Cyprus-Forum.com

[Piratis]

Sure before 1960 the great majority of Cypriots had voted for union with Greece. I don't remember any Cypriot voting for union with the Ottoman empire though. You just forced that on us for 300 years.

[zan]

Sure before 1960 the great majority of Cypriots had voted for union with Greece. I don't remember any Cypriot voting for union with the Ottoman empire though. You just forced that on us for 300 years.

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy.......................................................................................

[Simon]

Typical Zan, whenever he runs out of arguments, he tries to become comical.

[zan]

Typical Zan, whenever he runs out of arguments, he tries to become comical.

How well you know me. What do you mean tries

[Natty]

So the story after independence...

Cyprus gained its independence from the U.K. in 1960 after an anti-British campain by the Greek Cypriot EOKA (National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters) a guerrilla group which desired political union with Greece (or enosis). Archbishop Makarios, a charismatic religious and political leader was elected president.

Shortly after the founding of the republic serious differences arose between the two communities about the implementation and interpretation of the constitution. The Greek Cypriots argued that the complex mechanisms introduced to protect Turkish Cypriot interests were obstacles to efficient government. In November 1963 President Makarios advanced a series of constitutional amendments designed to elminate some of these special provisions. The Turkish Cypriots opposed such changes. The confrontation prompted widespread intercommunal fighting in December 1963 after which Turkish Cypriot participation in the central government ceased. UN peacekeepers were deployed on the island in 1964. Following another outbreak of intercommunal violence in 1967-68 a Turkish Cypriot provisional administration was formed.

In July 1974 the military junta in Athens sponsored a coup led by extremist Greek Cypriots hostile to Makarios for his alleged pro-communist leanings and for his perceived abandonment of enosis. Turkey citing the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee intervened militarily to protect Turkish Cypriots.

So, i hope this makes it clear to everyone...and please, let's take note of the facts...

taken from World66.Com, a travel site which includes the histories of nearly all the countries and regions of the world.

Hey Kartal_Aetos, that sounds okay, although I think the last line might cause a bit controversy...

well natty, i think it all comes down to how you look at it...The article itself doesn't claim that turkey was right or wrong to cite the 1960 ToG and i think most people here will agree, that regardless of whether it was an excuse and opportunity or whether they just felt like fuck it, lets go get cyprus back for the ottomans, that the reason given by Turkey was to protect the TCs...which is true...that was their reason...you can see it as an excuse or actually as the reason. It is irrelevant to the credibility of the last paragraph as what it states is true...they came, citing the 1960 ToG saying that they were there to protect TC's

HI Kartel_Aetos, your right, I agree.....(It's always fun to agree on things.. )

[Natty]

Zan is right Strahd, union was prohibited and if any such action was taken by Greece or Turkey, the other 'motherland' had right to intervene to stop it according to the Treaty of Guarantee...

But Zan, Strahd is correct also as if the people voted for union with anywhere they would have got it. If ALL the TC's voted for union with Greece also, what does Turkey have to protect?

Anyway, I believe it was dentash who said that if Makarios wanted enosis in simple democratic ways he should have included TCs rather than try to exclude them from GCs and treat them just the same and respect their wishes to keep the constitution the way it was so that TCs trust him...Then he could have won the hearts of everyone and done a referandum for the union and perhaps then it would have happened...

Hi, I guess I agree...but the thing about the constitution is that, the majority of Greek Cypriots felt that it wasn't very fair, that it took rights away from them...

I also agree that Makarios should have included the Turkish Cypriots more, I mean it's their future too..that unfortunately is a mistake that should never have happened...However I think that that mistake, to a certain extent that was learned from..

85. The records of the previous Mediator show that the possibility of majority support for Enosis--together with the need to find a way of avoiding a situation in which it might have to be imposed on an unwilling Turkish-Cypriot minority--led to a search among a number of the parties concerned in the Cyprus problem for a formula of union between Cyprus and Greece which might prove acceptable to them all. My predecessor observed that such a formula would clearly need the agreement of all of them, for juridical as well as political reasons. In principle, it would need not only to satisfy the aspirations of a numerical majority of the population of Cyprus but also to avoid provoking the active resistance en bloc, or nearly so, of the Turkish-Cypriot community and assure them of the reasonable protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms; and it would need in addition to satisfy the legitimate interests of the other parties to the problem, namely the Governments of Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

86. The search for such a formula was undertaken during the presence of my predecessor at Geneva from 5 July until he was stricken on 16 August and in the first instance mainly with the Governments of Greece and Turkey. I have been given to understand that these discussions sought to find an agreed formula for Enosis which would permit a Turkish national presence on the island, on either a sovereign or a leasehold basis, and at the same time provide satisfactory guarantees of the rights of those Turkish-Cypriots who would come under Greek rule....

