Cyprus formed part of the Ottoman Empire from 1571 to 1914, when it was formally annexed by Great Britain at the beginning of World War I. In 1950s the revival of "Hellenism" and the ideal of re- building the great "Hellen Empire" started a bloody struggle in Cyprus, Enosis, in other words the annexation of Cyprus by Greece. The religious leader of Greek Cypriots, Archbishop Makarios, was the head of the movement and there were massive terrorist attacks on British rulers and Turkish Cypriots who didn't share this "ideal". The numbers show that between 1955 and 1960, 508 people were murdered and 1,260 people were wounded in these attacks by EOKA, a Greek Cypriot terrorist organization, under the leadership of an ex- colonel from the Greek army, Grivas[2].

By 1958 it had become clear that it was not possible to achieve Enosis. Turkish Cypriots, just like Greek Cypriots, wanted self- determination and freedom and they didn't want to be a mere "minority" which, soon after independence, would be "persuaded" to leave Cyprus. In 1959 the Greek side accepted the formation of an independent republic in which Turkish Cypriots would be one of the two equal partners. However, what Greek side understood from "independence" was merely "a step before Enosis" as it was soon discovered. Knowing the Greek aim of Enosis, the Republic of Cyprus was founded in 1960 with a detailed Constitution which strictly forbade the annexation of Cyprus by any country. Furthermore permanent guarantees were written in the Constitution of Cyprus so that the "independent democracy" would not turn into a "dictatorship of majority"[3]. Nevertheless, beginning right after the foundation of Cyprus in 1960, the Greek Cypriots made it clear that they had not given up the struggle for Enosis. Makarios, also first President of Cyprus, made the following public declaration:

"The Zurich and London Agreements form a landmark in the course of this struggle, but, at the same time, are a starting point for further struggles, with the object of capitalising on what has been achieved for further conquests",

on 5 January 1962. On 15 August 1962, in Kykko monastery, he reiterated that Enosis was his aim and said:

"Greek Cypriots must continue to march forward to complete the work began by the EOKA heroes."

He also made the following provocative remark at his native village of Panayia on 4 September 1962:

"Until this small Turkish community that forms part of the Turkish race which has been the terrible enemy of Hellenism is expelled, the duty to the heroes of EOKA cannot be considered as terminated."

In 1962, Polykarpos Yorkadjis, Minister of Interior, declared that:

"There is no place in Cyprus for anyone who is not Greek, who does not think Greek and who does not constantly feel Greek."

Meanwhile, the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation regularly broadcast virulently anti-Turkish plays. In one play, a mother asks her son what her son wants to become; the boy replies:

- "a hero."

When she asks him,:

- "What will you bring to us?",

he answers:

- "I am going to bring seven Turkish heads to you [4]."

In fact the Akritas plan, published by Greek Cypriot newspaper Patris on 21 April 1966, was a clear proof of the fact that Greek Cypriot side deliberately tried to prove the constitution as unworkable and to replace it with a settlement in order to re-open the way to Enosis. It was disclosed that Archbishop Makarios had assumed responsibility for the implementation of the plan and he had appointed Polycarpos Georkadjis to be the "Chief Akritas". In an interview with the Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci, Makarios said how Ioannides (a Greek officer in the Greek contingent on Cyprus) and Nikos Sampson, a bloody EOKA terrorist leader responsible from the "execution squads" of EOKA, came to him one day in 1964 and told:

"Your Beatitude, here is my project. To attack the Turkish Cypriots on the island, and eliminate them to the last one [5]."

Ioannides was the leader of the fascist Greek Junta in 1974 and Nikos Sampson was declared the "president" with the Coup organized by Athens, and their plan was still as revealed by Makarios. Knowing these facts it is easy to understand the reasons behind the Turkish fears for the security of Turkish Cypriots and the decision for intervention. In fact after the intervention it was found out that in Sandallaris village the whole population of 57, and at Maratha village 82 Turkish Cypriots were massacred and buried in mass-graves, among the victims were babies, women, and elderly people. In Tokhni village all able-bodied male Turkish inhabitants (50 in number) were taken by the Greek Cypriot National Guard soldiers to the outskirts of Ayia Phyla village in Limassol district where they were massacred and buried in a pre-opened pit together with about 40 Turks from Tatlisu (Mari)[6].

