Cyprus-Forum.com

[Piratis]

The bottom line is Cyprus has been ruled by foreigners and those foreigners didn't want to leave Cyprus due to their own geopolitical reasons so they used the TC minority as the excuse to maintain their control over our island and not to allow the Cypriot people to have their freedom and self determination.

[denizaksulu]

A stepping stone but one that was regarded as guaranteed in the mid 50s? Sounds very unlikely!

How can you say unlikely. They got rid of the biggest obstacle - the British, all they were left to deal with was the TCs. Very clever wouldnt you say?

[zan]

The bottom line is Cyprus has been ruled by foreigners and those foreigners didn't want to leave Cyprus due to their own geopolitical reasons so they used the TC minority as the excuse to maintain their control over our island and not to allow the Cypriot people to have their freedom and self determination.

The sound of a man falling I think you left out a word there on purpose Piratis.......ALL....As in ALL Cypriots......

[Nikitas]

I am a GC, that is a fact, but one who is against Enosis for some very distinct reasons.

A union implies an act between equals. And there are provisions stated beforehand of what that union will become. From all I have heard, read and listened to regarding Enosis it was not to be a UNION. It was a conquest of Cyprus by Greece and assimilation into its state structure. There was never any thought given to what Cyprus might have to contribute to the improvement of Greece and the new structure that would result.

And the inescapable question arising from this conclusion, that it was a conquest, was what is Greece risking for this gain. The answer was nothing. It brought to mind that old joke, the general who addresses his troops saying: you will fight, you will die and we shall win". That is how the story would go, the Cypriots would do it all so that Cyprus could become another district of Greece. This is not good for Hellenism as a whole and Athens is not the only center of Hellenism.

So I am not as naive about Enosis as you think. What is hard to accept is that there was such advance planning by the Greek side.

In a historic parliamentery debate about Cyprus, which took place when Andreas Papandreou was allive and healthy, it was stated that during the government of his father, Georgios Papandreou, Greece had initiated a unionist policy in contrast to the previous policy of Karamanlis. It was policy overturned by the Junta in 1968, and then changed yet again in 1973 by Dimitrios Ioannidis. From this and other evidence it is clear that the Karamanlis government of the 50s and 60s did not want Enosis, even though Makarios we pestering for it. Karamanlis believed that the Zurich agreement was the best that could be achieved and his aides have confirmed this in several interviews.

To say that Akritas was a plan for union and it was drawn up in the 50s goes against all evidence.

[Nikitas]

Denis,

I say unlikely because after living in Greece for 30 and more years, and being half Greek, I am a little reluctant to accept that Greece could have had a coherent and well formulated policy in place by the mid 50s and moreover this policy was implemented with well laid out steps such as the Akritas plan.

It is more credible to say the Akritas plan was coneived by GCs once they achieved independence. A view corroborated by the local nature of the actions it details, at least in the form I saw it posted on this forum.

[denizaksulu]

The bottom line is Cyprus has been ruled by foreigners and those foreigners didn't want to leave Cyprus due to their own geopolitical reasons so they used the TC minority as the excuse to maintain their control over our island and not to allow the Cypriot people to have their freedom and self determination.

For you Piratis:

http://www.cyprus-forum.com/viewtopic.p ... 194#243194

Provided by Jerry. Interesting reading.

[zan]

I am a GC, that is a fact, but one who is against Enosis for some very distinct reasons.

A union implies an act between equals. And there are provisions stated beforehand of what that union will become. From all I have heard, read and listened to regarding Enosis it was not to be a UNION. It was a conquest of Cyprus by Greece and assimilation into its state structure. There was never any thought given to what Cyprus might have to contribute to the improvement of Greece and the new structure that would result.

And the inescapable question arising from this conclusion, that it was a conquest, was what is Greece risking for this gain. The answer was nothing. It brought to mind that old joke, the general who addresses his troops saying: you will fight, you will die and we shall win". That is how the story would go, the Cypriots would do it all so that Cyprus could become another district of Greece. This is not good for Hellenism as a whole and Athens is not the only center of Hellenism.

So I am not as naive about Enosis as you think. What is hard to accept is that there was such advance planning by the Greek side.

In a historic parliamentery debate about Cyprus, which took place when Andreas Papandreou was allive and healthy, it was stated that during the government of his father, Georgios Papandreou, Greece had initiated a unionist policy in contrast to the previous policy of Karamanlis. It was policy overturned by the Junta in 1968, and then changed yet again in 1973 by Dimitrios Ioannidis. From this and other evidence it is clear that the Karamanlis government of the 50s and 60s did not want Enosis, even though Makarios we pestering for it. Karamanlis believed that the Zurich agreement was the best that could be achieved and his aides have confirmed this in several interviews.

