Cyprus-Forum.com

[Murataga]

1955-59 - EOKA "A" - Struggle for independence from British colonization.

1971-74 - EOKA "B" - Struggle for union with Greece (ENOSIS).

WRONG! This is how it was:

EOKA "A" - Struggle against the British for ENOSIS

EOKA "B" - Struggle against the Turkish Cypriots for ENOSIS

The whole struggle was for ENOSIS, never independence. Independence was a compromise for GCs, ENOSIS was the objective. Hence, Archbishop Makarios III, in an interview with the Frankfurter Rundschau, reported in Cyprus Mail, 16 May 1974 :

"Enosis had always been for the Greek Cypriots a deeprooted national aspiration. To me independence is a comprimise. In other words, if I had a free choice between ENOSIS and independence, I would support ENOSIS."

and there are many similar ones that so passionately pledge allegiance to ENOSIS. The only difference between two organizations was the enemy they fought. TCs naturally sided with British against EOKA A because it was the colonialization of Cyprus to Greece which would have been far worse.

[zan]

The sultan ceded the administration of Cyprus to Britain in exchange for guarantees that Britain would use the island as a base to protect the Ottoman Empire against possible Russian aggression. The British had been offered Cyprus three times (in 1833, 1841, and 1845) before accepting it in 1878.

In the mid-1870s, Britain and other European powers were faced with preventing Russian expansion into areas controlled by a weakening Ottoman Empire. Russia was trying to fill the power vacuum by expanding the tsar's empire west and south toward the warm water port of Constantinople and the Dardanelles. British administration of Cyprus was intended to forestall such an expansion. In June 1878, clandestine negotiations between Britain and the Porte culminated in the Cyprus Convention, by which "His Imperial Majesty the Sultan further consents to assign the island of Cyprus to be occupied and administered by England."

There was some opposition to the agreement in Britain, but not enough to prevent it, and colonial administration was established on the island. Greek Cypriot nationalism made its presence known to the new rulers, when, in a welcoming speech at Larnaca for the first British high commissioner, the bishop of Kition expressed the hope that the British would expedite the unification of Cyprus and Greece as they had previously done with the Ionian Islands. Thus, the British were confronted at the very beginning of their administration with the reality that enosis was vital to many Greek Cypriots.
http://countrystudies.us/cyprus/8.htm


Get real

You can know a lot but putting all you know into a coherent history is another thing all together.

[BirKibrisli]

Bir, if you must bring up treason then you might want to start with the TC community which sided with the British against the GC struggle for independence during 1955..59. That is treason of the highest order so don't start me up...

I can see why you would want to call the TC actions during the 55-59 period "treacherous" to Cyprus,GR...I will not argue that point with you.
But my point is this: Papadopoulos (and Yorgadjis and the others) were Ministers of the State in the independent government of Cyprus,and sworn to upheld and protect the Cypriot constitution...While they were openly occupying those positions they were secretly trying to undermine and abolish the state of Cyprus and join to with a foreign power...Technically and officially that is high treason...Elsewhere in the world people have been tried and shot for similar actions...It would be interesting to get the opinion of an independent constitutional lawyer on this point...

[Bananiot]

Well said Birkibrisli!

[humanist]

Murataga I too disagree with the statement on Helenism. And the president of the RoC should have known better than that and refrain from such statements. I do agree that such statements are widenning the gap between the people who matter and that is the Cypriot people of varying backgrounds and languages and not only does it alienate the biggest of the minority groups in Cyprus being the turkish speaking community but also Maronites and Jewish populations.


I also agree with Free's coments that the Cypriots currently living in the north have the same allegiance to Turkey..... neither is right, inclussive or peace encouraging.

[observer]

From http://www.geocities.com/helleniccyprus/grivas.html , a site that does not appear to have the fingerprints of Turkish propaganda. It's copyrighted hellenic cyprus:

George Grivas and EOKA
Georgios Grivas Digenis (1897 - 1974), Georgios Grivas was born on 5th July 1897 in the Chrysaliniotissa neighbourhood of Nicosia, the fourth child of Theodoros Grivas and Kalomira Hadjimichael, but he grew up in his family home at Tricomo Famagusta. After attending his village school he studied at the Pancyprian Gymnasium in Nicosia (1909-15) where he stayed with his grandmother. During his high-school years he was devoted to his studies and especially to his physical training.

Georgios Grivas, who grew up with the dream of a "Great Greece", left Cyprus in 1916 and studied at the Athens Military Academy. He graduated in 1919 with the rank of sub-lieutenant and was immediately posted in the Asia Minor front. ...

