| Tochni massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of Turkish invasion of Cyprus | |
 | |
| Location | Tochni, Larnaca, Cyprus |
| Date | August 14, 1974 |
| Target | Turkish Cypriots |
Attack type | Massacre |
| Weapons | Guns |
| Deaths | 84 |
| Perpetrators | Greek Cypriot members of the EOKA B |
| Motive | Anti-Turkish sentiment, Hellenization |
Tochni massacre refers to the killing of 84 Turkish Cypriots from the village of Tochni, Larnaca, Cyprus by Greek Cypriot members of EOKA B during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in the Summer of 1974.
During the Turkish invasion at the north of the island, members of the Greek Cypriot paramilitary group EOKA B took hostage more than 80 Turkish Cypriot men from the village of Tochni and the nearby village of Zygi, including minor boys of age 13. After being kept at a Greek elementary school during the night, the arrested Turkish Cypriots were boarded in a bus. According to the only survivor of the massacre, Suat Hussein Kafadar, the Turks were taken to the village of Palodia, where they were executed with automatic guns. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
Total number of victims is 84 (78 from Tochni and 6 from Zygi). At the massacre site, according to Kafadar, there was a Greek officer. [8] Kafadar said in an interview that a Greek military officer with three stars spoke with them during the night and reassured them that they would not get hurt. "My friend, don't be afraid. Today you are prisoners, tomorrow we will be yours. In the army, nobody abuses captives." [9]
The atrocity took place the same day as the massacre of Maratha, Santalaris and Aloda, again by Greek Cypriots members of EOKA B.
In 2016, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, said "I apologize to the Turkish Cypriots for 126 women and children killed in Aloda, Maratha and Santalaris and 85 civilian men killed in Tochni as a result of the horrific murders committed by EOKA B extremists on 14 August 1974.". [10]
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.
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).
This article covers the civilian casualties and displacements that occurred between 1963 and 1975 – from the outbreak of the intercommunal fighting until the end of displacements following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
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.
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.
Zygi is a small village on the south coast of Cyprus, between Limassol and Larnaca. Before 1974, Zygi had a mixed Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot population.
Vassos Lyssarides was a Cypriot politician and physician who was a central figure in the politics of Cyprus after the island's independence.
Kyriakos Matsis was a Greek Cypriot guerrilla and member of EOKA.
Trikomo is a town in North-Eastern Mesaoria in Cyprus. It is under the de facto control of Northern Cyprus and is the administrative center of the İskele District of Northern Cyprus. It gained municipality status in 1998.
The Cyprus Emergency was a conflict fought in British Cyprus between April 1955 and March 1959.
Santalaris is a small village located in the Famagusta District of Cyprus, north of Famagusta. The Turkish Cypriot inhabitants of the village were killed by EOKA-B during Maratha, Santalaris and Aloda massacre. Santalaris is under the de facto control of Northern Cyprus.
Maratha is a small village located in the Famagusta District of Cyprus, 7 km south of Lefkoniko. It is under the de facto control of Northern Cyprus.
Aloda is a small village located in the Famagusta District of Cyprus 5 km west of Agios Sergios. It is under the de facto control of Northern Cyprus. The village was inhabited by Turkish Cypriots before 1974. 37 of the inhabitants were killed by EOKA-B during Maratha, Santalaris and Aloda massacre in 1974 and only three could escape.
Maratha, Santalaris and Aloda massacre refers to a massacre of Turkish Cypriots by EOKA B; a Greek Cypriot paramilitary group. On 14 August 1974, after the start of Turkish invasion of Cyprus in the villages of Maratha, Santalaris and Aloda, 89 people from Maratha and Santalaris, and a further 37 people from the village of Aloda were killed. In total, 126 people were killed. The massacre occurred on the same day before the second Turkish invasion, concurring with other massacres.
Andreas Koukouma is a commentator and literary critic of the left. As a poet he is known by his pen-name Antis Kanakis. His poems and short stories deal with universal themes and are written in the Cypriot dialect. His poems also address the Turkish invasion of 1974, in which with others he unsuccessfully fought to repel, and promote the peaceful co-existence of Turkish and Greek Cypriots.
Niyazi Kızılyürek is a Turkish Cypriot political scientist and politician. He is, as of 2016, a professor of political history in the University of Cyprus, specialising on the political history of Turkey and Cyprus, and the Dean of the School of Humanities there.
The Battle of Omorphita was an armed engagement between Greek Cypriot and Turkish–Turkish Cypriot militias and Turkish military forces in December 1963 in the Cypriot town of Omorphita, part of the crisis of 1963.
The Greek Division or Menelaos Division was a Greek army division which was secretly sent to Cyprus in 1964 to support it against a possible Turkish invasion until the Cypriot National Guard could handle the defense of Cyprus.
Okulun içindeyken – ki esir olarak gittik – üç yıldızlı bir Yunanlı asker geldi, adam geldi bir konuşma yaptı. Dedi ki "Arkadaşlar hiç korkmayın, bugün siz esirsanız, yarın da biz esir olabiliriz. Askerlikte esirlere kötü muamele yapılmaz
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