Cyprus-Forum.com

[joe]

Its funny how press in the States and in Britain always mention something that goes a little like this when mentioning the CY problem:

Turkey invaded northern Cyprus in 1974 after a brief Greek Cypriot coup backed by the military junta then ruling Greece.

Am i right? We all read this bullshit. What they never mention is who propped up the Junta? Forget about the ethnic cleansing of more then 200,000 Cypriots....lets focus on the Junta.......

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http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle ... emID=11589

Don't expect U.S. to create democracy in Iraq (lessons from Greece)
by Mickey Z.

December 09, 2006


It would be nice to believe that the U.S./British invasion of Iraq may have been horribly mishandled but the motivation behind it was sincere. After all, it's a timeless classic: toss out a depot and introduce democracy. However, even the most perfunctory glance at previous U.S./British ventures would promptly expose the lies. An excellent example is post-WWII Greece.

Before the (so-called) Good War, Greece was a right-wing monarchy and dictatorship, but German occupation gave birth to a civil war. The National Liberation Front (EAM), an extremely popular left-wing group, and the People's Liberation Army, the guerilla resistance wing of EAM, gained the support of the masses and were largely responsible for Greece being relatively Nazi-free by the time the British army arrived in late 1944. Viewing EAM's early support by the Greek Communist Party and its tendency towards unrealistic slogans like education for the illiterate and welcoming women as soldiers as a precursor of what post-war Greece may be like, a British army of intervention promptly stepped in to restore the right-wing dictatorship.

In response to the inevitable jailing and repression of regime opponents and trade union leaders, a left-wing guerilla movement sprang forth. By the fall of 1946, this friction led to civil war. Great Britain, no longer able to extend itself globally, was unable to handle the rebellion and called on the U.S. for help. "Thus it was," explains author William Blum, "that the historic task of preserving all that is decent and good in Western Civilization passed into the hands of the United States."

The U.S enthusiastically took on the task of ferreting out communist traitors (despite the fact that the Greek rebels were not receiving any aid from the Soviet Union) by setting the standard for its Cold War interventions: it sent military advisors and weapons to Greece. "In the last five months of 1947," writes Howard Zinn, "74,000 tons of military equipment were sent by the United States to the right-wing government in Athens, including artillery, dive bombers, and stocks of napalm. Two hundred and fifty army officers, headed by General James Van Fleet, advised the Greek army in the field." Foreshadowing the tenor of future U.S. entanglements, Van Fleet advised the Greek authorities to forcibly remove Greek citizens from their homes in an effort to isolate the guerillas and drain their popular support.

By 1949, the civil war was over. With the leftist rebels defeated and "outside influences" removed, Greece was free to not only maintain its high levels of poverty and illiteracy in peace, but it could now do so with the help of investment capital from Esso, Dow Chemical, and Chrysler.

Two decades later, within the context of a slightly warmer Cold War, the U.S. had to intervene yet again in the domestic affairs of Greece. When liberal Prime Minister George Papandreou was elected in 1964, it did not sit well in Washington. Things went from bad to worse when Greece further annoyed its superpower benefactor by squabbling with Turkey over Cyprus, and then objecting to U.S. plans to partition the island. Democrat Lyndon Johnson summoned the Greek ambassador for a brief-and very instructive-lesson on how America handles its affairs. "Fuck your parliament and your constitution," said LBJ. "America is an elephant, Cyprus is a flea. If these two fleas continue itching the elephant, they may just get whacked by the elephant's trunk, whacked good...We pay a lot of good American dollars to the Greeks, Mr. Ambassador. If your Prime Minister gives me a talk about democracy, parliament, and constitutions, he, his parliament, and his constitution may not last very long."

Within a year, the Greek Royal Court was able to unseat Papandreou. It was later revealed that CIA Chief-in-Station in Athens, John Maury, had helped King Constantine in 1965 in the toppling of the Papandreou government. As new elections became inevitable, however, the CIA threw its considerable weight behind Colonel George Papadopoulos who had been on the Agency payroll for 15 years. Before that, he served as a captain in Nazi Security Battalions during the German occupation of Greece. The elephant most certainly did whack the flea in early 1967 when Papadopoulos seized control in a coup. Parliamentary democracy was abolished, while torture, oppression, and political murder became standard policy.

One year after the coup, the Papadopoulos military junta dutifully contributed $549,000 to the Nixon-Agnew election campaign. When the U.S. Senate called for an investigation to discern whether or not the CIA originally funneled this money to the junta, the investigation was swiftly cancelled...at the direct request of certain Mr. Kissinger.

