Cyprus-Forum.com

by **newgeneration** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 5:34 pm

B25, especially for you.

My respsonse to GIG's link referencing the TC demonstration in the 50's, in favour of partition of Cyprus. The TC's did not suddenly wake up one day and decide they wanted to partition the island for no reason. The GC's had been trying for Enosis for many years beforehand. How do you think the TC's would have fares under unification with Greece?

The TC's were campaigning on Downing Street as a reaction and response to the GC's Enosis movement.

Please see the 2 exerpts below, source: Cyprus and the Governorship of Sir Ronald Storrs: The Causes of the 1931 Crisis, by G.S. Georghallides (Cyprus Research Centre, 1985.

The Debate on Enosis: 1929

Greek Cypriots often remind their listeners that the movement to join Greece began much earlier than the 1950s, and in fact that is true. Sentiment for enosis was evident early in the twentieth century, and became the subject of continuous discussion. In this excerpt from his history of the 1931 confrontation with Britain over Cyprus= political status, G. S. Georghallides provides a glimpse of the nature of the debate over the island=s fate among Greek Cypriots. Not only does he provide a vivid picture of the tone and substance of the discourse, he signals how many different views there were - - in sharp contrast to the apparent, and rather rigid, uniformity of opinion characterizing the Greek Cypriot community in the 1950s, enforced by EOKA and the Church. He also indicates how significant the left-wing labor unions were in the politics of the island, another dimension of politics submerged in the conservative fundamentalism that emerged in mid-century. Georghallides is one of Cyprus=s most distinguished and accomplished historians.

Turkish Cypriot reaction to the campaign for enosis

It is often alleged that Turkish Cypriots were roused to oppose enosis by the British colonialists, but there was a core of opposition in the Turkish Cypriot community from an early stage. Consider the following excerpt from a speech made by Zekia, a Turkish Cypriot member of the Legislative Council, in 1930.

We vehemently protest against this [pro-enosis] representation as we have always done in the past. We believe that if Cyprus were annexed to Greece there would be no chance of life for the Moslems in Cyprus. We know that the Greeks are in the majority in Cyprus, but there are many other countries in the world similar to Cyprus which are being administered by foreigners in spite of the fact that the majority of the people belong to another race. As is known to you, there is no principle in international law providing for the annexation of every country to the country which is homogeneous to it. Therefore I am surprised that my honorable Greek colleagues feel able to base this claim on international law. It would be possible to benefit the island much more if the question of union were set aside and of all the members of the Council were united in the taking of measures calculated to promote the development and progress of the country . . . . The divergent national feelings and sentiments prevailing in the island would make impossible the administration of justice in the island.