Cyprus-Forum.com

[Natty]

Hey, I know that many people won't believe me, which is fine, thats what makes us human afterall , But EOKA, the original EOKA, was not set up to ethnically cleanse the Turkish Cypriots, it's core aim was to fight the British, EOKA B however i don't know much about, apart from the fact that they were highly influenced by the Junta....

Peace!

[Kartal_Aetos]

natty, wasn't EOKA's aim to carry out ENOSIS?

and wouldn't the only way to carry out ENOSIS be to remove the TC's?

ur right, EOKA B WAS influenced by EOKA...infact, they were RUN by EOKA but were called as a seperate entity in order to keep EOKA looking like angels

[Natty]

Hey Kartel_Aetos, Yes EOKA's aim was Enossis, and I can see why many TC's beleive that If Cyprus was going to join Greece it would want to 'get rid' of the TC's, but thats just not true...Ennosis aim was to make the whole of Cyprus part of Greece and that includes the TC's, who would join the other Ethnic Turkish Minority in Greece, which in my opinion was very unfair.. The GC's did not take into account the feelings of the TC's, they assumed they'd 'Go along' with it, as only a 'minority' would, a huge mistake made on our part! THe GC's didn;t hate the TC's or want them all dead, they just wanted to be joined with Greece.....However people need to understand why they wanted to...It would be great if someone could explain it in more detail, I know I don't sound very convincing....

EOKA B's members, who were very few, were mainly Ex-EOKA extremist members who believed that Enosis was still a possibility...After Grivas dies, it became increasingly overtaken by mainland 'Junta' people...Again I don't know for sure, so If someone would be able to give better information, feel free!!

I'd also like to add that EOKA-B was supported by less than 1% of the GC population, in fact some actually fought agains't the organisation...

Peace!

[zoppovortoi]

Our Haunted Country

Over 200 Greek Cypriots have been accused of treason and executed by EOKA. At least 1000 families bear the stain of treason without substantiation, without a shred of evidence. Those who have tried to obtain information from the fighters' organisations faced an impenetrable wall: "They don't know, they won't reply." Those who by themselves investigated the motives of the killings usually come to other conclusions, which have nothing at all to do with treason. In August 1958 EOKA indiscriminately killed Turkish Cypriots and TMT Greeks. In total, 115 Cypriots (60 Greeks and 55 Turks, tit for tat) were killed in bicommunal clashes. The victims' only "sin" was their ethnicity.

A struggle was fought as it was fought and it came to what it came to. Fifty years have passed since. Did these lives not deserve a serious investigation? Unfortunately not. After the end of the struggle, attention turned to plunder, material and political. The sharing of the pie was the chief motive behind a new cycle of violence. Referring to newspapers from the early 1960's, one is shocked by the number of murders. The police could hardly keep up with gathering bodies off the streets. Georkadjis killed, as did Sampson, the underworld and the "protectors" of society from the underworld. The Turks did about the same. TMT killed and terrorised the Turks, as the remnants of EOKA did the Greeks.

Then the new drama of 1963 came. Over 500 Turkish Cypriots were murdered, most by Georkadjis' Organisation and by Sampson. They either disappeared from police holding cells, prisons and hospitals, or they were abducted from their villages and were never seen again. Fifty Greek Cypriots also disappeared at the time, and have been missing since. Many other Greek Cypriots died in the battles. A total of 53 people lost their lives - completely pointlessly - in the Turkish air raids on Tylliria.


There followed EOKA B and the terror that accompanied it, in the name of Enosis. If they had achieved Enosis, today they too would have been hailed as heroes. Things went more wrong than they could have reckoned, and we came to the shocking tragedy of 1974: another 2,500 dead and missing. The remains of some are still unburied on the Pentadactylos Mountains. Thousands of families were destroyed as a consequence of the insanity that called itself patriotism. The EOKA Betas, instead of going to Kyrenia to face the Turkish Army, attacked the Turkish Cypriot civilians in the South. They wiped out all the men of Tochni village, and the whole population of two villages, Maratha and Aloa. TMT did the same, exterminating Greek Cypriot civilians in Palekythro, Assia and elsewhere.


