiennes Wainwright, au cours de l’exercice MAPLE RESOLVE, le 12 mai 2022.

 

Photo : Matelot chef Dan Bard, Caméra de combat des Forces canadiennes, Forces armées canadiennes

 

M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicles road march back to their tactical assemble area after a situational training exercise lane as a part of Combined Resolve VI at Hohenfels, Germany May 16. Combined Resolve VI is a squadron-level decisive action rotation at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center May 5-25 that is training 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment on cavalry and reconnaissance tasks. (Photo courtesy of Ralph Zwilling)

Mayor Bill de Blasio announces the newly created Tenant Support Unit resolved its 1,000th tenant case since it launched in July 2015, keeping tenants in their homes and protecting affordable housing in fast-changing neighborhoods. The proactive unit goes door-to-door in neighborhoods across the city, informing tenants of their rights, documenting building violations, soliciting complaints related to harassment and eviction, and making referrals to free legal support whenever necessary. Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation, Washington Heights. Monday, February 29, 2016. Credit: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office.

 

This photograph is provided by the New York City Mayoral Photography Office (MPO) for the benefit of the general public and for dissemination by members of the media. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial materials, advertisements, emails, products or promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the City of New York, the Mayoral administration, or the de Blasio family without prior consent from the MPO (PhotoOffice@cityhall.nyc.gov). Any use or reprinting of official MPO photographs must use the following credit language and style: “Photographer/Mayoral Photography Office”, as listed at the end of each caption.

U.S. Soldiers of Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division prepare to dry fire an M109A6 Paladin howitzer during exercise Combined Resolve II at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, May 20, 2014. Combined Resolve II is a multinational decisive action training environment exercise occurring at the Joint Multinational Training Command’s Hohenfels and Grafenwoehr Training Areas that involves more than 4,000 participants from 15 partner nations. The intent of the exercise is to train and prepare a U.S. led multinational brigade to interoperate with multiple partner nations and execute unified land operations against a complex threat while improving the combat readiness of all participants. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Brian Chaney

United States Army soldiers from The 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 'A' Company, 2nd platoon move out on patrol over the training area landscape as a storm front approaches during Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, Alberta on May 27, 2016.

 

Photo: MCpl Kurt Visser, Directorate of Army Public Affairs

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Des soldats du 2e peloton, Compagnie A, 1er Régiment d’infanterie, 2e Bataillon de l’armée américaine partent effectuer une patrouille sur le site de la zone d’entraînement à l’approche d’une tempête, au cours de l’exercice MAPLE RESOLVE, sur la Base des Forces canadiennes Wainwright, en Alberta, le 27 mai 2016.

 

Photo : Cplc Kurt Visser, Direction des Affaires publiques de l’Armée de terre

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26/09/2010, sailing from Lyttelton, New Zealand.

 

Keel laid on 11/06/2003, launched on 29/08/2003 and completed during January 2004 by STX Shipbuilding Co., Jinhae, South Korea (1118)

30,032 g.t. & 46,048 dwt. as:

'Resolve' to 2017 and

'Buddha' since.

 

All photos with permission of Wayne A'Court

A CH-146 Griffon from 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron provides close air support during Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE in the Wainwright Garrison training area on May 25, 2016.

 

Photo: Master Corporal Malcolm Byers, Wainwright Garrison Imaging

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Un hélicoptère CH-146 Griffon du 408e Escadron tactique d’hélicoptères fournit un appui aérien rapproché au cours de l’exercice MAPLE RESOLVE, dans le secteur d’entraînement de la garnison Wainwright, le 25 mai 2016.

 

Photo : Caporal chef Malcolm Byers, Services d’imagerie de la garnison Wainwright

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Members of Task Force Tomahawk from 2 Combat Engineer Regiment and the 1st and 3rd Battalions of The Royal Canadian Regiment respond to a CH-147F Chinook helicopter crash simulation during Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE, the largest and most comprehensive Canadian Army training event of the year, held in Wainwright, Alberta on May 19, 2017.

 

Photo: Cpl Andrew Wesley, Directorate of Army Public Affairs

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U.S. Marine Corps KC-130J Hercules aircraft with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadrons (VMGR) 152, 234, and 352 taxi prior to conducting division tactical navigation training as part of unit-level training Evergreen at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington, Aug. 18, 2017. Division tactical navigation training allows the squadrons’ aircraft to perform gear drops in close proximity to a single location, which enhances operational efficiency. Evergreen will serve as VMGR-152’s 2017 Marine Corps Combat Readiness Evaluation through tri-lateral training with the U.S. Army 160th Special operations Aviation Regiment and U.S. Army 1st Special Forces Group to gain valuable insight on the most recent Operation Inherent Resolve assault-support tactics. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Joseph Abrego)

U.S. Soldiers of 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division on an M3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle provide security while conducting cordon and search training during exercise Combined Resolve VI at the U.S. Army’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, May 22, 2016. Exercise Combined Resolve VI is designed to exercise the U.S. Army’s regionally allocated force to the U.S. European Command area of responsibility with multinational training at all echelons. Approximately 570 participants from 5 NATO and European partner nations will participate. The exercise involves around 500 U.S. troops and 70 NATO and European partner nations. Combined Resolve VI is a preplanned exercise that does not fall under Operation Atlantic Resolve. This exercise will train participants to function together in a joint, multinational and integrated environment and train U.S. rotational forces to be more flexible, agile and to better operate alongside our NATO Allies. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Lloyd Villanueva/Released)

Blaues Band der Spree latin competition 2016

Sapper Anton Fugger watches his arcs in a defensive position during Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE, the largest and most comprehensive Canadian Army training event of the year held in Wainwright, Alberta on May 14, 2017.

 

Photo: Cpl Andrew Wesley, Directorate of Army Public Affairs

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Le sapeur Anton Fugger surveille ses arcs de tir en position défensive au cours de l’exercice MAPLE RESOLVE, l’exercice de l’Armée canadienne le plus complet et le plus important de l’année, qui se déroule à Wainwright, en Alberta, le 14 mai 2017.

 

Photo : Cpl Andrew Wesley, Direction des Affaires publiques de l’Armée

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U.S. Soldiers assigned to Company D, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Squadron, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division conduct gunnery at the 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command's Grafenwoehr Training Area during exercise Combined Resolve II, June 16, 2014. Combined Resolve II is a U.S. Army Europe-directed multinational exercise at the Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels Training Areas, including more than 4,000 participants from 15 allied and partner countries. The exercise features the European Rotational Force, a combined arms battalion of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, the U.S. Army’s Regionally-Aligned rotational brigade combat team, that supports the U.S. European Command for training and contingency missions.

(U.S. Army photo by Visual Information Specialist Markus Rauchenberger/released)

 

Royal Canadian Air Force CF-188 Hornets are refueled by a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron on October 30, 2014, over Iraq during the first combat mission in the area of operations, supporting Operation Inherent Resolve.

 

U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Perry Aston

 

Des aéronefs CF188 Hornet de l’Aviation royale canadienne sont ravitaillés en vol au dessus de l’Irak par un appareil KC135 Stratotanker assigné au 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, le 30 octobre 2014, au cours de la première mission de combat dans la zone d’opérations, à l’appui de l’opération Inherent Resolve.

 

Photo de la Force aérienne des États Unis prise par le sergent d’état major Perry Aston

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Let us remember that everyday is earth day. Let us resolve to take care of the planet that gave us life and has nurtured us from time imemorial! Please recycle plastic containers or buy only biodegradable containers. DON'T USE HERBICIDES AND PESTICIDES! CANCER! ALSO NUCLEAR POWER IS NOT THE ANSWER!! FRANCE IS DUMPING ITS NUCLEAR WASTE INTO THE OCEANS! WHAT IN THE WORLD???!! FOLKS, IT'S TIME TO GIVE UP NUCLEAR POWER FOR MORE EARTH FRIENDLY ENERGY SOLUTIONS!