I got the above from the UN mediation report on Cyprus, Gala Plaza.

Peace!

[Viewpoint]

The fact that your were unable to accomplish your goal of enosis does not automatically cancel out the fact that the GCs also want to go against the constitution so get off your high horse and start to take the blame for act which contributed to the final outcome.

My friend, our democratically elected president has opposed the coup and this is why they tried to kill him. How are we, all GCs, responsible because a coup happened??? We didn't support the coup then, and we do not support it now. Unlike you who celebrate the illegal invasion and our ethnic cleansing every year.

Turkey found an excuse with the coup to divide Cyprus according to plans since before the 50s. Everything else is just cheap excuses.

He may have been seen to oppose it on paper but his hidden agenda was to remove the obstacles namely the TCs rights given to them via the constitution by imposing the 13 Aktritas amendments and thus use the majority rule vote to unite with Greece..

The excuse Piratis however much you try to play it down is the reason why we are divided today. Have we been able to resolve anything? whats a positive for you is a negative for me, imho i cannot see a plan that both sides can commit to.

[Piratis]

Viewpoint, so you deny that the coup tried to kill Makarios? Maybe you deny also the speech of Makarios at the UN condemning the coup and asking for legality to return?

The fact is that the majority of GCs and RoCs government had nothing to do with the coup. Turkey simply found the excuse to invade our country, something they had been planning for decades.

[miltiades]

The coup was planned and carried out by the fascists of Greece and their puppets in Cyprus. Our people were and still are the victims of fascism. The overwhelming majority of all Cypriots wanted nothing more than to co-exist peacefully and get on with their daily chores looking after their education , their business , family and work.The nationalistic bullshitters amongst us caused the division of our land and up routed thousands upon thousands of our people with equally more thousands dead , all in the name of perceived goals concerning the identity of our people when it was and it is today blatantly clear that there is only one predominantly important identity with minor secondary attachments that are promoted by the shortsighted amongst us .

PARADISE IS NOT IN HEAVENS BUT RIGHT HERE IN A UNITED CYPRUS

[Kifeas]

So the story after independence...

Cyprus gained its independence from the U.K. in 1960 after an anti-British campain by the Greek Cypriot EOKA (National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters) a guerrilla group which desired political union with Greece (or enosis). Archbishop Makarios, a charismatic religious and political leader was elected president.

Shortly after the founding of the republic serious differences arose between the two communities about the implementation and interpretation of the constitution. The Greek Cypriots argued that the complex mechanisms introduced to protect Turkish Cypriot interests were obstacles to efficient government. In November 1963 President Makarios advanced a series of constitutional amendments designed to elminate some of these special provisions. The Turkish Cypriots opposed such changes. The confrontation prompted widespread intercommunal fighting in December 1963 after which Turkish Cypriot participation in the central government ceased. UN peacekeepers were deployed on the island in 1964. Following another outbreak of intercommunal violence in 1967-68 a Turkish Cypriot provisional administration was formed.

In July 1974 the military junta in Athens sponsored a coup led by extremist Greek Cypriots hostile to Makarios for his alleged pro-communist leanings and for his perceived abandonment of enosis. Turkey citing the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee intervened militarily to protect Turkish Cypriots.

So, i hope this makes it clear to everyone...and please, let's take note of the facts...

taken from World66.Com, a travel site which includes the histories of nearly all the countries and regions of the world.

So what is the fact in the above as to why Turkey invaded?

That it invaded to protect the TCs? This was the pre-text! The reason Turkey invaded was because it wanted to occupy part of Cyprus and partition the island. This is what it was in the Turkish minds and plans, even before the 1960 independence. It tried to do so already 3 times before 1974, in the 60's, and it was refused or prohibited by the international community. In 1974, it had the perfect pre-text, and it did so. With the junta coup, the TCs did not come under any immediate threat, neither anyone of them was attacked by anyone during the 5 days until the invasion started, on the 20th of July. In five days during which the final outcome of the coup has not even been completely decided, and still there was also a lot of room for international diplomacy to try and reverse it, should it had been consolidated, Turkey begun landing in Cyprus. The fact that Turkey was in Cyprus within 5 days, proves that they were ready and waiting for the opportunity. If it wasn't in their plans to invade, anyway, and thus be on alert and ready for the right pre-text to appear, it would have taken them a month of preparations to attempt such a military operation, and certainly no 5 days only.