Half a century since this insanity started, our society will not tolerate even a simple reference to the deeper causes of the disaster. AKEL General Secretary Demetris Christofias made a correct remark at the most appropriate time: at the annual commemoration of the murder of Misiaoulis and Kavazoglou, he stated that the murderers, whether they were Turkish or Greek, had the same ideology. Everyone jumped on him, baying for his blood. And he began to apologise and claim he had been misunderstood! This is what happens when one deals with the parastate and washes out criminals, in return for some appointments and financial nepotism.

Our county is haunted, persecuted by the curse of the unvindicated souls. So many human beings were lost totally pointlessly, without even elementary justice having been done. We hide the truths under a veil of lies, hyperbole and myth. Fifty years later the debate did begin, but everyone wants it closed. Some "intellectuals" are also worried because we are scratching at wounds and disturbing unity. The wounds are there and they are still open, though we refuse to see them. And what unity are they thinking of? Unity in the soul trade? Unity in the

revolutionary hero and resistance fighter industry? Each one of us today claims a medal of struggle, resistance and patriotism. This, unfortunately, is our relationship with History. Hanging a fake medal at our throats!

A year ago today, we were called to decide for or against the Annan plan. We took a position in favour of it. It wasn't the best plan. In many places it was problematic and irritatingly unfair. But it had a big plus: a solution within the E.U. would have compelled us to draw a line in our relationship with the past, would have "forced" us, Greeks and Turks, to co-operate and cohabitate on this island. To lay the souls of our dead to rest, and chase the ghosts from our island.

But those who started these affairs half a century ago told us it wouldn't work. They know best. They haven't finished yet. They are still trading in souls, still minting medals, still giving oaths that they will not stray, still selling the people 1950's patriotism. With a people so immature, a people conserving and glorifying the policies that have destroyed it, it's a thousand times better that the solution plan did not pass. Until things change, the status quo will be "the best solution for all of us"...

Makarios Droushiotis - Politis Newspaper

[zoppovortoi]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EOKA

In addition, the conflict also claimed the lives of 90 insurgents, 50 policemen and 238 civilians.

There was 200 GC's (communist's) victims and only 104 British.

I’m afraid what the numbers are even bigger but I’m using the wikipedia example and the Makarios Drousiotis example but I’m afraid what the GC’s were killed are more.

Grivas was a famous communist sloughterer at the Greece civil war and the fighting was with wrong leaders and wrong philosophy.

[zoppovortoi]

How many Britons where executed by the EOKA?

As the Simerini newspaper has recently informed us, President Tassos Papadopoulos will begin on 2 April 2005 to present medals to 21,000 EOKA [National Organization of Cypriot Fighters] fighters.


According to our own information, the various fighters' associations have issued instructions that the medals should be large and heavy.

Their cost is 50 Cyprus pounds each and the total charge to the state budget will amount to 1.05 million Cyprus pounds.

As we wrote in the Politis newspaper on 2 February 2004, under the heading "21,000 fighters produced on an assembly line", the number of fighters is excessive when compared to the 104 British soldiers and 203 Greek Cypriot civilians executed by the EOKA.

The fighters' associations reacted to this with an announcement -- published in Politis on February 24th-- by suggesting that I suffer from "brain damage" and that "I am imagining things". Their announcement continues by refuting the above figures claiming that "from official sources that specify the name, serial number and army unit to which they belonged, the number [of British soldiers executed by EOKA] is 369 and not 104". According to the fighters' associations, this number does not include the members of the police force and of the intelligence services. The associations claim a discrepancy of 254 percent and suggest that I am, therefore, completely unreliable.

Official statistics published by the British since 1960, refer in fact to 104 dead British soldiers. The same statistics clarify that this figure does not include all those who were killed in accidents or were burned to death in two large forest fires. Contrary to the fighters' false claims, the number 369 is very recent, unreliable and not based on official sources. The list containing the 369 names (to be exact the correct number is 366, but apparently they made a mistake in counting) was produced under the following circumstances:

David Carter, a British journalist, applied some years ago to the British Ministry of Defense asking for an official and complete list of all those who died between 1955 and 1959 in Cyprus. The response was that no such list existed and although one such was under preparation, it would take some time before it was completed. Within a few months, Carter prepared his own list and, as he writes, he submitted it to the British Ministry of Defense. Carter's list includes the names of 366 British who died while serving in Cyprus, "including their serial number and army unit to which they belonged". Furthermore, in a separate list he prints the names of police officers and civilians that were cooperating with the army.

