Cyprus Emergency | |||||||
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Part of the Cyprus problem and Decolonisation | |||||||
A street riot in Nicosia during the Battle at Nicosia Hospital in 1956 | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Turkish Resistance Organisation Supported by: Turkey
| EOKA Supported by: Greece [note 1] | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
John Harding Hugh Foot Rauf Denktaş | Georgios Grivas Grigoris Afxentiou † Tassos Papadopoulos Markos Drakos † Renos Kyriakides | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
c.25,000 [3] –40,000 [4] | 300 fighters [4] 1,000 active underground [5] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
371 dead (according to Roll of Honour's database) and 21 British Policemen 601 injured [6] | 102–112 killed (including 9 executed) Unknown injured [7] |
The Cyprus Emergency [note 2] was a conflict fought in British Cyprus between April 1955 and March 1959. [8]
The National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters (EOKA), a Greek Cypriot right-wing nationalist guerrilla organisation, began an armed campaign in support of the end of British colonial rule and the unification of Cyprus and Greece (Enosis) in 1955. Opposition to Enosis from Turkish Cypriots led to the formation of the Turkish Resistance Organisation (TMT) in support of the partition of Cyprus. The Cyprus Emergency ended in 1959 with the signature of the London-Zürich Agreements, establishing the Republic of Cyprus as an independent state. [9]
The island of Cyprus can trace its Hellenic roots back to the 12th century BC with the immigration of Mycenaean Greeks to the island. [10] [11] [12] Many civilisations passed through the island leaving remnants behind, including that of the Franks, Venetians, Assyrians etc. [13] [14]
Cyprus was a territory of the Ottoman Empire from the late 16th century until it became a protectorate of the United Kingdom under nominal Ottoman suzerainty at the Cyprus Convention of 4 June 1878 after the Russo-Turkish War. In 1915, Cyprus was formally annexed into the British Empire after the Ottomans had entered World War I on the side of the Central Powers against the British, and it was initially governed by a military administration until 1925, when it was proclaimed the Crown Colony of Cyprus. From the 1910s to the 1950s, Greek Cypriots became increasingly dissatisfied with British rule and supportive of Enosis , the concept of political unification between Cyprus and Greece. Several unsuccessful offers made to Greece by the British to cede Cyprus in exchange for military concessions, as well as the noticeable lack of British investment on the island, caused a growing Cypriot nationalist movement.
In October 1931, Greek Cypriots rebelled against British rule and destroyed government property, however the demonstrations were suppressed and Britain took dictatorial measures against the Cypriot people; these became known as the "Palmerocracy", owing to the name of the Governor of Cyprus, Richmond Palmer. [15] [16] These measures were in place until the start of World War II. [17]
In 1950, a referendum was held by the Church of Cyprus on the subject of union with Greece, with a 89% turnout rate and 95.7% of those in favour of union with Greece; the British government, however, refused to negotiate. [18] [19] [20]
In 1954, Britain announced its intention to transfer its Suez military headquarters (the office of the Commander-in-Chief, Middle East) to Cyprus. [21]
On 1 April 1955, the EOKA started its insurgency with the 1 April Attacks. After a series of other incidents, the Governor General Sir John Harding declared a state of emergency on 26 November 1955. [22] Following the example of Malaya, Harding tried to co-ordinate the activities of the civil, military and police authorities, with the specific aim of collecting and processing intelligence. The British encountered great difficulty obtaining effective intelligence on EOKA, as it was supported by the majority of the Greek Cypriot population. As a result, the British were forced to rely on some 4,000 Turkish-Cypriot policemen, who were ostracised by the Greek-Cypriot communities and could provide little information about them. [23] Inevitably, the use of Turkish Cypriot policemen against the Greek Cypriot community exacerbated relations between the two communities. [24] In 1955 however, EOKA had sent letters to the Turkish-Cypriot community in Nicosia stating that their conflict was against the British and not them. [25]
