Nikitas wrote:Paphitis said"
"to forge closer ties with the USSR," and what are these ties for heavens sakes?
The cultural visits by some dancers? Or the sale of second rate zivania to Russia? Look at the trade figures of Cyprus over the years 1960- 1974 and see how the UK is our biggest trading partner. The only industrial goods from the easter block were some tractors and some WWII vintage tanks, less than 20 in total.
You are repeating rumor and not fact. The facts are that Cyprus was firmly anchored in the west well before independence and that is where it stayed ever since. And this makes that whole anticommunist mania of the Greeks seem even more stupid now when we are suffering the consequences of the split in our community.
Is the 15 Jul 74 coup against Makarios a rumour?
C'mon Nikitas, lets not beat around the bush.
It is a FACT, that the Greek Junta along with the support and blessings of the US, wanted to depose Makarios.
The reason why they Junta wanted to depose Makarios, was not at all because they wanted ENOSIS of Cyprus to Greece. This was not the purpose of the Coup. IF ENOSIS was their goal, then ENOSIS would have been declared immediately, and Nicos Sampson would not have been asked to take over the Presidency.
The purpose of the Coup was to depose Makarios, who was deemed to be getting too close to the Soviet Union and was thus becoming uncontrollable and a threat, not to Greece, but to US and NATO influence in the Middle eastern region. I will post some evidence later.
With a US backed fascist military junta in Greece, and 950 ELDYK troops stationed on the island, as well as virtually all officers of the CNG being Greek Army Officers, Makarios was walking on very thin ice due to the sloganeering and rhetoric of AKEL.