by BirKibrisli » Thu Jan 17, 2008 1:50 pm
Having made the World stop and take notice of the TCs,the second stage of the operation could now begin. The aim now was to prove that the two communities could not possibly live peacefully together.
The date chosen for action was Saturday,7 June,1958. In events reminicent of those in Istanbul during 6-7 September,1955,a bomb was thrown from a passing car. The target was the Turkish Information office,in Kyrenia Rd, Nicosia...It was around 10 pm,and people were out and about in the balmy Nicosia summer night. Rumours fast spread that the Turkish quarter of Nicosia was under GC attack. People run out of their homes and open-air cinemas,and urged on by agent provocateurs,hundreds of TCs poured into the GC business sector of Nicosia setting shops on fire and destroying whatever they came across.When the frenzied attack came to an end two innocent GCs lay dead for no other reason than being at the wrong place at the wrong time...The following day in Larnaca 2 more GCs lost their lives in similar unprovoked attacks. Roudy protest meetings were held in Limassol,but without any loss of life.
This was the beginning of weeks of inter ethnic attacks and counter attacks,where Grivas would finally allow his EOKA fighters to turn their guns on TCs,resulting in 100s of innocent deaths from both sides. What shocked people most was the degree of violence and horror associated with most of the deaths.
It became known later that Sir Hugh had warned the Turkish Foreign Ministry and Rauf Denktash himself,against the possibility of such ethnic violence started primarily by the TCs. He requested that measures be taken to stop any such action. Not only did Denktash do nothing to prevent
the violence,he later tried to justify it. Let's hear it from the master manipulator himself : " The bombing incident should be separated from the TC action which followed. Our reaction was normal. In the circumstances ,our youth was only doing their duty. You could argue they might have gone too far. But it wasn't the TCs who were shedding blood,ignoring people's right to life and property during the preceding 4 years. It was the GCs...Those who created the atmosphere of hate and mistrust,those who tried to obtain political gains by violent action,should have expected the TC to behave in a similar manner..." (Milliyet Newspaper,22 December,1966)...
Denktash never admitted that the bomb on the 7 June,1958 was thrown by the TCs. But reliable TC sources have no doubt the bomb was thrown by one of Denktash's close associates for the reason of "increasing political tension amongst the TCs"...(Ahmet An,Kibris'ta Firtinali Yillar,1996,p.117)