WE HAVE PLENTY OF WIND WE CAN HARNESS ON THIS PLANET! MOTHER EARTH GIVES US ALL THE ENERGY WE NEED FROM THE WIND AND THE SUN. LET US RESOLVE TO DO AWAY WITH NUCLEAR ANYTHING AND MAKE A GOAL TO SAVE LIVES AND SAVE OUR PLANET. RADIATION CAUSES CANCER. BOTTOM LINE. THE PEOPLE THAT RUN THESE COMPANIES KNOW IT. YOU WANT TO FIND A CURE FOR CANCER? RID THE PLANET OF NUKES. BOTTOM LINE. YOU WANT TO FIND A CURE FOR CANCER? RID THE PLANET OF PESTICIDES AND HERBICIDES! THERE ARE EARTH-FRIENDLY ALTERNATIVES. LET'S RESOLVE TODAY TO START USING THEM, BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE FOR OUR DEAR MOTHER EARTH! THANKS FOR READING THIS. GOD BLESS US ALL.

U.S. Soldiers of Alpha Company, 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment provide security from a M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle while conducting defense operations during exercise Combined Resolve VI at the U.S. Army’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, May 21, 2016. Exercise Combined Resolve VI is designed to exercise the U.S. Army’s regionally allocated force to the U.S. European Command area of responsibility with multinational training at all echelons. Approximately 570 participants from 5 NATO and European partner nations will participate. The exercise involves around 500 U.S. troops and 70 NATO and European partner nations. Combined Resolve VI is a preplanned exercise that does not fall under Operation Atlantic Resolve. This exercise will train participants to function together in a joint, multinational and integrated environment and train U.S. rotational forces to be more flexible, agile and to better operate alongside our NATO Allies. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Malik Gibson/ Released)

U.S. Soldiers of Charlie Company, 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division scan their sector of fire within a M3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle while conducting a defensive operation during exercise Combined Resolve VI at the U.S. Army’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, May 20, 2016 Exercise Combined Resolve VI is designed to exercise the U.S. Army’s regionally allocated force to the U.S. European Command area of responsibility with multinational training at all echelons. Approximately 570 participants from 5 NATO and European partner nations will participate. The exercise involves around 500 U.S. troops and 70 NATO and European partner nations. Combined Resolve VI is a preplanned exercise that does not fall under Operation Atlantic Resolve. This exercise will train participants to function together in a joint, multinational and integrated environment and train U.S. rotational forces to be more flexible, agile and to better operate alongside our NATO Allies. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Alexandra Hulett/Released)

Royal Canadian Air Force CF-188 "Hornet's" are refueled by a KC-135 "Stratotanker" assigned to the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron on October 30, 2014, over Iraq during the first combat mission in the area of operations, supporting Operation Inherent Resolve. Royal Canadian Air Force CF-188 Hornets are refueled by a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron on October 30, 2014, over Iraq during the first combat mission in the area of operations, supporting Operation Inherent Resolve..

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U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Perry Aston.

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Des aéronefs CF188 Hornet de l’Aviation royale canadienne sont ravitaillés en vol au dessus de l’Irak par un appareil KC135 Stratotanker assigné au 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, le 30 octobre 2014, au cours de la première mission de combat dans la zone d’opérations, à l’appui de l’opération Inherent Resolve..

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Photo de la Force aérienne des États Unis prise par le sergent d’état major Perry Aston.

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Staff Sgt. Edwin Thompson, Flight Engineer with the 2-135th Bn. Colorado Army National Guard, based in Denver, looks out of the rear ramp door of a CH-147 Chinook during a joint Non-combatant Evacuation Operation training exercise at Garrison Wainright in Alberta May 17. This training is a sub-exercise of Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE 14 and will ensure the readiness of the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry soldiers who are tasked to support the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development during any non-combatant evacuation operation that may be required from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015. Photo Credit: SFC Julio A. Nieves, 326th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, U.S. Army

 

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Le sergent-chef Edwin Thompson, mécanicien de bord au 2 Bon-135 Régt de la Garde nationale de l’Armée du Colorado, affecté à Denver, regarde par la porte de la rampe arrière d’un Chinook CH147 durant un exercice d’une opération interarmées d’évacuation de non combattants à la Garnison Wainright en Alberta, le 17 mai. Il s’agit d’un sous exercice de l’exercice MAPLE RESOLVE 14 qui veillera à l’état de préparation des soldats du 3e Bataillon, Patricia Canadian Light Infantry, qui doivent soutenir le ministère des Affaires étrangères, du Commerce et du Développement lors d’opérations d’évacuation de non combattants qui pourraient avoir lieu du 1er juillet 2014 au 30 juin 2015. Photo : Sgt 1re Julio A. Nieves, 326e Détachement mobile d’affaires publiques, armée américaine

 

Master Warrant Officer Sheldon Quinn from Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Edmonton, Alberta conducts a smudge ceremony with American and Canadian military to mark the beginning of Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE at CFB Wainwright on May 9, 2022.

 

Please credit: Master Sailor Dan Bard, Canadian Forces Combat Camera, Canadian Armed Forces photo

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L’adjudant-maître Sheldon Quinn de la Base des Forces canadiennes (BFC) Edmonton, en Alberta, procède à une cérémonie de purification avec des militaires américains et canadiens pour souligner le début de l’exercice MAPLE RESOLVE à la BFC Wainwright, le 9 mai 2022.

 

Photo : Matelot-chef Dan Bard, Caméra de combat des Forces canadiennes, Forces armées canadiennes

 

Soldiers drives a Light Armoured Vehicle as part of a convoy during Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE at Wainwright, Alberta on June 1, 2016.

 

Photo: Master Corporal Precious Carandang, 4th Canadian Division Public Affairs

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U.S. Soldiers of Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division prepare to dry fire an M109A6 Paladin howitzer during exercise Combined Resolve II at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, May 20, 2014. Combined Resolve II is a multinational decisive action training environment exercise occurring at the Joint Multinational Training Command’s Hohenfels and Grafenwoehr Training Areas that involves more than 4,000 participants from 15 partner nations. The intent of the exercise is to train and prepare a U.S. led multinational brigade to interoperate with multiple partner nations and execute unified land operations against a complex threat while improving the combat readiness of all participants. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Brian Chaney

WAINWRIGHT, Alberta, Canada (May 13, 2022) - A Canadian Army soldier assigned to 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment conducts a patrol at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright during Exercise Maple Resolve 2022, May 13, 2022.

 

(U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Ryan Seelbach)

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WAINWRIGHT, Alberta, Canada (13 mai 2022) – Un soldat de l’Armée canadienne affecté au 1er Bataillon du Royal Canadian Regiment effectue une patrouille sur la Base des Forces canadiennes Wainwright au cours de l’exercice Maple Resolve 2022, le 13 mai 2022.

 

(Photo de la U.S. Navy prise par le spécialiste des communications de masse de 1re classe Ryan Seelbach)

 

WAINWRIGHT, Alberta, Canada (May 13, 2022) - Corporal Andrew Savidan, assigned to 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment uses a range finder during a ground battle exercise at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright during Exercise Maple Resolve 2022, May 13, 2022.

 

(U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Ryan Seelbach)

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WAINWRIGHT, Alberta, Canada (13 mai 2022) – Le caporal Andrew Savidan, affecté au 1er Bataillon du Royal Canadian Regiment, utilise un télémètre lors d’un exercice de bataille terrestre à la Base des Forces canadiennes Wainwright au cours de l’exercice Maple Resolve 2022, le 13 mai 2022.