Inaccuracies

In other words, what the fighters are describing as official figures is nothing more than the list prepared by David Carter, who also owns the copyright. The same person released the list on the internet and it seems this is where it was discovered by the fighters' associations who then claimed it as their own, christened it as "official" and are now using it to prove that our own information is inaccurate. Carter's list refers to British servicemen who died while serving in Cyprus, from any cause, and its reliability is questionable. The following are two examples of the many inaccuracies we have detected:

The list includes the names of 29 soldiers, including their serial number and army unit to which they belonged, who died in 1959 after the end of the EOKA struggle! Is the fighter's association claiming that they continued with killings after the end of the struggle?
The same list also records the names of eight soldiers who died in December 1958. Only two of them are confirmed as having being killed as the result of an EOKA attack. Specifically, they were ambushed at the village of Galinoporni on 20 December 1958.
Who is he?


David Carter lives in the North part of Cyprus. He was brought to the island by Asil Nadir and is writing for his Cyprus Today newspaper. He has close connections with the Denktash regime and he was actively lobbying in Great Britain for the construction in the North of a memorial to the fallen British. He is also the author of the book "The Cyprus Tapes", while he is now writing the book "Aphrodite's Killers". According to him, the aim of this book is to "confront the Greek Cypriot propaganda that the members of the EOKA were freedom fighters, while the British were a brutal occupying force that raped, tortured and killed innocent women and children".

This author is the source of the "official" statistics used by the EOKA Fighters Associations, who also compose the SIMAE [Council for the Historical Preservation of the EOKA Struggle]. In the event that the fighters believe that Carter's research is valid, then they must also publish his books.


The fighters' associations have drawn on substantial public funds to write our history. However, instead of concentrating on research using original sources of information and thus be able to provide reliable evidence, they spread propaganda by reproducing David Carter's exaggerated data. Despite the funds they have expended, the fighters have been unable to answer even the most elementary questions regarding the EOKA struggle for which they do not need the British official or unofficial evidence. Among them are:

Was Papadopoulos an EOKA regional commander, as he claims to have been, or not?
Was Papadopoulos the head of the execution squads, as he has alleges, or did he serve in other sectors, as claimed by the fighters' associations?

As far as the 203 Greek Cypriots murdered by the EOKA are concerned, we have the official statistics given by the British and we are investigating them further. The list includes the victims' names, and the date, place and manner in which they were executed.


Makarios Drousiotis - Politis


26/02/2005

[Natty]

EOKA (Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston, in English National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters) was a Greek Cypriot military resistance organisation that fought for national self-determination and union (Enosis) with Greece in the mid- to late- 1950s. Since Cyprus was under British sovereignty at the time, its objective was to attract world public opinion and support to its cause through sabotage against British installations, armed attacks against British troops and popular passive resistance.




[edit]Controversy
EOKA was, and remains, controversial. While it was popular with the majority of Greek Cypriots at the time and is today considered by many a heroic movement that liberated Cyprus from British rule, there were also some who did not support it. Cyprus's Communist party AKEL was the leading voice against EOKA. AKEL opposed EOKA's violent methods, preferring strikes and demonstrations. Many AKEL members were also opposed to EOKA's nationalist political aspirations. Turkish Cypriots, most of whom did not want to see Cyprus annexed by Greece, inflamed by propaganda broadcasts from Turkey, reacted violently to the EOKA campaign which precipitated the deterioration of intercommunal relations. Indeed, during the summer of 1958 the island verged on civil war. Memoirs of EOKA fighters indicate that at times the organisation did target Cypriots, both Greek and Turkish, who supported the British presence. The British colonial government appeared to exercise a policy of "divide and rule", drawing the majority of members of the island's police force from the Turkish Cypriot community. Whether this was a deliberate policy, or the consequence of widespread Greek Cypriot unwillingness to enrol in the force, remains open to debate. As a result, EOKA perceived its actions as attacking the British government, while the Turkish Cypriots often perceived them as an attack directly against the Turkish Cypriot community.

[edit]Campaign
The organisation was headed by Georgios Grivas, a Cypriot-born Colonel in the Greek army. Its political wing was called PEKA while its youth movement was named ANE.

Grivas assumed the nom de guerre Digenis ("two-peoples") in honour of the legendary hero Digenis Acritas, who repelled invaders from the Byzantine Empire during the Middle Ages. EOKA was clandestinely supported by the Greek Government in the form of arms, money and propaganda on radio stations aired from Athens.