EOKA focused its activity to urban areas totalling 104 house bombings, 53 riots, 136 acts of sabotage, 403 ambushes, 35 attacks on police, 38 attacks on soldiers and 43 raids on police stations. EOKA's aim was to keep the British army away from the Troodos mountains where its main fighters were hiding. [26] Some of the attacks went awry, most notably the bombing of a restaurant by EOKA on 16 June, which led to the death of William P. Boteler, a CIA officer working under diplomatic cover. [27] Grivas immediately issued a statement denying a deliberate attempt to target American citizens. [28]
In October, with the security situation deteriorating, Harding opened talks on the island's future. By this stage, Archbishop Makarios III had become closely identified with the insurgency, and talks broke up without any agreement in early 1956. [29] Makarios was viewed with suspicion by the British authorities, and was later exiled to the Seychelles. [30] [31] News of his arrest triggered a week-long general strike followed by a sharp increase in EOKA activity: 246 attacks through 31 March, including a failed assassination attempt against Harding when a bomb placed under his bed failed to detonate. [32]
By mid-1956, there were 17,000 British servicemen in Cyprus and Harding was concerned to counter EOKA's mountain units in the Troodos. Nevertheless a number of operations were launched: [33] [34]
Between 21 April and 7 May 1956, the British armed forces mounted an operation codenamed "Kennett", conducted in the Kyrenia range by 1,500 troops who cordoned and searched a dozen villages in a 50 square mile area and arrested eighteen suspects. [35]
From 17 May to 7 June, Britain launched operation "Pepper Pot", an operation that was carried out by the 16 Independent parachute brigade. However, an informant within the Special Branch alerted Grivas of the operation, and as such EOKA was better prepared for the British forces which led to the operation having little effect. [36] [37]
From 7 June to 23 June 1956, Britain launched operation "Lucky Alphonse" in an effort to cripple EOKA and capture George Grivas as a means to bring power to the negotiating table. [38] More than 5,000 British soldiers took part, including units from the Royal Marines, the Parachute Regiment, the Gordon Highlanders and the Royal Norfolk Regiment. [39] Although there were some minor successes, 7 British soldiers were killed in action, with another 21 burned to death by accident during a fire in the Paphos Forest, the operation furthermore failing to capture George Grivas. [40]
From 2 to 21 July, 16 Independent parachute brigade cordoned thirty villages in the Troodos; assisted by tracker dogs and informers, they arrested three members of three village groups in an operation called "Spread Eagle". [41]
From 22 to 25 July 1956, the British captured seventeen guerrillas and wounded several others trying to breach the cordons during operation "Golden Eagle". [42]
Some of the other operations were considered a success; some fifty guerrillas and a good haul of weapons were captured. Grivas managed to escape and was forced into hiding, leaving behind his diary which yielded important intelligence information. The leading EOKA assassin, Nikos Sampson, had also been captured. [43] Grivas eventually moved to Limassol where he established his new headquarters. [44]
The Suez crisis gave EOKA some respite in the autumn of 1956 and some reorganization was achieved in particular the town groups. As a result, British forces did not follow up on the success of the summer operations, much to the frustration of Harding. EOKA stepped up its campaign in what became as 'Black November' for the British with a total of 416 attacks killing 39, including 21 British units. Facing growing criticism in the United Kingdom about his methods employed and their ineffectiveness, Sir John Harding resigned as Governor on 22 October 1957 and was replaced by Sir Hugh Foot in December. [45]
The end of the Suez crisis, although it had resulted in the departure of many of the military from the island, had not reduced the number of active internal security operations as much as EOKA had expected, with the British able to hold their own and reassert control. [46] After Suez campaign had finished, the British military strength was increased to 20,000 and Foote managed to direct a new offensive. [46]
British troops were redeployed and the town groups were being hunted. By the Spring of 1957, the British operations took their toll on EOKA; the security forces arrested around thirty members of the Nicosia town groups and the area commander. In addition, the mountain groups would never be as effective as they had been. Altogether fifteen were killed in combat and another sixty were captured, with the likelihood they would be hanged. Grivas ordered his area commanders to cease active operations. By April, the majority of EOKA's leaders had been killed or captured and their gangs were soon broken up. With the insurgency seemingly defeated, Grivas announced a ceasefire on 17 March. [43]