 

(Photo de la U.S. Navy prise par le spécialiste des communications de masse de 1re classe Ryan Seelbach)

 

The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence meets with members of the Canadian Armed Forces in the training area at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, during Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE on May 12, 2022.

 

Please credit: Master Sailor Dan Bard, Canadian Forces Combat Camera, Canadian Armed Forces photo

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L’honorable Anita Anand, ministre de la Défense nationale, rencontre des membres des Forces armées canadiennes dans le secteur d’entraînement de la Base des Forces canadiennes Wainwright, au cours de l’exercice MAPLE RESOLVE, le 12 mai 2022.

 

Photo : Matelot chef Dan Bard, Caméra de combat des Forces canadiennes, Forces armées canadiennes

 

Corporal Andrew Desmond, from 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group fires on an enemy during the simulated battle on the final day of Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright on 31 May 2014.

 

Photo: Sgt Matthew McGregor, Canadian Forces Combat Camera

 

Le caporal Andrew Desmond, du 5e Groupe-brigade mécanisé du Canada, tire sur un ennemi au cours d’une bataille simulée, le 31 mai 2014, à la Base des Forces canadiennes Wainwright, au dernier jour de l’exercice Maple Resolve.

 

Photo : Sgt Matthew McGregor, Caméra de combat des Forces canadiennes

IS2014-1009-04

A Romanian soldier of Delta Company, 191st Infantry Battalion, 18th Infantry Brigade prepares his gear prior to conducting an advance to contact training scenario during exercise Combined Resolve V at the U.S. Army’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, Oct. 25, 2015. Exercise Combined Resolve V is designed to exercise the U.S. Army’s regionally allocated force to the U.S. European Command area of responsibility with multinational training at all echelons. Approximately 4,600 participants from 13 NATO and European partner nations will participate. The exercise involves around 2,000 U.S. troops and 2,600 NATO and Partner for peace nations. Combined Resolve is a preplanned exercise that does not fall under Operation Atlantic resolve. This exercise will train participants to function together in a joint, multinational and integrated environment and train U.S. rotational forces to be more flexible, agile, and to better operate alongside our NATO Allies. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Carol A. Lehman/Released)

A member of the British Armed Forces listens for orders after looking through a window for enemy positions during a simulated attack in the Rocky Ford Urban Training Area, during Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE in Wainwright, Alberta on May 15, 2022.

 

Please credit: S1 Zach Barr, Canadian Armed Forces photo

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Un membre des forces armées britanniques écoute les ordres après avoir regardé par une fenêtre à la recherche de positions ennemies lors d’une attaque simulée dans le secteur d’entraînement aux opérations en milieu urbain de Rocky Ford, au cours de l’exercice MAPLE RESOLVE, à Wainwright, en Alberta, le 15 mai 2022.

 

Photo : Mat 1 Zach Barr, Forces armées canadiennes

 

WAINWRIGHT, Alberta, Canada (May 9, 2022) – Two Royal Canadian Armed Forces CH-146 Griffon helicopters refuel at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright during Exercise Maple Resolve 2022, May 9, 2022.

 

(U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Ryan Seelbach)

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WAINWRIGHT, Alberta, Canada (9 mai 2022) – Deux hélicoptères CH-146 Griffon des Forces armées canadiennes font le plein à la Base des Forces canadiennes Wainwright pendant l’exercice MAPLE RESOLVE 2022, le 9 mai 2022.

 

(Photo de l’U.S. Navy par le spécialiste des communications de masse de 1re classe Ryan Seelbach)

 

The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of National Defence and Canadian Chief of the Defence Staff, General Wayne Eyre meet with members of the Canadian Armed Forces in the training area at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, during Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE on May 12, 2022.

 

Please credit: Master Sailor Dan Bard, Canadian Forces Combat Camera, Canadian Armed Forces photo

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L’honorable Anita Anand, ministre de la Défense nationale, et le général Wayne Eyre, chef d’état major de la Défense du Canada, rencontrent des membres des Forces armées canadiennes dans le secteur d’entraînement de la Base des Forces canadiennes Wainwright, au cours de l’exercice MAPLE RESOLVE, le 12 mai 2022.

 

Photo : Matelot chef Dan Bard, Caméra de combat des Forces canadiennes, Forces armées canadiennes

 

A member of the 786th Quarter Master Company of the United States Army performs maintenance on a Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV 6) engine under the watchful eye of Master Corporal Jason Trenholm, a vehicle Technician from 2 Service Battalion during Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE 22 in the Wainwright training area, Alberta on 14 May 2022.

 

Please credit: MCpl Nicolas Alonso, Canadian Forces Combat Camera, Canadian Armed Forces Photo

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Un membre de la 786th Quarter Master Company (786e compagnie du quartier-maître) de l’armée américaine effectue l’entretien du moteur d’un véhicule blindé léger (VBL 6) sous l’œil attentif du caporal chef Jason Trenholm, technicien de véhicules du 2e Bataillon des services, au cours de l’exercice MAPLE RESOLVE 22, dans le secteur d’entraînement de Wainwright, en Alberta, le 14 mai 2022.

 

Photo : Cplc Nicolas Alonso, Caméra de combat des Forces canadiennes, Forces armées canadiennes

 

The Royal Canadian Air Force is providing support on Ex MAPLE RESOLVE 2023 with CH-147F Chinook and CH-146 Griffon helicopters. This ranges from combat support to lift missions for participants on the exercise. Ex MAPLE RESOLVE runs from May 8th to May 22nd 2023 in Wainwright, AB.

 

L'Aviation royale canadienne fournit du soutien à l'exercice MAPLE RESOLVE 2023 avec des hélicoptères CH-147F Chinook et CH-146 Griffon. Ce soutien va de l'appui au combat à des missions de transport pour les participants à l'exercice. L'exercice MAPLE RESOLVE se déroule du 8 au 22 mai 2023 à Wainwright, AB.

 

Photo: Corporal / Caporal Bélynda Casse

Tatty Virgin Trains liveried 47769 Resolve at Derby on the 25/2/14

Aviator Harjani Townsend from 2 Service Battalion cooks tofu for a dish that will be served during lunch during Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE, in the Wainwright training area, May 13, 2022.

 

Please credit: S1 Zach Barr, Canadian Armed Forces photo

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L’aviateur Harjani Townsend, membre du 2e Bataillon des services, prépare un plat de tofu qui sera servi lors du dîner au cours de l’exercice MAPLE RESOLVE, dans le secteur d’entraînement de Wainwright, le 13 mai 2022.

 

Photo : Mat 1 Zach Barr, Forces armées canadiennes

 

A United States Army soldier completes a jump from a Royal Canadian Air Force CH-146 Griffon helicopter during Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE 22 in the Wainwright training area, Alberta on 8 May 2022.

 

Please credit: MCpl Nicolas Alonso, Canadian Forces Combat Camera, Canadian Armed Forces Photo

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Un soldat de l’armée américaine réussit un saut depuis un hélicoptère CH-146 Griffon de l’Aviation royale canadienne durant l’exercice MAPLE RESOLVE 22, mené dans la zone d’entraînement de Wainwright, en Alberta, le 8 mai 2022.

 

Photo : Cplc Nicolas Alonso, Caméra de combat des Forces canadiennes, photo des Forces armées canadiennes

 

A member of the US Army Reserve 379 Chemical Company from Chicago, Illinois, USA directs Canadian soldiers during a decontamination scenario in the Wainwright Garrison training area during Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE on June 1, 2016.