Greek people, repeating the official Greek claim, tell us that more than 2,000 Greek Cypriots were/are "missing". For some strange reason they forget to tell us that a Greek Cypriot Priest, Father Papatsetsos, made a declaration to Greek newspapers saying that he had personally buried 127 people, 10 of them were Turkish Cypriots, and all of them were murdered by EOKA-B terrorists and the Greek National Guard(there were violent clashes between left-wing and right-wing Greek Cypriots after the Coup in 1974)[7] . On 23 July 1974, The Times of London quoted the American wife of Dr. Lyssarides (head of the EDEK party) saying that many supporters of Makarios had been massacred during and after the coup. On 25 July 1974 Combat published in Belgium, reported:

"it has been confirmed that during the days following the coup at least 2,000 of Makarios's supporters have either been killed in the fighting or executed."

A report in Washington Star News said similar things:

"Bodies littered the streets and there were mass burials."

Until this day Greek Cypriot Government has rejected to open these mass-graves and to reveal the identities of these people, mainly to continue the Greek propaganda of "missing Greeks". The fact is that, the question of missing persons was investigated by International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC). The ICRC representative stated categorically in the presence of the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative in Cyprus that all POWs were delivered to the Greek side. This fact was also confirmed in the report of the head of the ICRC dated 18 March 1977. At the time there were only 23-24 cases pending investigation, and the Turkish side is ready to investigate these cases along with hundreds of Turkish Cypriots who are missing since 1963[8]. As for the "atrocity stories" made up by Greek side, a report by the Study Mission of the Sub-committee of the Judiciary of the US Senate (October 1974), about the first phase of the Turkish military operation, said:

"Whenever and wherever the Study Mission talked with Greek Cypriot refugees, the story was basically the same: people moved the instant they saw or thought the Turkish army was advancing towards their town or village."

About the second phase of the operation, the report says:

"Greek Cypriots fled the moment there was rumor or sight of military forces - creating a virtual vacuum into which the Turkish army could and did move without resistance and without the presence of people."

Since 1974 there have been many series of negotiations between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. All of these negotiations have been fruitless because of the Greek side's unwillingness to accept Turkish Cypriots' equality and the guarantee of their rights by Turkey. The Greek Cypriot side has been enjoying hundreds of millions of dollars of help from UN and EEC while the Turkish Cypriots have been denied all of their citizenship rights and share. What is worse, these helps have been used by Greek Cypriots for their military expenses which rose to $500 Million between 1977-87 and $762 Million are envisaged for 1990-93 period. Today there are less than 20,000 Turkish soldiers in Cyprus as opposed to more than 15,000 Greek mainland troops and the Greek National Guard includes 21,000 troops and with reserves reaches 85,000. Former EOKA members are still in powerful government positions and not a single Greek Cypriot has been punished for their acts during 1974 Coup. Even Nikos Sampson has been allowed to leave Cyprus, with the pretext of being treated, and has not returned from France for years and when he did he was greeted as a "hero". Finally, I am finishing my article with the words of the Greek Cypriot Defense Minister, Mr. Alonetis, on 11 March 1989:

"At the first opportunity we get, the Greek Cypriot National Guard will attack and regain by force of arms our occupied lands."

Therefore, nobody was surprised when Greek Cypriots began moving their forces to the Turkish Cypriot border during the recent Gulf-Crisis, hoping that Iraq would attack Turkey.

I believe the latest UN-Resolution in the Cyprus Problem must guide both Greeks and Turks to the correct path:

Resolution 649, 1990

[...]
"Calls upon the leaders of the two communities to pursue their efforts to reach freely a mutually acceptable solution providing for the establishment of a federation that will be BI-COMMUNAL as regards the constitutional aspects and BI-ZONAL as regards the territorial aspects in line with the present resolution and their 1977 and 1979 agreements, and to co-operate, on an EQUAL FOOTING, with the Secretary-General in completing, in the first instance and on an urgent basis, an outline of an overall agreement, as agreed in june 1989."
[...]

		
References

[1]     Sir H. Luke, Cyprus Under the Turks, pp. vi-xi.
[2]     L. Stern, The Wrong Horse, pp.  160-177.
[3]     J. Reddaway, The British Connection with Cyprus Since
        Independence, pp. 1-23.
[4]     L. Stern, ibid, pp.  92-93.
[5]     P. Oberling, The Cyprus Tragedy, pp.4-5.
[6]     A. H. Rizvi, Cyprus: The Tale of an Island, pp. 38-39.
[7]     R. R. Denktash, The Cyprus Triangle, 1982, pp. 145-148.
[8]     R. R. Denktash, ibid, pp. 92-95.