In November of 1957, EOKA engaged in one of its most significant operations against the British, when an EOKA member employed at RAF Akrotiri smuggled and placed bombs in the engine compartments of two English Electric Canberras, both of which were destroyed along with two other Canberras and a De Havilland Venom that were destroyed by the subsequent fire that consumed the hanger (Sabotage at RAF Akrotiri). [47] [48] [49]
The ceasefire lasted a whole year; during this time EOKA began to rearm and reorganize and stepped up its activities in different ways. A second phase of the emergency now began as EOKA began to target urban areas where they organized rioting by students. They also used hit squads to target police officers and military personnel. These attacks continued throughout 1957 and into 1958. Grivas was also concerned with increasing communist activity against AKEL, ordering a number of actions against them, which threatened to start a civil war within the Greek Cypriot community. [43] The British delicately fueled this hostility, and in August 1957 a second wave of intra-Greek violence broke out. [50]
The Turkish Resistance Organisation (TMT, Türk Mukavemet Teşkilatı) was formed with the support of the Turkish government in order to flare up tensions between the two communities and to achieve their goal of 'Taksim'. [51] TMT used violence against members of its own community (especially on the left) that were not willing to stay in line with their cause. [52] [53] The British tolerated TMT and had leveraged the Turkish Cypriot community and the Turkish government as a means of blocking the demand for Enosis. The British knowing this was getting out of control still managed to exploit the situation. [54]
Intercommunal and intracommunal violence escalated in the summer of 1958 with numerous fatalities. There were approximately 55 assassinations by Turks on Greeks, and 59 assassinations by Greeks on Turks between 7 June and 7 August. [55] A substantial number of Turkish Cypriots were displaced due to the violence.
EOKA attacks however continued on the British, who at the same time attempted to stymie them. On 1 September 1958 in the village of Liopetri which was held by the Royal Ulster Rifles were attacked by an EOKA team of four who were all subsequently killed in the ensuing fire fight. [56] Grivas on reaction to this renounced the ceasefire soon after. [57] The outgoing General Officer Commanding and Director of Operations Douglas Kendrew survived an assassination attempt soon after. [58] Kendrew's replacement Major General Kenneth Darling took the initiative by organizing a number of operations. [59]
Darling's first success was the destruction of a major EOKA arms smuggling ring centred on the post office at Paphos. Following this Darling sought to destroy the surviving EOKA groups; one such area was the Western and central region in the Kyrenia Mountains and so Operation Filtertip began on 3 November. [60] The operation, which lasted a month, was a success, and saw the discovery of an arms cache, the arrest of ninety EOKA members, as well as the death of the Kyernia area leader Kyriakos Matsis on 19 November. [61] Even Grivas acknowledged defeat, noting that this was the only success the British had at the time. Nevertheless, there were more successful operations that followed. Notebook which took place in the Paphos area on 18 November, led to the seizure of firearms and bombs, but importantly more arrests; including several village group commanders. This paid dividends which led to further leads and enabled Operations Dovetail and Box Office – which concluded with more success – arrests and the recovery of more arms and ammunition. [1]
As the successes of the security forces increased, the tempo of EOKA's operation in turn decreased. By the end of 1958, EOKA had been dealt a body blow by the continued exertion of pressure by the British. What's more, Darling and Kendrew now had the confidence that they would be able to sustain this in the event of a failure of the political process. [62]
During the last months of 1958, all parties had reasons to favour a compromise. The Greek Cypriot side was afraid that partition was becoming more and more imminent, Greece was anxious that the ongoing situation could lead to a war with Turkey, Turkey had to manage the ongoing crises at its eastern borders, and the British could see that the defeat of EOKA was unlikely and also did not want to see NATO destabilizing because of a Greek-Turkish war.