 

Photo: Master Corporal Malcolm Byers, Wainwright Garrison Imaging

 

Un membre de la 379e Compagnie chimique de la Réserve de l’Armée des États-Unis de Chicago (Illinois, É.-U.) dirige des soldats canadiens lors d’un scénario de décontamination dans le secteur d’entraînement de la garnison Wainwright durant l’exercice MAPLE RESOLVE 16, à Wainwright (Alberta) le 1er juin 2016.

 

Photo : Caporal-chef Malcolm Byers, Imagerie de la garnison Wainwright

www.forzamotorsport.fr/news/civil-war-camaro-28-vs-shelby...

...steely determination, in the eyes of a young girl in rural central India

 

Quicklook portfolio

  

(© Handheld Films 2014)

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This photo has been digitally altered for operational security purposes.

 

Members of the United States Army Special Forces group participate in an early morning raid on a simulated town in the training area of Wainwright Alberta during Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE on May 11, 2022.

 

Please credit: Master Sailor Dan Bard, Canadian Forces Combat Camera

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L’image a été modifiée numériquement pour des raisons de sécurité opérationnelle.

 

Des membres des forces spéciales de l’armée américaine participent à un raid matinal sur une ville simulée dans le secteur d’entraînement de Wainwright, en Alberta, au cours de l’exercice MAPLE RESOLVE, le 11 mai 2022.

 

Photo : Matelot chef Dan Bard, Caméra de combat des Forces canadiennes

Varosha - Maras is the southern quarter of the Famagusta, a de jure territory of Cyprus, currently under the control of Northern Cyprus. Varosha has a population of 226 in the 2011 Northern Cyprus census. The area of Varosha is 6.19 km2 (2.39 sq mi).

 

The name of Varosha derives from the Turkish word varoş (Ottoman Turkish: واروش, 'suburb'). The place where Varosha is located now was empty fields in which animals grazed.

 

In the early 1970s, Famagusta was the number-one tourist destination in Cyprus. To cater to the increasing number of tourists, many new high-rise buildings and hotels were constructed. During its heyday, Varosha was not only the number-one tourist destination in Cyprus, but between 1970 and 1974, it was one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world and was a favorite destination of such celebrities as Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Raquel Welch, and Brigitte Bardot.

 

Before 1974, Varosha was the modern tourist area of the Famagusta city. Its Greek Cypriot inhabitants fled during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, when the city of Famagusta came under Turkish control, and it has remained abandoned ever since. In 1984 a U.N. resolution called for the handover of the city to UN control and said that only the original inhabitants, who were forced out, could resettle in the town.

 

Entry to part of Varosha was opened to civilians in 2017.

 

In August 1974, the Turkish Army advanced as far as the Green Line, a UN-patrolled demilitarized zone between the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, and controlled and fenced Varosha. Just hours before the Greek Cypriot and Turkish armies met in combat on the streets of Famagusta, the entire Greek Cypriot population fled to Paralimni, Dherynia, and Larnaca, fearing a massacre. The evacuation was aided and orchestrated by the nearby British military base. Paralimni has since become the modern-day capital of the Famagusta province of Greek Cypriot-led Cyprus.

 

The Turkish Army has allowed the entry of only Turkish military and United Nations personnel since 2017.

 

One such settlement plan was the Annan Plan to reunify the island that provided for the return of Varosha to the original residents. But this was rejected by Greek Cypriots in a 2004 referendum. The UN Security Council Resolution 550 states that it "considers attempts to settle any part of Varosha by people other than its inhabitants as inadmissible and calls for the transfer of this area to the administration of the United Nations".

 

The European Court of Human Rights awarded between €100,000 and €8,000,000 to eight Greek Cypriots for being deprived of their homes and properties as a result of the 1974 invasion. The case was filed jointly by businessman Constantinos Lordos and others, with the principal judgement in the Lordos case dating back to November 2010. The court ruled that, in the case of eight of the applicants, Turkey had violated Article 1 of Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights on the right of peaceful enjoyment of one's possessions, and in the case of seven of the applicants, Turkey had violated Article 8 on the right to respect for private and family life.

 

In the absence of human habitation and maintenance, buildings continue to decay. Over time, parts of the city have begun to be reclaimed by nature as metal corrodes, windows are broken, and plants work their roots into the walls and pavement and grow wild in old window boxes. In 2014, the BBC reported that sea turtles were observed nesting on the beaches in the city.

 

During the Cyprus Missile Crisis (1997–1998), the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktaş, threatened to take over Varosha if the Cypriot government did not back down.

 

The main features of Varosha included John F. Kennedy Avenue, a street which ran from close to the port of Famagusta, through Varosha and parallel to Glossa beach. Along JFK Avenue, there were many well known high rise hotels including the King George Hotel, The Asterias Hotel, The Grecian Hotel, The Florida Hotel, and The Argo Hotel which was the favourite hotel of Elizabeth Taylor. The Argo Hotel is located near the end of JFK Avenue, looking towards Protaras and Fig Tree Bay. Another major street in Varosha was Leonidas (Greek: Λεωνίδας), a major street that came off JFK Avenue and headed west towards Vienna Corner. Leonidas was a major shopping and leisure street in Varosha, consisting of bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and a Toyota car dealership.

 

According to Greek Cypriots, 425 plots exist on the Varosha beach front, which extends from the Contandia hotel to the Golden Sands hotel. The complete number of plots in Varosha are 6082.

 

There are 281 cases of Greek Cypriots who filed to the Immovable Property Commission (IPC) of Northern Cyprus for compensation.

 

In 2020, Greek Cypriot Demetrios Hadjihambis filed a lawsuit seeking state compensation for financial losses.

 

The population of Varosha was 226 in the 2011 Northern Cyprus census.

 

In 2017, Varosha's beach was opened for the exclusive use of Turks (both Turkish Cypriots and Turkish nationals).

 

In 2019, the Government of Northern Cyprus announced it would open Varosha to settlement. On 14 November 2019, Ersin Tatar, the prime minister of Northern Cyprus, announced that Northern Cyprus aims to open Varosha by the end of 2020.

 

On 25 July 2019, Varosha Inventory Commission of Northern Cyprus started its inventory analysis on the buildings and other infrastructure in Varosha.

 

On 9 December 2019, Ibrahim Benter, the Director-General of the Turkish Cypriot EVKAF religious foundation's administration, declared all of Maraş/Varosha to be the property of EVKAF. Benter said "EVKAF can sign renting contracts with Greek Cypriots if they accept that the fenced-off town belongs to the Evkaf."

 

In 2019–20, inventory studies of buildings by the Government of Northern Cyprus were concluded. On 15 February 2020, the Turkish Bar Association organised a round table meeting at the Sandy Beach Hotel in Varosha, which was attended by Turkish officials (Vice President Fuat Oktay and Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül), Turkish Cypriot officials, representatives of the Turkish Cypriot religious foundation Evkaf, and Turkish and Turkish Cypriot lawyers.

 

On 22 February 2020, Cyprus declared it would veto European Union funds to Turkish Cypriots if Varosha were opened to settlement.

 

On 6 October 2020, Ersin Tatar, the Prime Minister of Northern Cyprus, announced that the beach area of Varosha would reopen to the public on 8 October 2020. Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said Turkey fully supported the decision. The move came ahead of the 2020 Northern Cypriot presidential election, in which Tatar was a candidate. Deputy Prime Minister Kudret Özersay, who had worked on the reopening previously, said that this was not a full reopening of the area, that this was just a unilateral election stunt by Tatar. His People's Party withdrew from the Tatar cabinet, leading to the collapse of the Turkish Cypriot government. The EU's diplomatic chief condemned the plan and described it as a "serious violation" of the U.N. ceasefire agreement. In addition, he asked Turkey to stop this activity. The U.N. Secretary-General expressed concern over Turkey's decision.