To say that Akritas was a plan for union and it was drawn up in the 50s goes against all evidence.

Politics 1952-1967

Politics after the Civil War
In the aftermath of the Civil War the Left had been thoroughly discredited and it leaders either imprisoned or in exile.
This was the period of the Cold War and Greece fell securely in the western camp.
Many scholars argue that American operatives essentially controlled Greek politics from within.
Martial law was in effect from 1947 to 1950.
Between 1949 and 1952 there was no real stable government.
Elections in 1950 were won by Tsaldaris' Peoples' Party (right-wing).
Three centrist parties were the Liberal Party (led by Sophocles Venezelos), the National Progressive Center Union (led by General Nikolaos Plastiras), and the George Papandreou Party (led by Papandreou).
In 1951 the Greek Rally party replaced the People's Party on the Right, and the United Democratic Left was a front for the outlawed Communist Party.
Nobody could win a clear majority and the American Ambassador threatened to cut off American aid unless the election law was changed from proportional representation to simple majority rule.
F. The Right dominated the political scene from 1952 onward.

The new election system was in place for the elections of 1952.
The election of 1952 brought General Papagos and the Greek Rally party to power.
This put an end to post-war instability and laid the foundations for Greek economic development in the years to follow.
G. In 1951 Greece joined NATO.

II. Cyprus

Cyprus was a colony of Britain, which had ruled the island since 1878.
Britain regarded Cyprus as necessary for its naval control of the Eastern Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, and the route to India.
80% of the inhabitants of Cyprus were Greek.
In the atmosphere of de-colonialism the demand for enosis (union with Greece) grew.
Bishop Makarios, as ethnarch (leader of the Greek community on Cyprus), supported enosis.
Colonel George Grivas, an extreme right-wing guerilla, began to organize resistance to British rule.
Grivas had been active in Greece at the end of the Second World War.
He called himself Digenis (reference to Digenis Akritas, the legendary Byzantine hero).
3. Britain refused to consider enosis.

4. In 1955 Grivas formed EOKA, National Organization of Cypriot Fighters, to carry out armed struggle for union with Greece.

E. Britain encouraged Turkey to become interested in the Turkish Cypriot community.

In 1955 violent riots took place in Istanbul, directed at the Greek community (which had been protected as part of the population exchange in 1923).
Contemporary Greek-Turkish hostility dates from these events, much more than from earlier developments.
F. Constrantine Karamanlis

In 1955 Papagos died.
Karamanlis was chosen as Prime Minister by King Paul, although he was not part of the traditional political system.
Son of a Macedonian schoolteacher.
Previously he had been Minister of Public Works, and he had an opportunity to carry out significant development, especially in the North and thus to secure much political support (from those who got jobs as a result).
3. Karamanlis reconstituted the Greek Rally Party as the ERE, National Radical Union, made up largely of former Populists (i.e., a conservative party).

G. The Cyprus Problem

All parties wanted to find a solution in Cyprus.
After the Suez Crisis (1956) Britain began to loose interest in Cyprus as a military base: long-distance air power meant that there was not so much need to control all of the island--they could manage with sovereign bases.
Greece sought support from the United Nations.
Karamanlis was embarrassed because he could not secure a satisfactory solution for the Cyprus problem.
The US wanted to find a solution to avoid weakening NATO.
Meanwhile, there was essentially a guerilla war in Cyprus against British forces.
There was violence between the Greek and the Turkish communities, and the two groups began to withdraw into enclaves.
H. Independence for Cyprus

In 1960 Britain agreed to grant independence to Cyprus, rather than enosis.
Greece and Turkey were to station troops on the island and each could act unilaterally to defend the treaty and the welfare of its dependent ethnic community.
Elaborate power-sharing was established: there was to be a Greek president and a Turkish vice-president.
Archbishop Makarios was elected the first president.
EOKA was not satisfied with the arrangement (they wanted enosis) and they continued to agitate.
Many felt that Karamanlis had sold out to pressure from NATO.
Violence between the two communities on the island continued.
III. Politics in the 1960's

Weakness in the Center
The political Center was fragmented.
Georege Papandreou was the leading centrist politician.
There were, however, several other centrist parties.
This gave some power to the Left.
Karamanlis won several elections, although there were charges of electoral corruption.
The murder of Dr. Gregory Lambrakis, left-wing member of parliament, in 1963 by right-wing thugs (subject of book and movie "Z") led to a crisis.
B. Resignation of Karamanlis

Karamanlis resigned in 1963 because of a dispute with King Paul.
He felt that the monarchy was too much involved in politics and he was generally disillusioned with Greek politics.
Karamanlis contested the election of 1963, but he lost and went into exile in France.
C. The Government of Papandreou