On 5 December, the foreign ministers of Greece and Turkey acknowledged the situation and a series of meetings were arranged that resulted in the London-Zürich Agreements. Makarios reluctantly accepted the agreements abandoning enosis, but the Turkish-Cypriot leadership was enthusiastic about the compromise. [63] This was a compromise solution in which Cyprus would become an independent and sovereign country. [64]
Around the same time the British were still looking for the well hidden George Grivas. MI6 had launched Operation Sunshine in an attempt to pinpoint his whereabouts. [65] After a few months his likely position was found through a combination of intercepts on telephone lines and surveillance of key EOKA personnel. However just when he was about to be arrested diplomatic events had turned significantly that a deal was on the horizon. Darling was concerned that his arrest or assassination would cause the collapse of the ongoing talks. [66] MacMillan was informed and he ordered Sunshine aborted giving instructions to MI6 for Grivas 'to stew in his own juice'. [67]
On 9 March 1959, Grivas declared a ceasefire, though still opposing the agreements. [68] [69] After agreeing to meet with Makarios, Grivas agreed to leave under safe conduct by the British and without ceremony. There was to be an immediate cease-fire, and an amnesty for political crimes committed during the Emergency. [70]
Following the London and Zürich Agreements, Cyprus became an independent republic and as far as liberation being concerned, the EOKA campaign was successful however enosis and taksim were ruled out by the treaties signed. [63] [71] [72] [73] Grivas was displeased with the agreements and made his opinions about them public. [74] Britain was allowed to retain control of some 254km2 (98 square miles) which consisted of two Sovereign Base Areas at Akrotiri and Dhekelia also known as British Forces Cyprus including some other facilities on the island which do not form part of the SBAs. [75] [76]
Despite having agreed to independence, Turkey soon regarded Cyprus with grave suspicion, feeling that they had been betrayed by the British. For the new constitution to work in practice, some degree of co-operation between the two communities would be essential, with many viewing as unworkable. This view proved correct, and after years of unrest, violence, and disagreement, a buffer zone was established in the last days of 1963 directed by Major-General Peter Young, commander of the British Joint Force (later known as the Truce Force and a predecessor of the present UN force). It was fully established on 4 March 1964, then extended on 9 August after the Battle of Tillyria, and extended again in 1974, after the ceasefire of 16 August 1974, following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. This became known as the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus, and is commonly referred to as the 'Green Line'. [77]
At least 14 Cypriots (including a minor) arrested on suspicion of being EOKA members, were tortured then killed by UK forces during detention. Witnesses –both surviving detainees and UK veterans –recall various kinds of torture and inhumane treatment of detainees. [78]
The British government agreed in January 2019 to pay £1 million to a total of 33 Cypriots who had been allegedly tortured by British forces during the uprising. They included a woman, aged 16 at the time, who said that she had been detained and repeatedly raped by soldiers, and a man who had lost a kidney as a result of his interrogation. The payout followed the declassification of government documents in 2012, but Foreign Minister Alan Duncan stated that "the settlement does not constitute any admission of liability" although "the government has settled the case in order to draw a line under this litigation and to avoid the further escalation of costs". [79]
Makarios III was a Greek Cypriot archbishop, primate, statesman and politician who served as the first President of Cyprus between 1960 and July 1974, with a second term between December 1974 and 1977. He was also the Archbishop of the autocephalous Church of Cyprus from 1950 to 1977.
The Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston was a Greek Cypriot nationalist guerrilla organization that fought a campaign for the end of British rule in Cyprus, and for eventual union with Greece.
