Since the enclaves, scattered all over the island, were regarded by the Greek Cypriots as armed camps that aimed to undermine the state and prepare the way for a Turkish invasion, restrictions were imposed on who and what could go in and out of them. However, the Cyprus government soon came to realise that these restrictions were, in fact, counterproductive and served the Turkish goal of increasing animosity between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, creating de facto partition and alienating Turkish Cypriots from the Republic of Cyprus. Thus, after 1967, restrictions on the enclaves were eased and many Turkish Cypriots, despite opposition from the TMT, began to return to the villages they had left in 1963.[citation needed]