The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is commemorating its role in the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).
Initiated in 1964, UNFICYP marked the inaugural mission to include Australian police abroad with the initial Australian team arriving in May to aid in curtailing further hostilities on the island.
AFP Superintendent Jason Byrnes, who was part of the 62nd Australian contingent in Cyprus, reflected on his tenure as both demanding and fulfilling.
“When I arrived in Cyprus, the landscape between the Larnaca Airport and the capital, Nicosia, was almost lunar-like in terms of lack of vegetation and baron dirt and rocks. It was quite impressive to drive along those highways,” Superintendent Byrnes said.
“While I spent most of my time in Nicosia, I also spent a month in Pyla, the last bi-communal village where both Greek and Turkish Cypriots coexisted. It was a very complex and dynamic atmosphere with political and racial undertones.
Pyla was inside the buffer zone surrounded by landmines, with Greek and Turkish Cypriots living in the same village. There was a Greek Cypriot Mayor and a Turkish Cypriot Mayor.
“We had to make sure if one of the police forces from either side wanted to enter the village that the other side was aware of it and respected each other’s laws.”
Cyprus hosts one of the longest-standing peacekeeping missions globally, with Australia contributing 111 contingents and over 1,600 police officers to the effort.
Deployed across various Cypriot towns and cities, these officers collaborated with UNFICYP to oversee ceasefire lines, conduct patrols, and partake in community policing initiatives designed to cultivate trust and cooperation between the segregated communities.
Australian police have subsequently engaged in numerous peacekeeping and capacity-building missions worldwide, including in countries like Timor Leste, Haiti, Mozambique, Afghanistan, Solomon Islands, Cambodia, Sudan, and Papua New Guinea.
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