Polykarpos Giorkatzis was a Greek Cypriot politician. He served as the first Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Cyprus. He also served as provisional minister of Labour in the period leading to Cyprus being proclaimed an independent state. Before entering the political stage he fought for EOKA. His political career evolved from a staunch supporter of Makarios to becoming one of the archbishop's principal political rivals. He was assassinated in 1970.
Georgios Grivas, also known by his nickname Digenis, was the Cypriot founder and leader of the Greek and Greek Cypriot paramilitary organisations Organization X (1942–1949), EOKA (1955–1959) and EOKA B (1971–1974).
Cyprus was part of the British Empire, under military occupation from 1914 to 1925, and a Crown colony from 1925 to 1960. Cyprus became an independent nation in 1960.
Nikos Sampson was a Cypriot journalist, militant and politician, who was installed as acting President of Cyprus during the 1974 coup.
The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of intercommunal violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, and in response to a Greek junta-sponsored Cypriot coup d'état five days earlier, it led to the Turkish capture and occupation of the northern part of the island.
Georgios Karayiannis was an officer of the Greek Army. Having retired with the rank of General, he was approached on 18 April 1964 by his former colleague General George Grivas and offered the leadership of the newly formed Greek Cypriot Cypriot National Guard, which post Karayiannis accepted. From April to August 1964 Karayiannis commanded and organised the Cypriot National Guard, whose stated mission was to defend the island against possible Turkish military invasion, and to counter the paramilitary forces of the Turkish Cypriot group known as Turkish Resistance Organization or TMT.
EOKA-B or Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston B was a Greek Cypriot paramilitary organisation formed in 1971 by General Georgios Grivas ("Digenis"). It followed an ultra right-wing nationalistic ideology and had the ultimate goal of achieving the enosis (union) of Cyprus with Greece. During its short history, the organisation's chief aim was to block any attempt to enforce upon the Cyprus people what the organisation considered to be an unacceptable settlement to the Cyprus issue. In addition, the organisation drafted various plans to overthrow President Makarios. The organisation continued its activities until it officially declared its dissolution and disbanded on 11 February 1978.
Evagoras Pallikarides was a Greek-Cypriot poet and revolutionary who was a member of EOKA during the 1955–1959 campaign against British rule in Cyprus. He was arrested on 18 December 1956 when he was caught carrying weaponry on a donkey, to which he confessed in his trial. He was sentenced to death by hanging for firearms possession on 27 February 1957 and was the youngest insurgent to be executed in Cyprus. His death generated widespread controversy due to his young age and the circumstances of his arrest.
Vassos Lyssarides was a Cypriot politician and physician who was a central figure in the politics of Cyprus after the island's independence.
Grigoris Pieris Afxentiou was a Greek-Cypriot insurgent leader who led campaigns against the British colonial government as a member of EOKA. He was second-in-command to general Georgios Grivas and used the pseudonym Zidhros (Ζήδρος), the name of a famous 18th-century brigand.
The Battle of Spilia is the name given in Greek Cypriot sources to an engagement of the Cyprus Emergency that took place in the neighbourhood of the Cypriot village of Spilia on either 11 or 12 December 1955. The engagement involved approximately 12 members of Georgios Grivas’s EOKA group and a 40 man detachment of the 45 Commando Royal Marines. In British military sources this is known as part of a wider operation known as ‘Foxhunter’ that was tasked with breaking up the EOKA presence in the Troodos mountains and capturing EOKA leader Georgios Grivas.
Field Marshal Allan Francis Harding, 1st Baron Harding of Petherton,, known as John Harding, was a senior British Army officer who fought in both the First World War and the Second World War, served in the Malayan Emergency, and later advised the British government on the response to the Mau Mau Uprising. He also served as Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), the professional head of the British Army, and was Governor of Cyprus from 1955 to 1957 during the Cyprus Emergency. His administration of Cyprus was controversial for its authoritarian treatment of suspected insurgents and civilians.
