Canadian veterans remember how they eased tensions as UN peacekeepers in ethnically split Cyprus

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — It was the first time that Canadian U.N. peacekeeper Michelle Angela Hamelin said she came up against the raw emotion of a people so exasperated with their country’s predicament.

Seared in her memory from her eight-month tour of duty on the ethnically divided Cyprus in 1986 was the fury of Greek Cypriot protesters demonstrating against the first-ever visit by a Turkish head of government to the island’s breakaway Turkish Cypriot north.

“I think that that was something that really stuck to my mind because of that anger and the people,” Hamelin told The Associated Press.

She was one of among 100 other Canadian veterans who travelled to Cyprus as part of commemorations that culminated Monday to mark the 60th anniversary of the U.N. peacekeeping force, known as UNFICYP, the longest such Canadian mission.

“This was the first time I was confronted with people that were really, really upset with their situation that they were in,” she said.

At the time, it had been a dozen years after a Turkish invasion — triggered by a coup aiming at union with Greece — sliced the island along ethnic lines and tensions were still high.

UNFICYP had been in place since 1964, a decade prior to the invasion, deployed to tamp down hostilities between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots to prevent an all-out civil war.

Canadians were among the first to join the force and more than 28,000 would eventually serve with UNFICYP. Canada withdrew almost all its peacekeepers from UNFICYP in 1993, but a Canadian presence still remains.

Some 28 Canadians lost their lives in the line of duty on Cyprus.

Through most of 1986, it was Hamelin’s job as a driver to support patrols in the U.N.-controlled buffer zone that separated troops on either side of the divide in the medieval center of the capital, Nicosia, staying in the once luxurious Ledra Palace hotel that had been converted into a U.N. barracks.

The hotel’s bullet-pockmarked sandstone walls were a constant reminder that a flare-up in hostilities could never be ruled out.

"The Turkish side where I stayed was right there underneath my window at Ledra Palace ... you got bullet holes above your bed. There’s a possibility this could happen again,” she recalled.

It didn’t. Hamelin said her Canadian colleagues would often muster all their diplomatic skills with jittery soldiers to keep tensions from escalating.

Ronald Reginald Griffis could attest to that trademark, calm Canadian demeanor that earned the country’s peacekeepers a reputation for even-handedness and ability to quickly defuse tensions.

Griffis was one of the first Canadians to serve in UNFICYP back in 1964, and he recalled how he would employ that cool Canadian way to settle disputes along the so-called Green Line that separated Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot neighborhoods inside old Nicosia.

“One of the qualities was the quietness of the Canadians. They listened, or at least I listened. And then, you know, you talk it over. You try to explain things,” said Griffis, a native of Nova Scotia who now lives in Cottam, Ontario.

“I thought that they appreciated Canadians being there, and I think they trusted the Canadians doing what they can do,” he said.

More than 100 active-duty Canadian Armed forces personnel, dispatched to Cyprus to assist in possible evacuations of Canadians from nearby Lebanon, joined Hamelin, Griffis and other veterans for a Remembrance Day ceremony at the Canadian U.N. Peacekeeper Memorial inside the buffer zone near the Ledra Palace hotel.

Canada’s High Commissioner to Cyprus Anna-Karine Asselin said the size of the delegation at the commemoration event illustrated the “deep significance of the mission” for Canadian veterans.

“We pay tribute to their invaluable contribution to peace. We recognize the challenges they faced along the way,” Asselin said.

A few days earlier, Hamelin and Griffis had joined a tour of the buffer zone that brought many recollections.

Both spoke of the changes between Cyprus then and now — from donkey carts in Nicosia's streets in 1964 to a thoroughly modern European Union member state 60 years later.

But for Hamelin, no matter how much things have changed in Cyprus, they remain much the same.

“I see how built up this is now in Nicosia. But it’s still the same. We still have that division and it’s very, very ... in your face,” she said.