The EOKA campaign began on April 1, 1955. Over 30,000 British troops were assigned to combat the organisation, which officially claimed the life of 104 British military personnel.

In his memoirs, Grivas writes of 8 phases of the struggle:

1. From its inception (1 April 1955) until the arrival of Sir John Harding (October 3, 1955). This phase was characterised by acts of sabotage, strikes, demonstrations and sporadic attacks against the British.

2.From the arrival of Harding until the exile of Makarios III (March 9, 1956). British soldiers are ambushed, the youth movement (ANE) is organised, the Battle of Spilia is fought.

3. From the exile of Makarios until the first ceasefire (August 16, 1956). The British enact a series of draconian measures and attempt to eliminate EOKA. EOKA counterattack and make an attempt on Harding's life. Mass demonstrations and general strikes continue.

4. Between the first and the second ceasefire (March 14, 1957). EOKA continue to attack British military personnel whose presence is swelled by the invasion of the Suez. Turkish-Cypriots demand partition. EOKA fighters Markos Drakos, Michalis Georgalas and Grigoris Afxentiou are killed in battles.

5. From the second ceasefire until Harding's replacement as governor (November 6, 1957). EOKA limit their attacks in an effort to get Makarios III freed from exile. Makarios is freed. Turkish-Cypriots co-operate with the British against EOKA. Harding is called home.

6. From Foot's appointment until the announcement of the MacMillan plan (July 19, 1957). Sir Hugh Foot replaces Harding and seeks to meet Grivas. Turkish-Cypriot attacks against Greeks and their properties continue. EOKA react by resuming attacks on the British who fight back.

7. From the announcement of the MacMillan plan until the Cypriot matter being discussed in the UN (November 25, 1958). EOKA strike back against the Turkish-Cypriot extremists. The British "divide and conquer" policy seems to succeed. Four EOKA fighters are killed in the Battle of Liopetri. Kyriakos Matsis is killed at Dikomo. The first disagreements as to Cyprus' future surface between Grivas and Makarios.

8. From the discussion of the Cyprus question in the UN until the Zurich and London agreements (February 19, 1959). Violence subsides as Greece and Turkey discuss the future of Cyprus in Zurich. Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots and the British add their blessings in London and the island of Cyprus becomes an independent republic.

[edit]End of campaign
EOKA's activity was officially suspended on March 9, 1959 in response to the signing of the Zurich - London agreements, February 19, 1959, which established an independent republic of Cyprus.

Actual independence was formally declared on August 16, 1960 However, the settlement specifically ruled out Enosis - the union with Greece sought by EOKA. This led to a feeling of dissatisfaction from a section of the Greek Cypriot population that shaped the events of the following years.

Hey, i'm not saying that I agree with the violent methods used by EOKA, who obvioulsy felt they had no choice, i'm just saying that it seems that many TC's beleive that EOKA was set up to 'ethnically cleanse' them, when hwoever it was actually set up to fight the British.

Peace!

[zoppovortoi]

And I’m not saying what EOKA members was only criminals fascists and terrorists but their leader was and I can’t see any logical reason (except from our psychology) to keep the natinalistic propaganda as a shield arround the truth.

If we want a solution this bullshits must be told as they was.

The TC's didn’t have a chance with this mad people (Makarios Grivas).

But let’s see how the great toppouzo-heroes react on thuth:


Is this the way of democracy?

ON MARCH 20, during a solemn ceremony at Vienna’s Music House, the international organisation Reporters Without Borders presented me with its 2005 Press Freedom Award, based on the recommendation of a jury of international personalities. As part of the ceremony, there was an open discussion on the subject of Cyprus and the media. As a citizen of Europe, speaking in a European state, I freely expressed my views, as I have never failed to do in the past. After all, this was one of the basic reasons behind the decision to present me with this award.

A week later, journalist Kostakis Antoniou, writing in Simerini newspaper, bylined a “report” from Austria containing details of the event. (‘Slandering EOKA and the people’ Simerini, March 27). It is indeed an unorthodox type of journalism when someone signs his name to a report describing an event that took place in another country when he was not present there.