Several distinct periods of Cypriot intercommunal violence involving the two main ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, marked mid-20th century Cyprus. These included the Cyprus Emergency of 1955–59 during British rule, the post-independence Cyprus crisis of 1963–64, and the Cyprus crisis of 1967. Hostilities culminated in the 1974 de facto division of the island along the Green Line following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The region has been relatively peaceful since then, but the Cyprus dispute has continued, with various attempts to solve it diplomatically having been generally unsuccessful.
Kyriakos Matsis was a Greek Cypriot guerrilla and member of EOKA.
Michalis Karaolis was a Cypriot public official and revolutionary. Born in the village of Palaichori Oreinis of Pitsilia, Karaolis worked as a government clerk and a member of EOKA. He was the first to be sentenced to death and hanged alongside Andreas Dimitriou on 10 May 1956.
Operation Lucky Alphonse was a failed British Armed Forces operation that occurred during the EOKA insurgency in Cyprus. The British military sustained more than 30 casualties. Albeit almost all casualties were sustained from an accidental forest fire.
The Akritas plan, was an inside document of the Greek Cypriot secret organisation of EOK that was authored in 1963 and was revealed to the public in 1966. It entailed the weakening of the Turkish Cypriots in the government of Cyprus and then uniting (enosis) Cyprus with Greece. According to Turkish Cypriots, the plan was a "blueprint to genocide", but Greek Cypriots claimed that it was rather a “defensive plan”.
The 16th Parachute Brigade was an airborne infantry brigade of the British Army.
Remember that the British fought in Cyprus, and seemingly had everything in their favor. It is an island half the size of New Jersey. The Royal Navy, which can be trusted to do its job, sealed off the island from the outside. There were 40,000 British troops on Cyprus under Field Marshal Sir John Harding, and his opponent, Colonel [George] Grivas, had 300 Greeks in the EOKA [National Organization of Cypriot Struggle]. The ratio between regular troops and guerrillas was 110-to-1 in favor of the British! After five years the British preferred to come to terms with the rebels.
The term "Cyprus Emergency" more precisely refers to events occurring between 26 November 1955, when Governor John Harding declared an official state of emergency, and Grivas' departure in March 1959.
Many other cultures followed since then, including Phoenicians, Assyrians, Franks, Venetians ... all leaving behind visible traces of their passage.
The referendum of 1950, which followed the failure of the Consultative Assembly (Διασκεπτική, Diaskeptiki), marked the beginning of a new dynamic stage of the efforts of the Greeks of Cyprus to unite with Greece, which culminated with the EOKA struggle.
Η ΕΟΚΑ διαβεβαίωσε με φυλλάδιο της, που κυκλοφόρησε σε τουρκική γλώσσα τον Ιούλιο του 1955 στην τουρκική συνοικία της Λευκωσίας, ότι ο Αγώνας που διεξάγει δεν στρέφεται εναντίον των Τουρκοκυπρίων, αλλά εναντίον του Αγγλου κυριάρχου.
In the first half of 1956, the British also conducted major operations against EOKA, which produced little effect. Grivas narrowly escaped from British forces during the operation Pepper Pot and Lucky Alphonso in the Troodos mountains.
In September 1958 Archbishop Makarios, the Greek Cypriot leader, told Barbara Castle, the then Chair of the British Labour Party, that, after three and a half years of violence from EOKA (Εθνική Οργάνωσις Κυπρίων Αγωνιστών/National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters) to achieve the union of Cyprus with Greece (enosis), he now supported a brief period of self-government, followed by the independence of Cyprus.
It was not until 9 March, three weeks after the London Conference that Grivas finally announced that he was 'obliged to order a ceasefire'. In the EOKA leaflet announcing it, he described the settlement simply as 'preferable to the national division' that would follow a rejection on his part. In a letter to EOKA members he elaborated on the need to avoid 'civil discord' which would 'raze everything to the ground'