The moral of this story: Iraqis hoping for democracy shouldn't hold their breath.

[Piratis]

It is well known that the Turkish plans for partitioning Cyprus existed since before the 50s. Turkey wanted an excuse to invade, so the CIA had the junta of Greece to create the coup in Cyprus, overthrow our president and give to Turkey the pretext of doing what she always wanted to do.

[joe]

It is well known that the Turkish plans for partitioning Cyprus existed since before

.

I and all of Cyprus know this.


I just wanted to point out some discrepancies when reading about Cyprus from certain news agencies.

Like, when talking about Varosha....its referred to as a "resort town". As if, well only tourists lived there. No mention how tens of thousands had fled or that it is currently being used as a bargaining chip. An invasion or intervention statement is mentioned and then quickly followed by the Junta statement above. Here is another.......rejecting the Annan plan ensured the Greek Cypriots joined the EU alone-- as if we were the ones that separated the people of the island in the first place. How about this one.....Turkey refuses to lift the embargo on "Greek Cypriot" ships until the EU kept its part of the bargain to ease the TRNC's international isolation. Was it Greece or Austria (EU member States) who agreed to this or was it people like Verheugen? By the way.....is calling it an invasion politically correct these days or would that make me a Greek fascist? Maybe someone who holds an importand position in the EU can answer this one.....someone that stands up to defend principles, like good ole Verheugen. Mr. Verheuuuuugen...what say you? "Pure slander" Indeed.

[zan]

It is well known that the Turkish plans for partitioning Cyprus existed since before the 50s. Turkey wanted an excuse to invade, so the CIA had the junta of Greece to create the coup in Cyprus, overthrow our president and give to Turkey the pretext of doing what she always wanted to do.

Why would they want to partition an island that was still theirs and was to be returned by the British. You are so funny.....

[Sotos]

It is well known that the Turkish plans for partitioning Cyprus existed since before the 50s. Turkey wanted an excuse to invade, so the CIA had the junta of Greece to create the coup in Cyprus, overthrow our president and give to Turkey the pretext of doing what she always wanted to do.

Why would they want to partition an island that was still theirs and was to be returned by the British. You are so funny.....

Zan, are you OK? Cyprus was to be given to the Turks by the British? Was this a dream of yours?

[zan]

It is well known that the Turkish plans for partitioning Cyprus existed since before the 50s. Turkey wanted an excuse to invade, so the CIA had the junta of Greece to create the coup in Cyprus, overthrow our president and give to Turkey the pretext of doing what she always wanted to do.

Why would they want to partition an island that was still theirs and was to be returned by the British. You are so funny.....

Zan, are you OK? Cyprus was to be given to the Turks by the British? Was this a dream of yours?

Check the history Sotos, or do you want me to give you one of my lectures.........I will you know.

[Sotos]

I checked the history. What you say is nowhere. Don't give me lectures you are an instructor, I am the lecturer Give me links to your sources and lets see.

[zan]

I checked the history. What you say is nowhere. Don't give me lectures you are an instructor, I am the lecturer Give me links to your sources and lets see.

Fourteen years later Cyprus fell into the hands of Britain. In 1878 at the time of the Congress of Berlin, Turkey, retaining nominal sovereignty, gave the island over to British administration as an assembly base for the rapid deployment force which Britain was supposed to have at the ready to deter further Russian penetration of the Ottoman Empire. Although there never in fact was such a force and Cyprus was not used for any military purpose until the Suez invasion of 1956, the idea that possession of the island was closely related to Turkey's strategic safety was firmly implanted in the Turkish mind. On the other hand, when the first British High Commissioner, Sir Garnet Wolseley, arrived at the Cypriot port of Larnaca, he was greeted by Kiprianos, Bishop of Kition, with the message: 'We accept the change of Government inasmuch as we trust that Great Britain will help Cyprus, as it did the Ionian islands, to be united with Mother Greece, with which it is nationally connected.' Every subsequent High Commissioner became accustomed to hearing the petition for enosis on ceremonial occasions. In 1912 the Greek Cypriot members of the Legislative Council resigned en bloc to campaign for this purpose. For a fleeting moment in 1915 Britain was willing to fulfill these hopes in return for a quick entry of Greece into the war; the offer was withdrawn when Greece declined.


http://www.cyprus-conflict.net/narrative-main.htm


There you go master

[alexISS]

The US will probably say "we're sorry we screwed your country" to the Iraqis in about 30 years, like they told Greece recently...

[alexISS]

Zan, wasn't Cyprus annexed (meaning not to be returned to Turkey) by Britain after the Turkish alliance with Germany during WWI?