Papandreou won the elections of 1963 with his party, the Center Union (EK).
In 1964 Papandreou formed a strong government, which tried to steer a course between Left and Right.
He would not accept support from the Left.
He released political prisoners, held since the Civil War.
D. The Cypriot Crisis

Tensions had been rising between the two communities since 1960.
Makarios was taking a more independent stand.
Late in 1963 fighting broke out and Turkish planes attacked the island.
President Lyndon Johnson intervened and prevented a Turkish invasion.
Turkish settlements were separated from Greek ones (cantonment).
The US had supported a final settlement of "double enosis" in which Cyprus would be annexed by Greece in return for several concessions to Turkey--including cession of Kastelorizo--Papandreou would not accept this.
E. The Crisis of 1965

Many people opposed Papandreou's moderate policies.
Economic policy was directed by Papandreou's son Andreas, and his mildly inflationary and social-based actions were regarded with alarm by the economic oligarchy.
The army feared creeping socialism or even a Communist coup.
An unofficial left-wing organization or movement in the army, called "Aspida" (sheild), was discoveredand associated with Andreas Papandreou.
Constantine II had succeeded his father as king, at the age of 24, in 1964.
The elder Papandreou sought to firm up his control of power, in part by claiming the Ministry of Defense for himself, but in this he was opposed by the king.
In July 1965 Constantine forced Papandreou from power, despite the latter' obviouspopularity.
A weak government came to power and Papandreou harassed it with massive popular demonstrations.
Papandreou and the ERE agreed to hold elections to settle the issue on 28 May 1967.
Andreas Papandreou became the center of controversy for his alleged participation in the ASPIDA "conspiracy."
The victory of the EK (Center Union) seemed assured in the upcoming elections.

http://isthmia.osu.edu/teg/hist517/lec13.htm

[denizaksulu]

Denis,

I say unlikely because after living in Greece for 30 and more years, and being half Greek, I am a little reluctant to accept that Greece could have had a coherent and well formulated policy in place by the mid 50s and moreover this policy was implemented with well laid out steps such as the Akritas plan.

It is more credible to say the Akritas plan was coneived by GCs once they achieved independence. A view corroborated by the local nature of the actions it details, at least in the form I saw it posted on this forum.

OK OK , I am not sure when the Akritas plan was conceived but the aim would have been the same with or without the Akritas plan.

[BirKibrisli]

Don't you people go to sleep at all????

While i was in the land of nod some were upto your old tricks. But no worries. Rome was not built in one day...or one week...or one month.

I too want to thank Jerry for that link. I had a quick look and saved it for detailed study for later. If this thread achieves nothing else but the uncovering of that material I would consider it a success..

Now let me go away and compose some more narrative for you guys to consider...Well done ,everyone!

[BirKibrisli]

Now, What was the bird's eye view of the world at the time when Cypriots were biterly divided along ethnic lines? On one side those prepared to die and kill for Enosis,on the other side those who thought Enosis was a little bit worse than Death!!!

Well,the WW2 had just finished relatively a short time earlier,and the Cold War was in full swing. The British were furiously trying to increase or maintain the political influence and the benefits they had acquired after WW1. Churchill,Roosevelt,and Stalin had already agreed how the new world order would be. Eastern Europe would largely be under the Soviet Union's dominance. Greece and most of the Mediterranean region would come under the British influence.

Churchill considered Turkey too as potentially a candidate for British dominance,and managed to get the Americans to reluctantly agree to that as well. So due to some fancy footwork by Churchill Britain was set to continue her dominance over the Middle East. But the Middle East,above all,meant one thing :Oil or Petrol... And the emerging world power,the US of America,was not about to quietly dismantle her formidable war machine and return home.

The world itself was fast being divided into two camps : The Socialist and the Capitalist... And war weary Britain had neither the economic nor the military might to lead and protect the Capitalist world.That role was destined for the Americans,the new kid on NATO's block. Control of the Middle East oil fileds was essential to prop up the hungry capitalist industries. The USA had to have the lion's share. And the British had no intention of giving up any portion of that share voluntarily. This British-American rivalry,I believe,was the key to the events unfolding in Cyprus.

Without secret American support and encouragement Greece would not have allowed an armed and bloody resistance to the British rule in Cyprus.
I am inclined to believe that the real power behind the EOKA movement was indeed the USA.The motivation was to weaken the British dominance over the Middle East ,and force her to share the spoils of the middle East oil fields. Another motivation was their hope to establish American bases in Cyprus to counter the increasingly influential leftist movement led by the PEO (Cyprus Workers Federation) and the AKEL(Progressive Workers Party). American agents in Greece were openly suggesting that establishing American bases in Cyprus would be the first step in achieving ENOSIS...