Cyprus-Forum.com

[Bananiot]

Poor arguments cowboy, extremely poor. Just to suggest that the Brits would send settlers to Cyprus shows how much you understand these matters. Britain has been a democracy for tens of centuries and its people cannot be ordered around by any government. Really cowboy! You basically understood nothing of what I wrote and conveniently did not see that the great ethnarch, Papadopoulos himself, also admitted to the same exactly things as Lanitis and Klerides. The part about prophets after Christ is more than stupid as these and many other people warned of the consequences of the armed struggle before and immediately after it started.

Kimon keeps mumbling about EOKA defeating Britain militarily. By 1959 EOKA was as good as dead. In fact, one of the issues that the Brits used to squeeze the arm of Makarios into eventually accepting the proposed deal, was that they knew exactly where Grivas was hiding and had Makarios not signed, they would pick him up the next day. Even Constantine Karamanlis used the same argument to convince Makarios to sign. Otherwise, there would be no point in Makarios agreeing to an end of the armed struggle when the objectives of the struggle were not met and on top the TC's were made equal partners in an independent country with veto rights. Think hard Kimon, why did he call it a day in 1959 and not thrown the proposals into the dustbin in Lancaster House, if EOKA was not defeated and could still bring about enosis through the armed struggle?

[Jerry]

The Eoka campaign certainly forced Britain to negotiate with the Greek Cypriots but it also dragged Turkey onto the scene - big mistake! In the end Britain retained its bases but the Greek Cypriots never achieved Enosis and in both those respects Grivas considered the Zurich Agreement a capitulation, he even considered prolonging the struggle but decided that the odds were against him.

The only people who were defeated by Eoka were the Cypriots themselves, the bloody campaign was the “brainchild” of brainless fools led by an, undoubtedly brave, but misguided soldier. The deteriorating state of the British Economy in the 50s and 60s and the international movement towards de-colonisation saw Britain giving up much of its “Empire”. http://www.britishempire.co.uk/timeline/colonies.htm

It took the British Military thickos and the Commonwealth Office a little time but eventually they realised that they did not need the whole island, just a base.

Cyprus’s turn would have come without the bloody struggle – go figure who lost most by the Eoka campaign.

[Bananiot]

Jerry, I agree with you, but the Brits were negotiating with us even before EOKA and certainly during the EOKA struggle. In fact the Brits were offering better deals to us in 1947 and in 1956, than the 1959 deal which brought Turkey into the equation. Still, some fools believe that EOKA defeated Britain.

[GreekIslandGirl]

... Britain has been a democracy for tens of centuries ...

Hello? How many?

"In the mid-nineteenth century Britain was not a democracy and the majority of politicians did not support democratic values."

[Don Kelley]

So the Brits still keep hold of some Bases. This is a major comedown compared to wanting and having the whole island.
- Today, the bases are a symbol and a reminder of the crimes of the anachronistic British Empire.
Every Brit should feel ashamed to be so associated ...

Strange isn't it how different people hold different views. Were you around in the early 60s when the people of Limassol loved the British who rented their houses used their shops, restaurants and just about evrything in fact?
The truth is that the British on the Episkopi/Akrotiri SBAs provided the bulk of the Limassol economy. When the British finaly got fed up with the continuing unrest between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots around 1965 they insisted that the UN take over.
Just 14 years after independence the Greeks pushed the Turks too far and got thrashed, had the British still been policing the Isaland the Turks wouldn't have dared thought of invading.
So do tell us where the Eoka (who defeated the british) were when the Turks invaded in 74, where is Eoka now that the turks have been in Cyprus 38 years, strange isn't it that you claim they beat the mighty, well trained, British Army but can't sort out a bunch of ill paid conscripts who are forced to enlist into the Turkish army.

Can you tell me some more about this point?

(BTW The Turks attempted their first, overt, invasion just 4 years after semi-independence NOT 14 years).

Where is EOKA now, you ask? EOKA has been replaced by Greece-EU. The struggle for freedom continues ... (Wondered why Britain is trying so hard to remove Greece from the EU? And so many Brits here still telling us we are not Greek?)

So what happened in 1974,when Turkey with forced teenage conscripts made the Eoka Greek Cypriots flee?

[GreekIslandGirl]

So the Brits still keep hold of some Bases. This is a major comedown compared to wanting and having the whole island.
- Today, the bases are a symbol and a reminder of the crimes of the anachronistic British Empire.
Every Brit should feel ashamed to be so associated ...

Strange isn't it how different people hold different views. Were you around in the early 60s when the people of Limassol loved the British who rented their houses used their shops, restaurants and just about evrything in fact?
The truth is that the British on the Episkopi/Akrotiri SBAs provided the bulk of the Limassol economy. When the British finaly got fed up with the continuing unrest between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots around 1965 they insisted that the UN take over.
Just 14 years after independence the Greeks pushed the Turks too far and got thrashed, had the British still been policing the Isaland the Turks wouldn't have dared thought of invading.
So do tell us where the Eoka (who defeated the british) were when the Turks invaded in 74, where is Eoka now that the turks have been in Cyprus 38 years, strange isn't it that you claim they beat the mighty, well trained, British Army but can't sort out a bunch of ill paid conscripts who are forced to enlist into the Turkish army.