 

On 8 October 2020, some parts of Varosha were opened from the Officers' Club of Turkish and Turkish Cypriot Army to the Golden Sands Hotel.

 

In November 2020, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Turkey's ambassador to Nicosia, visited Varosha. In addition, the main avenue in Varosha has been renamed after Semih Sancar, Chief of the General Staff of Turkey from 1973 to 1978, a period including the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus.

 

The European Parliament on 27 November, asked Turkey to reverse its decision to re-open part of Varosha and resume negotiations aimed at resolving the Cyprus problem on the basis of a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation and called on the European Union to impose sanctions against Turkey, if things do not change. Turkey rejected the resolution, adding that Turkey will continue to protect both its own rights and those of Turkish Cypriots. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus presidency also condemned the resolution.

 

On 20 July 2021, Tatar, the president of Northern Cyprus announced the start of the 2nd phase of the opening of Varosha. He encouraged Greek Cypriots to apply Immovable Property Commission of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to claim their properties back if they have any such rights.

 

Bilal Aga Mosque, constructed in 1821 and taken out of service in 1974, was re-opened on 23 July 2021.

 

In response to a decision by the government of Turkish Cyprus, the presidential statement of the United Nations Security Council dated on 23 July said that settling any part of the abandoned Cypriot suburb of Varosha, "by people other than its inhabitants, is 'inadmissible'." The same day, Turkey rejected the presidential statement of the UNSC on Maras (Varosha), and said that these statements were based on Greek-Greek Cypriot propaganda, were groundless and unfounded claims, and inconsistent with the realities on the Island. On 24 July 2021, the presidency of Northern Cyprus condemned the presidential statement of the UNSC dated on 23 July, and stated that "We see and condemn it as an attempt to create an obstacle for the property-rights-holders in Varosha to achieve their rights".

 

By 1 January 2022, nearly 400,000 people had visited Varosha since its opening to civilians on 6 October 2020.

 

On 19 May 2022, Northern Cyprus opened a 600m long X 400m wide stretch of beach on the Golden Sands beach (from the King George Hotel to the Oceania Building) in Varosha for commercial use. Sun beds and umbrellas were installed.

 

UNFICYP said it would raise the decision taken by Turkish Cypriot authorities to open that stretch of beach in Varosha with the Security Council, spokesperson for the peacekeeping force Aleem Siddique said on Friday. The UN announced its "position on Varosha is unchanged and we are monitoring the situation closely".

 

In October 2022, the Turkish Cypriots announced that public institutions will be opened in the city.

 

In April 2023, Cleo Hotel, the 7-floor Golden Seaside Hotel, and the 3-star Aegean Hotel were purchased by a Turkish Cypriot businessman (from their Greek Cypriot owners) who will operate them within 2025.

 

On 10 August 2023, the Government of Northern Cyprus decided to construct a marina and tourist facility in Varosha.

 

Varosha was analyzed by Alan Weisman in his book The World Without Us as an example of the unstoppable power of nature.

 

Filmmaker Greek Cypriot Michael Cacoyannis described the city and interviewed its exiled citizens in the film Attilas '74, produced in 1975.

 

In 2021, the Belarusian group Main-De-Gloire dedicated a song to this city that has become a ghostly place.

 

Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a de facto state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. It is recognised only by Turkey, and its territory is considered by all other states to be part of the Republic of Cyprus.

 

Northern Cyprus extends from the tip of the Karpass Peninsula in the northeast to Morphou Bay, Cape Kormakitis and its westernmost point, the Kokkina exclave in the west. Its southernmost point is the village of Louroujina. A buffer zone under the control of the United Nations stretches between Northern Cyprus and the rest of the island and divides Nicosia, the island's largest city and capital of both sides.

 

A coup d'état in 1974, performed as part of an attempt to annex the island to Greece, prompted the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. This resulted in the eviction of much of the north's Greek Cypriot population, the flight of Turkish Cypriots from the south, and the partitioning of the island, leading to a unilateral declaration of independence by the north in 1983. Due to its lack of recognition, Northern Cyprus is heavily dependent on Turkey for economic, political and military support.

 

Attempts to reach a solution to the Cyprus dispute have been unsuccessful. The Turkish Army maintains a large force in Northern Cyprus with the support and approval of the TRNC government, while the Republic of Cyprus, the European Union as a whole, and the international community regard it as an occupation force. This military presence has been denounced in several United Nations Security Council resolutions.

 

Northern Cyprus is a semi-presidential, democratic republic with a cultural heritage incorporating various influences and an economy that is dominated by the services sector. The economy has seen growth through the 2000s and 2010s, with the GNP per capita more than tripling in the 2000s, but is held back by an international embargo due to the official closure of the ports in Northern Cyprus by the Republic of Cyprus. The official language is Turkish, with a distinct local dialect being spoken. The vast majority of the population consists of Sunni Muslims, while religious attitudes are mostly moderate and secular. Northern Cyprus is an observer state of ECO and OIC under the name "Turkish Cypriot State", PACE under the name "Turkish Cypriot Community", and Organization of Turkic States with its own name.

 

Several distinct periods of Cypriot intercommunal violence involving the two main ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, marked mid-20th century Cyprus. These included the Cyprus Emergency of 1955–59 during British rule, the post-independence Cyprus crisis of 1963–64, and the Cyprus crisis of 1967. Hostilities culminated in the 1974 de facto division of the island along the Green Line following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The region has been relatively peaceful since then, but the Cyprus dispute has continued, with various attempts to solve it diplomatically having been generally unsuccessful.

 

Cyprus, an island lying in the eastern Mediterranean, hosted a population of Greeks and Turks (four-fifths and one-fifth, respectively), who lived under British rule in the late nineteenth-century and the first half of the twentieth-century. Christian Orthodox Church of Cyprus played a prominent political role among the Greek Cypriot community, a privilege that it acquired during the Ottoman Empire with the employment of the millet system, which gave the archbishop an unofficial ethnarch status.

 

The repeated rejections by the British of Greek Cypriot demands for enosis, union with Greece, led to armed resistance, organised by the National Organization of Cypriot Struggle, or EOKA. EOKA, led by the Greek-Cypriot commander George Grivas, systematically targeted British colonial authorities. One of the effects of EOKA's campaign was to alter the Turkish position from demanding full reincorporation into Turkey to a demand for taksim (partition). EOKA's mission and activities caused a "Cretan syndrome" (see Turkish Resistance Organisation) within the Turkish Cypriot community, as its members feared that they would be forced to leave the island in such a case as had been the case with Cretan Turks. As such, they preferred the continuation of British colonial rule and then taksim, the division of the island. Due to the Turkish Cypriots' support for the British, EOKA's leader, Georgios Grivas, declared them to be enemies. The fact that the Turks were a minority was, according to Nihat Erim, to be addressed by the transfer of thousands of Turks from mainland Turkey so that Greek Cypriots would cease to be the majority. When Erim visited Cyprus as the Turkish representative, he was advised by Field Marshal Sir John Harding, the then Governor of Cyprus, that Turkey should send educated Turks to settle in Cyprus.

 

Turkey actively promoted the idea that on the island of Cyprus two distinctive communities existed, and sidestepped its former claim that "the people of Cyprus were all Turkish subjects". In doing so, Turkey's aim to have self-determination of two to-be equal communities in effect led to de jure partition of the island.[citation needed] This could be justified to the international community against the will of the majority Greek population of the island. Dr. Fazil Küçük in 1954 had already proposed Cyprus be divided in two at the 35° parallel.

