Rauf Denktash

Died

In the chaos following Cyprus's independence from Britain in 1960, two men who once faced each other as young barristers battled for the soul of the small island in the eastern Mediterranean. Rauf Denktash, who died Jan. 13 at 87, represented the 160,000 Turkish Cypriots--20% of the population. Though he could communicate in cordial letters with his old courtroom adversary, Greek Cypriot leader Glafkos Clerides, their friendship ended at the negotiating table. For 30 years Denktash led a stubborn resistance to unification under the Greek majority. An Athens-backed coup took control in 1974; Turkey invaded, and in 1983 Turkish Cypriots...

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