Can you tell me some more about this point?

(BTW The Turks attempted their first, overt, invasion just 4 years after semi-independence NOT 14 years).

Where is EOKA now, you ask? EOKA has been replaced by Greece-EU. The struggle for freedom continues ... (Wondered why Britain is trying so hard to remove Greece from the EU? And so many Brits here still telling us we are not Greek?)

So what happened in 1974,when Turkey with forced teenage conscripts made the Eoka Greek Cypriots flee?

What are you talking about? I asked you to fill me in on the details I enlarged, re. 1965.

[Don Kelley]

The Eoka campaign certainly forced Britain to negotiate with the Greek Cypriots but it also dragged Turkey onto the scene - big mistake! In the end Britain retained its bases but the Greek Cypriots never achieved Enosis and in both those respects Grivas considered the Zurich Agreement a capitulation, he even considered prolonging the struggle but decided that the odds were against him.

The only people who were defeated by Eoka were the Cypriots themselves, the bloody campaign was the “brainchild” of brainless fools led by an, undoubtedly brave, but misguided soldier. The deteriorating state of the British Economy in the 50s and 60s and the international movement towards de-colonisation saw Britain giving up much of its “Empire”. http://www.britishempire.co.uk/timeline/colonies.htm

It took the British Military thickos and the Commonwealth Office a little time but eventually they realised that they did not need the whole island, just a base.

Cyprus’s turn would have come without the bloody struggle – go figure who lost most by the Eoka campaign.

Maybe they would like to tell us who stopped the Turks at the eastern end of the island, if the SBAs weren't their the Turks would have over run the whole of the island, a few Ghurkas certainly certainly showed the oh so heroic Eokas types how to sort out the Turks.

[Don Kelley]

What are you talking about? I asked you to fill me in on the details I enlarged, re. 1965.

The Greek Cypriots claimed independence and got it in 1960 but then expected the British troops on the SBAs to continue policng the the island, by 1965 the Brits said on your bike it's a UN problem followed by the the Turks having a laugh in 1974 and walking all over the North of the island but avoiding the south due to the UK military prescence.

[Jerry]

The Eoka campaign certainly forced Britain to negotiate with the Greek Cypriots but it also dragged Turkey onto the scene - big mistake! In the end Britain retained its bases but the Greek Cypriots never achieved Enosis and in both those respects Grivas considered the Zurich Agreement a capitulation, he even considered prolonging the struggle but decided that the odds were against him.

The only people who were defeated by Eoka were the Cypriots themselves, the bloody campaign was the “brainchild” of brainless fools led by an, undoubtedly brave, but misguided soldier. The deteriorating state of the British Economy in the 50s and 60s and the international movement towards de-colonisation saw Britain giving up much of its “Empire”. http://www.britishempire.co.uk/timeline/colonies.htm

It took the British Military thickos and the Commonwealth Office a little time but eventually they realised that they did not need the whole island, just a base.

Cyprus’s turn would have come without the bloody struggle – go figure who lost most by the Eoka campaign.

Maybe they would like to tell us who stopped the Turks at the eastern end of the island, if the SBAs weren't their the Turks would have over run the whole of the island, a few Ghurkas certainly certainly showed the oh so heroic Eokas types how to sort out the Turks.

Rubbish, the Turks knew very well that taking the whole island would have resulted in serious consequences. NATO would not have stood for it, the US would have done to them what it did to the British and French in Egypt - force a withdrawal. Did the Ghurkas actually engage the Turks or just wave the Union Jack at them? The Turks were capable of taking the whole island from any point of the compass regardless of the SBAs, they also knew that suppressing the entire Greek Cypriot population would have resulted in an unending guerrilla war. Turkey had the current "border" drawn on a map long before independence and please remember it was the actions the Greek Junta that triggered the invasion NOT Makarios and the Greek Cypriots.

[GreekIslandGirl]

What are you talking about? I asked you to fill me in on the details I enlarged, re. 1965.

The Greek Cypriots claimed independence and got it in 1960 but then expected the British troops on the SBAs to continue policng the the island,

No they didn't. The Cypriots never asked for the Brits to stay and do anything!

by 1965 the Brits said on your bike it's a UN problem

I didn't ask you to repeat what you said, I was asking for some evidence or details as to how you decided on such a thing. How did the Brits assign this as a UN problem for us?

followed by the the Turks having a laugh in 1974 and walking all over the North of the island but avoiding the south due to the UK military prescence.

Idiot! Are you confirming the Brits were in collusion with the Turks to divide the island?