THE MIRACLE
A True Story |
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This wish on the part of the Cypriot people was reiterated
on every possible occasion and at every public event, but it
met with persistent indifference from the British side which
finally announced, on 5th November, 1914, that Cyprus had
been annexed to the British Crown.
In November, 1917 a Pan-Cypriot Council was convened
at the Archbishop's Palace in Nicosia and voted unanimously
in favour of union with Greece. Britain, however, was not
disposed to make even the smallest step in that direction.
Julian Amery, the British undersecretary for colonial affairs
at the time, declared on 16th October, 1920, that "Britain
would keep Cyprus."
On 25th March, 1921 the British banned any form of
celebration by the Cypriot people to mark the 100th
anniversary of the Greek Revolution in 1821.
On 24th July, 1923 the Treaty of Lausanne was signed,
ending the war between Greece and Turkey. Under the terms
of Article 16 of the Treaty, Turkey was to relinquish all
claims in Cyprus; in accordance with Article 27 of the same
Treaty, Turkey would recognise that it had absolutely no
power or jurisdiction in respect of any issue whatsoever in
Cyprus, whether the matter was of a legal, political or
administrative nature. In the meantime, the overwhelming
majority of Cypriots continued to demand the island's union
with Greece.
On 17th January, 1931 came the Proclamation of Limassol
which was tantamount to a declaration of revolution. The
whole of Cyprus reverberated with protest marches, rallies
and demonstrations calling for union with Greece, but the
British government remained steadfastly dedicated to its
colonialist policy. Eleven days later, on 28th October, 1931,
there was bloodshed when six Cypriot demonstrators were
shot and killed by the island's British "owners" during a
major rally of civilians chanting slogans in favour of union
with Greece.
To stifle this growing popular demand, the British imposed
a regime of undisguised dictatorship. Teaching of the Greek language in schools was replaced by English and Greek
books, even subsidiary ones, were banned. Events in Greek
history were treated as if they had never happened, and it
was strictly forbidden to display pictures showing the heroes
of the Greek Revolution.
Yet when the Second World War broke out, 35,000 Cypriots
came forward of their own free will to join the Allied Forces
in the fight against fascism. Sir Winston Churchill said: "When
the war is over, the name of Cyprus will be amongst those
to whom a debt of gratitude is owed - not just by our
generation but by the future generations of mankind."
As soon as the war was over, however, all this was quickly
forgotten. Turkey, which had cunningly contrived to remain
neutral and had not spilt a single drop of Turkish blood
throughout the war, was waiting patiently for a suitable
opportunity to present itself.
On 15th January, 1950 the elderly Bishop of Kyrenia,
Makarios II, organised a referendum, the result of which
showed that 95.7% of the people of Cyprus wanted union
with Greece. The British still refused to accept the results
of the referendum. Then Cyprus was shaken by demands
for the self-determination that had already been granted to
dozens of nations around the world. The British colonial
secretary, H. L. Hopkinson, told the House of Commons on
28th July, 1954 that the principle of self-determination could
not be applied in Cyprus. Asked when it could be applied in
the future, he replied with one word: "Never."
Thus the people of Cyprus were forced to take up the
only option left open to them by British intransigence: armed
rebellion, which erupted in April, 1955.
The British reaction was immediate. In the most devious
and underhand manner, Britain started to implement its policy
of "divide and rule", letting the Turks back into Cyprus by
the back door. Immediately, urged on by the British, they
began to threaten that once British control of the island
came to an end, the Turks would take it back. On 29th
August, 1955 Greece was virtually dragged to the tripartite
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