 

Lindley Dan, from Notre Dame University, spotted the roots of intercommunal violence to different visions among the two communities of Cyprus (enosis for Greek Cypriots, taksim for Turkish Cypriots). Also, Lindlay wrote that "the merging of church, schools/education, and politics in divisive and nationalistic ways" had played a crucial role in creation of havoc in Cyprus' history. Attalides Michael also pointed to the opposing nationalisms as the cause of the Cyprus problem.

 

By the mid-1950's, the "Cyprus is Turkish" party, movement, and slogan gained force in both Cyprus and Turkey. In a 1954 editorial, Turkish Cypriot leader Dr. Fazil Kuchuk expressed the sentiment that the Turkish youth had grown up with the idea that "as soon as Great Britain leaves the island, it will be taken over by the Turks", and that "Turkey cannot tolerate otherwise". This perspective contributed to the willingness of Turkish Cypriots to align themselves with the British, who started recruiting Turkish Cypriots into the police force that patrolled Cyprus to fight EOKA, a Greek Cypriot nationalist organisation that sought to rid the island of British rule.

 

EOKA targeted colonial authorities, including police, but Georgios Grivas, the leader of EOKA, did not initially wish to open up a new front by fighting Turkish Cypriots and reassured them that EOKA would not harm their people. In 1956, some Turkish Cypriot policemen were killed by EOKA members and this provoked some intercommunal violence in the spring and summer, but these attacks on policemen were not motivated by the fact that they were Turkish Cypriots.

 

However, in January 1957, Grivas changed his policy as his forces in the mountains became increasingly pressured by the British Crown forces. In order to divert the attention of the Crown forces, EOKA members started to target Turkish Cypriot policemen intentionally in the towns, so that Turkish Cypriots would riot against the Greek Cypriots and the security forces would have to be diverted to the towns to restore order. The killing of a Turkish Cypriot policeman on 19 January, when a power station was bombed, and the injury of three others, provoked three days of intercommunal violence in Nicosia. The two communities targeted each other in reprisals, at least one Greek Cypriot was killed and the British Army was deployed in the streets. Greek Cypriot stores were burned and their neighbourhoods attacked. Following the events, the Greek Cypriot leadership spread the propaganda that the riots had merely been an act of Turkish Cypriot aggression. Such events created chaos and drove the communities apart both in Cyprus and in Turkey.

 

On 22 October 1957 Sir Hugh Mackintosh Foot replaced Sir John Harding as the British Governor of Cyprus. Foot suggested five to seven years of self-government before any final decision. His plan rejected both enosis and taksim. The Turkish Cypriot response to this plan was a series of anti-British demonstrations in Nicosia on 27 and 28 January 1958 rejecting the proposed plan because the plan did not include partition. The British then withdrew the plan.

 

In 1957, Black Gang, a Turkish Cypriot pro-taksim paramilitary organisation, was formed to patrol a Turkish Cypriot enclave, the Tahtakale district of Nicosia, against activities of EOKA. The organisation later attempted to grow into a national scale, but failed to gain public support.

 

By 1958, signs of dissatisfaction with the British increased on both sides, with a group of Turkish Cypriots forming Volkan (later renamed to the Turkish Resistance Organisation) paramilitary group to promote partition and the annexation of Cyprus to Turkey as dictated by the Menderes plan. Volkan initially consisted of roughly 100 members, with the stated aim of raising awareness in Turkey of the Cyprus issue and courting military training and support for Turkish Cypriot fighters from the Turkish government.

 

In June 1958, the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, was expected to propose a plan to resolve the Cyprus issue. In light of the new development, the Turks rioted in Nicosia to promote the idea that Greek and Turkish Cypriots could not live together and therefore any plan that did not include partition would not be viable. This violence was soon followed by bombing, Greek Cypriot deaths and looting of Greek Cypriot-owned shops and houses. Greek and Turkish Cypriots started to flee mixed population villages where they were a minority in search of safety. This was effectively the beginning of the segregation of the two communities. On 7 June 1958, a bomb exploded at the entrance of the Turkish Embassy in Cyprus. Following the bombing, Turkish Cypriots looted Greek Cypriot properties. On 26 June 1984, the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktaş, admitted on British channel ITV that the bomb was placed by the Turks themselves in order to create tension. On 9 January 1995, Rauf Denktaş repeated his claim to the famous Turkish newspaper Milliyet in Turkey.

 

The crisis reached a climax on 12 June 1958, when eight Greeks, out of an armed group of thirty five arrested by soldiers of the Royal Horse Guards on suspicion of preparing an attack on the Turkish quarter of Skylloura, were killed in a suspected attack by Turkish Cypriot locals, near the village of Geunyeli, having been ordered to walk back to their village of Kondemenos.

 

After the EOKA campaign had begun, the British government successfully began to turn the Cyprus issue from a British colonial problem into a Greek-Turkish issue. British diplomacy exerted backstage influence on the Adnan Menderes government, with the aim of making Turkey active in Cyprus. For the British, the attempt had a twofold objective. The EOKA campaign would be silenced as quickly as possible, and Turkish Cypriots would not side with Greek Cypriots against the British colonial claims over the island, which would thus remain under the British. The Turkish Cypriot leadership visited Menderes to discuss the Cyprus issue. When asked how the Turkish Cypriots should respond to the Greek Cypriot claim of enosis, Menderes replied: "You should go to the British foreign minister and request the status quo be prolonged, Cyprus to remain as a British colony". When the Turkish Cypriots visited the British Foreign Secretary and requested for Cyprus to remain a colony, he replied: "You should not be asking for colonialism at this day and age, you should be asking for Cyprus be returned to Turkey, its former owner".

 

As Turkish Cypriots began to look to Turkey for protection, Greek Cypriots soon understood that enosis was extremely unlikely. The Greek Cypriot leader, Archbishop Makarios III, now set independence for the island as his objective.

 

Britain resolved to solve the dispute by creating an independent Cyprus. In 1959, all involved parties signed the Zurich Agreements: Britain, Turkey, Greece, and the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders, Makarios and Dr. Fazil Kucuk, respectively. The new constitution drew heavily on the ethnic composition of the island. The President would be a Greek Cypriot, and the Vice-President a Turkish Cypriot with an equal veto. The contribution to the public service would be set at a ratio of 70:30, and the Supreme Court would consist of an equal number of judges from both communities as well as an independent judge who was not Greek, Turkish or British. The Zurich Agreements were supplemented by a number of treaties. The Treaty of Guarantee stated that secession or union with any state was forbidden, and that Greece, Turkey and Britain would be given guarantor status to intervene if that was violated. The Treaty of Alliance allowed for two small Greek and Turkish military contingents to be stationed on the island, and the Treaty of Establishment gave Britain sovereignty over two bases in Akrotiri and Dhekelia.

 

On 15 August 1960, the Colony of Cyprus became fully independent as the Republic of Cyprus. The new republic remained within the Commonwealth of Nations.

 

The new constitution brought dissatisfaction to Greek Cypriots, who felt it to be highly unjust for them for historical, demographic and contributional reasons. Although 80% of the island's population were Greek Cypriots and these indigenous people had lived on the island for thousands of years and paid 94% of taxes, the new constitution was giving the 17% of the population that was Turkish Cypriots, who paid 6% of taxes, around 30% of government jobs and 40% of national security jobs.

 

Within three years tensions between the two communities in administrative affairs began to show. In particular disputes over separate municipalities and taxation created a deadlock in government. A constitutional court ruled in 1963 Makarios had failed to uphold article 173 of the constitution which called for the establishment of separate municipalities for Turkish Cypriots. Makarios subsequently declared his intention to ignore the judgement, resulting in the West German judge resigning from his position. Makarios proposed thirteen amendments to the constitution, which would have had the effect of resolving most of the issues in the Greek Cypriot favour. Under the proposals, the President and Vice-President would lose their veto, the separate municipalities as sought after by the Turkish Cypriots would be abandoned, the need for separate majorities by both communities in passing legislation would be discarded and the civil service contribution would be set at actual population ratios (82:18) instead of the slightly higher figure for Turkish Cypriots.