In reality, what Mr Antoniou describes as a "report" from Vienna is taken from a memo to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that was prepared by Eleni Ioannidou, the Cyprus Embassy's Press Attach?. Ms Ioannidou attended the ceremony and, as is natural, drafted a summary of the event. The Press and Information Office normally distribute such memos as press releases. In this case, however, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs chose instead selectively to leak its contents to Simerini.

The Simerini report included excerpts from one of my articles printed in Der Standard, Austria’s most reputable newspaper, on the occasion of my award. Basically, the above article was taken from Politis, where it was first published a year ago (on April 24, 2005) under the heading ‘Our haunted country’. The article in question aimed to be the equivalent of a memorial service for all the restless dead of the Cyprus tragedy and, among others, it recorded the numbers of all Greeks and Turks that died, victims of their nationalistic leaderships, between 1955 and 1974.

Mr Antoniou made an arbitrary selection of excerpts from Ms Ioannidou's memo, distorted its contents, mixed them with his own report and coloured everything with bold headings such as “Slandering EOKA and the people”, “Provocative claims”, “A recital of anti-Cypriot positions in a speech and articles in Austria”, etc.

Although I could respond, point by point to the “indictment” levelled against me by Simerini, I have neither the time nor the disposition to refute distorted statements. I would have been happy to do so, if I believed that the other side was willing to listen. Honestly, I did not expect anything better from either Simerini or Mr Antoniou. What I would have expected is that my country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs should focus its attention on the major problems facing our foreign policy and not to be occupied with this kind of pettiness against those who criticise the government.

All the pertinent facts have led me to the conclusion the government is responsible for leaking the memo to Simerini, since this was in the sole possession of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its obvious intention was to brand me as an “enemy of the country”.

A few hours after Simerini hit the newsstands I received the following threatening email message, full of spelling mistakes. The sender was someone calling himself “Timoros” (the Avenger). The complete text is as follows:


“Mr Drousiotis, if it is still possible to call yourself Mister.

Kolokotronis, Makriyiannis, Afxentiou, [Heroes of the Greek rebellion against the Turks] Grivas [leader of EOKA] and Karaolis [EOKA hero] must be turning in their graves.

What kind of groundless history are you propagating both locally and abroad?

Do not forget that Hellenism is present everywhere and the time will come for your own punishment!

Sword and fire to all those who have betrayed us!

Sword and fire to you and to your protectors!

Behind the cover of your so-called journalist’s identity there is an anti-Hellene who has betrayed us and is an enemy of the nation.

Your time is up.

Blood and honour to Grivas Digenis.

Greece – Cyprus – Union

A Greek nationalist

Long live the nation!

Long live the army!

Long live Greece!”



Last week another daily, this time Machi, first published by 1960s killer Nicos Sampson, ran a front-page article awarding me the title of traitor, a decision that the newspaper arrived at on the strength of the Simerini report. Three leading members of the extreme right wing, representing the Fighters' Associations and themselves former members of EOKA B, were raging against me.

The anonymous message is foolish, as foolish as the anathemas of the so-called fighters. Nevertheless, is it not the same foolish individuals that caused Turkey to invade Cyprus? Is it not the same foolish individuals that for the past 50 years dictate political developments in Cyprus? What is the difference between them and the government? Is this the way that democratic nations treat all those that disagree with government policies? By exposing them to the dangers posed by every lunatic avenger?


Makarios Drousiotis

Cyprus Mail

09/04/2006

[zoppovortoi]

I trully belive what their wasn’t any hope for TC's beacouse nationalism is just a psychology problem created from religions and since their great fight was under the orthodox dogma the communists and TC's didn’t have a chance to survive if the UK didn’t limitable them.

And I can proove that with mathematic accuracy just by examing the history of nationalim and religion maddness.

Maybe the people was have feelings but then again the religion is above the feelings and there was an ocean of blood based in the religions maddness.

And I don’t see any angels in our part able to prevent further more killings.

I see only lambs(or ttooppouzous) like today what they are ruled by their emotions.

Great Alexander was asking Aristole:

Why my great teacher we are not barabarians?

And the Aristotele answers him:

Beacouse we are not ruled by our emotions.

[Natty]

Hey, I just wanted to say that EOKA was never set up the ethnically cleanse the TC's, and that most of it's members truly saw themselves as fighting against the British.....Again I don't know much about EOKA B, but less than 1% of the GC's sympathised with it....

Peace!!