by Lordo » Mon Dec 10, 2012 8:40 pm
chew over this sonny.
Angelos Vlachos, a Greek diplomat who served in Cyprus during the period of EOKA terror and later in Athens with responsibility for Cyprus affairs, notes in his book Ten Years of the Cyprus Problem that "there exist well-founded proofs leading to the conclusion that, from 1962 onwards, the Archbishop had begun to toy with the idea of a new act of power, that is to say a new offensive. In January 1963…planning exercises were carried out for three days at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, with the objective of neutralizing the Turks. The Archbishop's staff officers envisaged the participation also of the Greek Force in Cyprus in the operations…In order to begin his new offensive, the Archbishop waited for Mr. Karamanlis, who had signed the Zurich/London agreements to be removed from power…When in June 1963 Mr. Karamanlis left office…the Archbishop thought the occasion opportune for making a first testing of the ground…A few months before, the Archbishop had begun to express his conviction that the Zurich Constitution was unworkable. But even the best constitutions are unworkable if those who are called upon to ensure their operation do not want to make them work. And the Archbishop did not wish to put into operation the relevant constitutional provisions which envisaged the establishment of separate Greek and Turkish municipalities, a separation which Makarios himself had insisted on."
The well-founded proofs, to which Vlachos refers, were indeed plenty. "As early as 1962, Polycarpos Yeorgadjis, the Minister of Interior, had warned the officers of his underground army that in the following year, President Makarios would propose amendments to the constitution which would be so unacceptable to the Turkish Cypriots that (they) would start fighting. " (Richard A. Patrick, a Canadian geographer at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, who specialized on Cyprus in the period 1963 to 1971.)
From January 1962 until December 1963 Makarios made a number of statements, which did not leave his intentions in doubt. In a public statement in Nicosia on 5 January 1962, he stated that "the noble struggles of the people never come to an end. These struggles, although they undergo transformation, are never terminated. The struggle of the people of Cyprus too (i.e. the Greek Cypriots) will go on. The Zurich and London Agreements form a landmark in the course of this struggle, but at the same time, are a starting point and bastion for further struggles, with the object of capitalizing on what has been achieved for further conquests."
In a sermon on 15 August 1962, Makarios said, "Greek Cypriots must continue to march forward to complete the work begun by the EOKA heroes…The struggle is continuing in a new form, and will go on until we achieve our goal…"
Speaking at his home village of Panayia on 4 September 1962, he delivered a vehement verdict against the Turkish Cypriots. He stated that "Until this small Turkish community forming part of the Turkish race which has been the terrible enemy of Hellenism is expelled, the duty of the heroes of EOKA can never be considered as terminated."
Throughout 1963, the enosis theme was spelt ever more clearly in his statements:
"The aim of the Cyprus struggle was not the establishment of a Republic. These agreements only laid the foundation."(Public statement on 13 March 1963.)
"No Greek who ever knows me can ever believe that I would wish to work for the creation of a Cypriot national awareness. The Agreements have created a State, but not a Nation." (Statement to Cyprus Mail on 28 March 1963.)
"The union of Cyprus with Greece is an aspiration always cherished within the hearts of all Greek Cypriots. It is impossible to put an end to this aspiration by establishing a republic." (Statement to The Times on 9 April 1963.)
"It is true that the goal of our struggle is to annex Cyprus to Greece." (In an interview in Uusi Suomi of Stocholm on 5 September 1963.)
"What is our desire? We have proclaimed it many times: our union with the Motherland, eternal Greece. What will our reply be if such a solution is made difficult, and if some think compromises are required or that something be given in return? 'No' is the reply, and the struggle will continue until complete fulfillment." (In a sermon at Paralimni on 3 November 1963.)