 

The intention behind the amendments has long been called into question. The Akritas plan, written in the height of the constitutional dispute by the Greek Cypriot interior minister Polycarpos Georkadjis, called for the removal of undesirable elements of the constitution so as to allow power-sharing to work. The plan envisaged a swift retaliatory attack on Turkish Cypriot strongholds should Turkish Cypriots resort to violence to resist the measures, stating "In the event of a planned or staged Turkish attack, it is imperative to overcome it by force in the shortest possible time, because if we succeed in gaining command of the situation (in one or two days), no outside, intervention would be either justified or possible." Whether Makarios's proposals were part of the Akritas plan is unclear, however it remains that sentiment towards enosis had not completely disappeared with independence. Makarios described independence as "a step on the road to enosis".[31] Preparations for conflict were not entirely absent from Turkish Cypriots either, with right wing elements still believing taksim (partition) the best safeguard against enosis.

 

Greek Cypriots however believe the amendments were a necessity stemming from a perceived attempt by Turkish Cypriots to frustrate the working of government. Turkish Cypriots saw it as a means to reduce their status within the state from one of co-founder to that of minority, seeing it as a first step towards enosis. The security situation deteriorated rapidly.

 

Main articles: Bloody Christmas (1963) and Battle of Tillyria

An armed conflict was triggered after December 21, 1963, a period remembered by Turkish Cypriots as Bloody Christmas, when a Greek Cypriot policemen that had been called to help deal with a taxi driver refusing officers already on the scene access to check the identification documents of his customers, took out his gun upon arrival and shot and killed the taxi driver and his partner. Eric Solsten summarised the events as follows: "a Greek Cypriot police patrol, ostensibly checking identification documents, stopped a Turkish Cypriot couple on the edge of the Turkish quarter. A hostile crowd gathered, shots were fired, and two Turkish Cypriots were killed."

 

In the morning after the shooting, crowds gathered in protest in Northern Nicosia, likely encouraged by the TMT, without incident. On the evening of the 22nd, gunfire broke out, communication lines to the Turkish neighbourhoods were cut, and the Greek Cypriot police occupied the nearby airport. On the 23rd, a ceasefire was negotiated, but did not hold. Fighting, including automatic weapons fire, between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and militias increased in Nicosia and Larnaca. A force of Greek Cypriot irregulars led by Nikos Sampson entered the Nicosia suburb of Omorphita and engaged in heavy firing on armed, as well as by some accounts unarmed, Turkish Cypriots. The Omorphita clash has been described by Turkish Cypriots as a massacre, while this view has generally not been acknowledged by Greek Cypriots.

 

Further ceasefires were arranged between the two sides, but also failed. By Christmas Eve, the 24th, Britain, Greece, and Turkey had joined talks, with all sides calling for a truce. On Christmas day, Turkish fighter jets overflew Nicosia in a show of support. Finally it was agreed to allow a force of 2,700 British soldiers to help enforce a ceasefire. In the next days, a "buffer zone" was created in Nicosia, and a British officer marked a line on a map with green ink, separating the two sides of the city, which was the beginning of the "Green Line". Fighting continued across the island for the next several weeks.

 

In total 364 Turkish Cypriots and 174 Greek Cypriots were killed during the violence. 25,000 Turkish Cypriots from 103-109 villages fled and were displaced into enclaves and thousands of Turkish Cypriot houses were ransacked or completely destroyed.

 

Contemporary newspapers also reported on the forceful exodus of the Turkish Cypriots from their homes. According to The Times in 1964, threats, shootings and attempts of arson were committed against the Turkish Cypriots to force them out of their homes. The Daily Express wrote that "25,000 Turks have already been forced to leave their homes". The Guardian reported a massacre of Turks at Limassol on 16 February 1964.

 

Turkey had by now readied its fleet and its fighter jets appeared over Nicosia. Turkey was dissuaded from direct involvement by the creation of a United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) in 1964. Despite the negotiated ceasefire in Nicosia, attacks on the Turkish Cypriot persisted, particularly in Limassol. Concerned about the possibility of a Turkish invasion, Makarios undertook the creation of a Greek Cypriot conscript-based army called the "National Guard". A general from Greece took charge of the army, whilst a further 20,000 well-equipped officers and men were smuggled from Greece into Cyprus. Turkey threatened to intervene once more, but was prevented by a strongly worded letter from the American President Lyndon B. Johnson, anxious to avoid a conflict between NATO allies Greece and Turkey at the height of the Cold War.

 

Turkish Cypriots had by now established an important bridgehead at Kokkina, provided with arms, volunteers and materials from Turkey and abroad. Seeing this incursion of foreign weapons and troops as a major threat, the Cypriot government invited George Grivas to return from Greece as commander of the Greek troops on the island and launch a major attack on the bridgehead. Turkey retaliated by dispatching its fighter jets to bomb Greek positions, causing Makarios to threaten an attack on every Turkish Cypriot village on the island if the bombings did not cease. The conflict had now drawn in Greece and Turkey, with both countries amassing troops on their Thracian borders. Efforts at mediation by Dean Acheson, a former U.S. Secretary of State, and UN-appointed mediator Galo Plaza had failed, all the while the division of the two communities becoming more apparent. Greek Cypriot forces were estimated at some 30,000, including the National Guard and the large contingent from Greece. Defending the Turkish Cypriot enclaves was a force of approximately 5,000 irregulars, led by a Turkish colonel, but lacking the equipment and organisation of the Greek forces.

 

The Secretary-General of the United Nations in 1964, U Thant, reported the damage during the conflicts:

 

UNFICYP carried out a detailed survey of all damage to properties throughout the island during the disturbances; it shows that in 109 villages, most of them Turkish-Cypriot or mixed villages, 527 houses have been destroyed while 2,000 others have suffered damage from looting.

 

The situation worsened in 1967, when a military junta overthrew the democratically elected government of Greece, and began applying pressure on Makarios to achieve enosis. Makarios, not wishing to become part of a military dictatorship or trigger a Turkish invasion, began to distance himself from the goal of enosis. This caused tensions with the junta in Greece as well as George Grivas in Cyprus. Grivas's control over the National Guard and Greek contingent was seen as a threat to Makarios's position, who now feared a possible coup.[citation needed] The National Guard and Cyprus Police began patrolling the Turkish Cypriot enclaves of Ayios Theodoros and Kophinou, and on November 15 engaged in heavy fighting with the Turkish Cypriots.

 

By the time of his withdrawal 26 Turkish Cypriots had been killed. Turkey replied with an ultimatum demanding that Grivas be removed from the island, that the troops smuggled from Greece in excess of the limits of the Treaty of Alliance be removed, and that the economic blockades on the Turkish Cypriot enclaves be lifted. Grivas was recalled by the Athens Junta and the 12,000 Greek troops were withdrawn. Makarios now attempted to consolidate his position by reducing the number of National Guard troops, and by creating a paramilitary force loyal to Cypriot independence. In 1968, acknowledging that enosis was now all but impossible, Makarios stated, "A solution by necessity must be sought within the limits of what is feasible which does not always coincide with the limits of what is desirable."

 

After 1967 tensions between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots subsided. Instead, the main source of tension on the island came from factions within the Greek Cypriot community. Although Makarios had effectively abandoned enosis in favour of an 'attainable solution', many others continued to believe that the only legitimate political aspiration for Greek Cypriots was union with Greece.