An old U.N helmet is seen with the red poppies is seen during a commemoration for the 60th anniversary of Canada's contribution to the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus at Wolseley Barracks inside a UN-controlled buffer zone cleaving the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Canadian veteran with the honors on his jacket stands during a commemoration for the 60th anniversary of Canada's contribution to the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus at Wolseley Barracks inside a UN-controlled buffer zone cleaving the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Canadian veterans stand commemorating the 60th anniversary of Canada's contribution to the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus at Wolseley Barracks inside a UN-controlled buffer zone cleaving the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Canadian veterans stand commemorating the 60th anniversary of Canada's contribution to the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus at Wolseley Barracks inside a UN-controlled buffer zone cleaving the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Canadian veterans stand commemorating the 60th anniversary of Canada's contribution to the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus at Wolseley Barracks inside a UN-controlled buffer zone cleaving the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Canadian veterans stand commemorating the 60th anniversary of Canada's contribution to the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus at Wolseley Barracks inside a UN-controlled buffer zone cleaving the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Canadian veteran Michelle Angela Hamelin lays a wreath at the unveiling of a plaque commemorating the 60th anniversary of Canada's contribution to the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus at Wolseley Barracks inside a UN-controlled buffer zone cleaving the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Canadian veteran Michelle Angela Hamelin is seen during a commemoration for the 60th anniversary of Canada's contribution to the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus at Wolseley Barracks inside a UN-controlled buffer zone cleaving the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Canadian veteran Ronald Reginald Griffis lays a wreath at the unveiling of a plaque commemorating the 60th anniversary of Canada's contribution to the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus at Wolseley Barracks inside a UN-controlled buffer zone cleaving the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Canadian veteran Ronald Reginald Griffis salutes during a commemoration for the 60th anniversary of Canada's contribution to the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus at Wolseley Barracks inside a UN-controlled buffer zone cleaving the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Canadian veteran Ronald Reginald Griffis, center, with others veterans, salutes during a commemoration for the 60th anniversary of Canada's contribution to the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus at Wolseley Barracks inside a UN-controlled buffer zone cleaving the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Canadian veteran Ronald Reginald Griffis salutes during a commemoration for the 60th anniversary of Canada's contribution to the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus at Wolseley Barracks inside a UN-controlled buffer zone cleaving the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander isn't scoring the way he usually does, but the Oklahoma City Thunder are still winning the way they normally do.

Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning NBA MVP, averaged 31.1 points during the regular season. In the Western Conference semifinals against the Los Angeles Lakers, he is averaging 20 points and taking only 14 shots per game.

Oklahoma City has still won the first two games by an average of 18 points. Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren each scored 22 points, and the defending champion Thunder beat the Lakers 125-107 on Thursday night.

Ajay Mitchell, starting in place of injured Jalen Williams, is averaging 19 points on 50% shooting in the series for Oklahoma City.

“I think the coaching staff does a good job at just getting all of us ready,” said Mitchell, a second-year guard. "And we have a lot of competitors. Like, everyone’s a competitor on our team. So every time the lights are bright, everyone’s ready to go.”

Holmgren is the leading scorer for the Thunder in the best-of-seven series with 23 points per game. The 2026 All-Star also is averaging 10.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks.

Jared McCain, a midseason acquisition from the Philadelphia 76ers, barely played in the first round against Phoenix but has averaged 15 points and made 8 of 10 3-pointers in the series.

“He goes in there, stays in character, stays aggressive," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "He’s going to shoot the next shot. He makes the right plays, plays inside the team. He competes defensively, has had good defensive possessions for us. And he was huge tonight. You need that in a playoff series.”

The Lakers again were without scoring champion Luka Doncic, who is out indefinitely with a strained left hamstring. They also were missing forward Jarred Vanderbilt, the reserve forward who dislocated the pinkie on his right hand during the second quarter of Game 1. The Lakers had three players finish with five fouls, limiting their aggressiveness late in the game.

Los Angeles guard Austin Reaves, who struggled with his shot in Game 1, scored 31 points on 10-for-16 shooting in Game 2. LeBron James, coming off a 27-point effort in Game 1, followed that up with 23.

With the Lakers up 63-61 early in the third quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander got tied up with Reaves and was called for his fourth foul. Upon review, it was upgraded to a flagrant 1 for Gilgeous-Alexander's follow through. Oklahoma City's Alex Caruso was called for a technical foul as the situation was being sorted out.

Gilgeous-Alexander left the game with the Lakers up 65-61, but the Thunder rallied and took control without him. On a fast break, Holmgren found a trailing Jaylin Williams, who hit a 3-pointer and was fouled. His free throw put the Thunder up 85-74.

The Thunder outscored the Lakers 32-15 while Gilgeous-Alexander was out in the third quarter to take a 93-80 lead into the fourth.

“It was amazing," Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They strung together stops, they’re playing the right way offensively and things are going their way. Full confidence in those guys. They know how to win basketball games. And we've proven that. They’ve proven that no matter who’s on the floor, they know how to get the job done. And they just did it again tonight."

The Lakers cut Oklahoma City's lead to five in the fourth quarter before the Thunder pulled away again.

Los Angeles will host Game 3 on Saturday.

“We just stuck with it,” Holmgren said. “It’s the game of basketball. It’s not always going to go your way. It’s about how you respond. And this team has proven many times that we know how to respond. And we did so tonight.”

This story has been corrected to show that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 20, not 19, points per game against the Lakers.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Oklahoma City Thunder's Chet Holmgren (7) shoots over Los Angeles Lakers' Austin Reaves (15) in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell, front, works for a shot as Los Angeles Lakers' Austin Reaves, rear, defends in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James stands on the court in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) drives to the basket past Los Angeles Lakers' Deandre Ayton (5) and LeBron James, rear, in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) works to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) in the second half of Game 2 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)