(Information about his duties in the Greek War against Turkey and the Second World War)

... Grivas focused on the idea of liberating Cyprus from the British colonial rule and its Union with mainland Greece ENOSIS, an ideal nourished by generations of Greek Cypriots. As a member of the secret Committee for the Cyprus Struggle he took the oath of ENOSIS together with the newly elected Archbishop Makarios III, with whom he collaborated for preparing the armed struggle. He arrived secretly in Cyprus in November 1954 and began immediately the formation of his underground organization EOKA . On 1st April 1955 with a declaration that he signed as DIGENIS and a number of explosions in the four major cities and military installations, he announced the beginning of his campaign for Self Determination – Union with Greece. ... With leaflets and the EOKA operations that included demonstrations, slogans, strikes, sabotage, bomb and machinegun attacks and ambushes, raised the people’s fighting spirit and drove men, women and even children to acts of self-sacrifice for the ideal of freedom and ENOSIS. The authorities responded with emergency measures that included curfews, arrests, imprisonment and the death penalty by hanging. However these measures failed to bring the situation under control. With the signing of the Zurich-London agreements in early 1959 and the declaration of Cyprus as an independent state Grivas reluctantly ordered cease-fire, since the struggle’s main objective of ENOSIS was not achieved.

He returned to Cyprus in 1964 after the Turkish Cypriots revolt and as the Chief Officer of the National Guard he directed the construction of defense forts and complexes aiming at withstanding a Turkish attack or invasion. However, after the November 1967 clashes with Turkish Cypriot gunmen at Kofinou and Turkey’s ultimatum, the Greek military government recalled both the Greek Division and General Grivas to Athens.

From 1968 to 1969 and while under strict surveillance he succeeded in creating a new movement aiming at deposing the ruling military Junta and restoring democracy in Greece. The discovery of his plans by the authorities left him with no other option but to escape again to Cyprus where he embarked upon a plan for the realisation his life’s dream, i.e. Enosis, or Union of Cyprus with Greece. He formed the armed organization EOKA B which he used as leverage in his attempts to persuade or force President Makarios to change his policy and adopt the line "Self Determination – Union" with Greece. However all his attempts to achieve the results he expected failed and on his death on 27th January 1974 his, and our, dream of ENOSIS was never realised.

Tens of thousands of people from every part of the island gathered for his funeral that took place at his Limassol hideout. General Georgios Grivas Digenis is a Hero of the Hellenic world and died "worthy of his country".

It seems to me that as Grivas led EOKA (today we would say he led the military wing while Makarios led the political wing) unless he was totally confused, the original EOKA (and EOKA B) were fighting for union with Greece.

Many observers at the time of the formation of EOKA B thought that the only difference between Grivas and Makarios was over the timing and the amount of blood that each was prepared to shed.

[Salonikios]

Δοξα και τιμή στον Γρίβα Διγενή.

The whole island population should have gotten the opportunity to vote for what ever they wanted.An independent state,union with Greece,union with Turkey or to remain a British colony.

The British for their geostratigical reasons refused this basic human right to Cypriots as they already knew that the vast majority of Cypriots(above 80%) would have voted for unino with Greece.A year ago Montenegro voted for independence from Serbia with a mere 55% majority and the EU accepted the result as fair.That's double standars.That's the realpolitic being practised by the British colonial power sacrificing democratic and humanitarian values for army bases and other privileges.

They put the Turks into the discussion for this reason.As an opposing minority which would sabotage every struggle for the overthrow of British occupants from the island.And their chance was there when Greece was plagued by the American-British backed junta who left the country rampaged and in ruins.

[Simon]

Absolutely correct Salonikios.

[observer]

....er........... does this mean that we all now agree that EOKA was an organisation dedicated to enosis - union with Greece?

[Kifeas]

This is the man GCs ask TCs to joint them in calling the president of Cyprus. This is what TCs resisted 44 years ago. This what the TCs resist today. This is what TCs will resist to the end, if necessary with their lives. (from Cyprus Mail April 22, 2007) :

...President of the Republic of Cyprus was elsewhere on July 14, 2006, while visiting Greece. In his speech to the Greek head of state, President Papadopoulos stated loyally: “We [Cyprus] do not want, nor do we seek to transfer the weight of our problems to the shoulders of Greece. But, we do want our Greek brothers to realise that we in Cyprus, as we resist Turkish expansionism and fight for the national and physical survival of Greek Hellenism, are forward defenders of Hellenism in its widest meaning and dimension.'

I would like to inform the forum readers that the above quotes from Mr. Alkan Chaglar's article (editor of "Toplum Postasi",) which was reprinted without second thought and double checking in the pathetic "Cyprus Mail" on the 22/04/2007, is highly inaccurate since the term "Greek Hellenism" not only is not used by Papadopoulos (he may have used the term "Cypriot Hellenism,") but it is also meaningless! Secondly, Papadopoulos has not been in Greece during the period on which Mr. Alkan Chaglar claims in his article.

You may ask, what is the difference if he had elsewhere said he defends or fights for the survival of “Cypriot Hellenism” in Cyprus? What does “Cypriot Hellenism” means? It simply means the Greek Cypriot community as a historical and a cultural entity in Cyprus. Nothing more, nothing less! Now tell me isn’t something that Talat, or Denktash, or Kutchuk or any other Turkish Cypriot would have said in relation to “Cypriot Turkishness,” meaning the cultural entity that the TC community constitutes in Cyprus?