 

On his arrival, Grivas began by establishing a nationalist paramilitary group known as the National Organization of Cypriot Fighters (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston B or EOKA-B), drawing comparisons with the EOKA struggle for enosis under the British colonial administration of the 1950s.

 

The military junta in Athens saw Makarios as an obstacle. Makarios's failure to disband the National Guard, whose officer class was dominated by mainland Greeks, had meant the junta had practical control over the Cypriot military establishment, leaving Makarios isolated and a vulnerable target.

 

During the first Turkish invasion, Turkish troops invaded Cyprus territory on 20 July 1974, invoking its rights under the Treaty of Guarantee. This expansion of Turkish-occupied zone violated International Law as well as the Charter of the United Nations. Turkish troops managed to capture 3% of the island which was accompanied by the burning of the Turkish Cypriot quarter, as well as the raping and killing of women and children. A temporary cease-fire followed which was mitigated by the UN Security Council. Subsequently, the Greek military Junta collapsed on July 23, 1974, and peace talks commenced in which a democratic government was installed. The Resolution 353 was broken after Turkey attacked a second time and managed to get a hold of 37% of Cyprus territory. The Island of Cyprus was appointed a Buffer Zone by the United Nations, which divided the island into two zones through the 'Green Line' and put an end to the Turkish invasion. Although Turkey announced that the occupied areas of Cyprus to be called the Federated Turkish State in 1975, it is not legitimised on a worldwide political scale. The United Nations called for the international recognition of independence for the Republic of Cyprus in the Security Council Resolution 367.

 

In the years after the Turkish invasion of northern Cyprus one can observe a history of failed talks between the two parties. The 1983 declaration of the independent Turkish Republic of Cyprus resulted in a rise of inter-communal tensions and made it increasingly hard to find mutual understanding. With Cyprus' interest of a possible EU membership and a new UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1997 new hopes arose for a fresh start. International involvement from sides of the US and UK, wanting a solution to the Cyprus dispute prior to the EU accession led to political pressures for new talks. The believe that an accession without a solution would threaten Greek-Turkish relations and acknowledge the partition of the island would direct the coming negotiations.

 

Over the course of two years a concrete plan, the Annan plan was formulated. In 2004 the fifth version agreed upon from both sides and with the endorsement of Turkey, US, UK and EU then was presented to the public and was given a referendum in both Cypriot communities to assure the legitimisation of the resolution. The Turkish Cypriots voted with 65% for the plan, however the Greek Cypriots voted with a 76% majority against. The Annan plan contained multiple important topics. Firstly it established a confederation of two separate states called the United Cyprus Republic. Both communities would have autonomous states combined under one unified government. The members of parliament would be chosen according to the percentage in population numbers to ensure a just involvement from both communities. The paper proposed a demilitarisation of the island over the next years. Furthermore it agreed upon a number of 45000 Turkish settlers that could remain on the island. These settlers became a very important issue concerning peace talks. Originally the Turkish government encouraged Turks to settle in Cyprus providing transfer and property, to establish a counterpart to the Greek Cypriot population due to their 1 to 5 minority. With the economic situation many Turkish-Cypriot decided to leave the island, however their departure is made up by incoming Turkish settlers leaving the population ratio between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots stable. However all these points where criticised and as seen in the vote rejected mainly by the Greek Cypriots. These name the dissolution of the „Republic of Cyprus", economic consequences of a reunion and the remaining Turkish settlers as reason. Many claim that the plan was indeed drawing more from Turkish-Cypriot demands then Greek-Cypriot interests. Taking in consideration that the US wanted to keep Turkey as a strategic partner in future Middle Eastern conflicts.

 

A week after the failed referendum the Republic of Cyprus joined the EU. In multiple instances the EU tried to promote trade with Northern Cyprus but without internationally recognised ports this spiked a grand debate. Both side endure their intention of negotiations, however without the prospect of any new compromises or agreements the UN is unwilling to start the process again. Since 2004 negotiations took place in numbers but without any results, both sides are strongly holding on to their position without an agreeable solution in sight that would suit both parties.

A vehicle convoy consisting of members from 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group conducts a road move to Wainwright training area to commence Exercise Maple Resolve 22 on May 10, 2022.

 

Please Credit: Corporal Jonathan King, Canadian Forces Support Group (Ottawa/Gatineau) Imaging Services.

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Un convoi réalisé par des membres du 2e Groupe-brigade mécanisé du Canada entreprend un mouvement routier vers la zone d’entraînement de Wainwright pour débuter l’exercice MAPLE RESOLVE 22, le 10 mai 2022.

 

Photo : Caporal Jonathan King, Services d’imagerie du Groupe de soutien des Forces canadiennes (Ottawa-Gatineau)

An Austrian soldier of 2nd Company, 25th Infantry Battalion, 7th Infantry Brigade conducts radio communications during exercise Combined Resolve II at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, May 29, 2014. Combined Resolve II is a multinational decisive action training environment exercise occurring at the Joint Multinational Training Command’s Hohenfels and Grafenwoehr Training Areas that involves more than 4,000 participants from 15 partner nations. The intent of the exercise is to train and prepare a U.S. led multinational brigade to interoperate with multiple partner nations and execute unified land operations against a complex threat while improving the combat readiness of all participants. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Justin De Hoyos)

Members of 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment run to provide support during a simulated assault in the Wainwright training area during Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE on May 11, 2022.

 

Please credit: S1 Zach Barr, Canadian Armed Forces photo

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Des membres du 2e Bataillon du Royal Canadian Regiment courent pour apporter leur aide lors d’une attaque simulée dans le secteur d’entraînement de Wainwright, au cours de l’exercice MAPLE RESOLVE, le 11 mai 2022.

 

Photo : Mat 1 Zach Barr, Forces armées canadiennes

A member of the United States Army folds a parachute in preparation of a second jump during Exercise MAPLE RESOLVE 22 in the Wainwright training area, Alberta on 8 May 2022.

 

Please credit: MCpl Nicolas Alonso, Canadian Forces Combat Camera, Canadian Armed Forces Photo

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Une membre de l’armée américaine plie un parachute en préparation d’un deuxième saut durant l’exercice MAPLE RESOLVE 22, mené dans la zone d’entraînement de Wainwright, en Alberta, le 8 mai 2022.

 

Photo : Cplc Nicolas Alonso, Caméra de combat des Forces canadiennes, photo des Forces armées canadiennes

 

Special operation forces from Croatia conduct close quarter battle training to prepare for Exercise Combined Resolve II at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, May 15, 2014. The exercise is a U.S. Army Europe-directed multinational exercise at the Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels Training Areas, including more than 4,000 participants from 15 allied and partner countries including special operations forces from the U.S., Bulgaria and Croatia interoperability training during the exercise to promote security and stability among NATO and European partner nations. (U.S. Army photo by Visual Information Specialist Gertrud Zach/Released)

Royal Canadian Air Force personnel prepare to depart on MAPLE RESOLVE 22, where two Battle Groups readiness will be evaluated during Canada’s largest annual Army exercise at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, on May 10, 2022.

 

Please Credit: Corporal Jonathan King, Canadian Forces Support Group (Ottawa/Gatineau) Imaging Services.

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Des membres du personnel de l’Aviation royale canadienne se préparent en vue du décollage dans le cadre de MAPLE RESOLVE 22, exercice annuel le plus important de l’Armée canadienne mené à la Base des Forces canadiennes Wainwright, au cours duquel on évaluera la disponibilité opérationnelle de deux groupements tactiques, le 10 mai 2022.

 

Photo : Caporal Jonathan King, Services d’imagerie du Groupe de soutien des Forces canadiennes (Ottawa-Gatineau)