Editing Cyprus problem (section)

===1918 to 1955===
[[File:Cypriot demonstration 1930.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|A [[Greek Cypriots|Greek Cypriot]] demonstration in the 1930s in favour of ''[[Enosis]]'' (union) with [[Greece]]]]
Under British rule in the early 20th century, Cyprus escaped the conflicts and atrocities that went on elsewhere between Greeks and Turks during the [[Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)|Greco-Turkish War]] and the 1923 [[population exchange between Greece and Turkey]]. Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriots consistently opposed the idea of union with Greece.

In 1925, Britain declared Cyprus a [[crown colony]]. In the years that followed, the determination of Greek Cypriots to achieve ''[[enosis]]'' continued. In 1931 this led to open revolt. A riot resulted in the death of six civilians, injuries to others and the burning of Britain's Government House in [[Nicosia]]. In the months that followed, about 2,000 people were convicted of crimes in connection with the struggle for union with Greece. Britain reacted by imposing harsh restrictions. Military reinforcements were dispatched to the island and the constitution suspended.<ref name="SPT1">{{cite news|title=England sends troops to end Cyprus revolt|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-ZAnAAAAIBAJ&pg=6516,2074275&dq=cyprus&hl=en|access-date=17 June 2010|newspaper=St. Petersburg Times|date=23 October 1931}}</ref><ref name="HANS1">{{cite journal |title=Cyprus |journal=Hansard |date=12 November 1931|volume=259|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1931/nov/12/cyprus|access-date=17 June 2010}}</ref> A special "epicourical" (reserve) police force was formed consisting of only Turkish Cypriots, <!--''Hidden as no ref given after 3 years'': to fight Cypriot revolutionaries to internally divide the Cypriots,{{Citation needed|date=March 2007}} --> press restrictions were instituted<ref name="HANS2">{{cite web|title=Cyprus (Press Restrictions)|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1930/jul/02/cyprus-press-restrictions#S5CV0240P0_19300702_HOC_260|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|date=2 July 1930|access-date=17 June 2010}}</ref><ref name="HANS3">{{cite web|title=Cyprus (Newspapers) |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1930/jul/07/cyprus-newspapers#S5CV0241P0_19300707_CWA_32|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|date=7 July 1930 |access-date=17 June 2010}}</ref> and political parties were banned. Two bishops and eight other prominent citizens directly implicated in the conflict were exiled.<ref name="HANS4">{{cite journal|title=Cyprus (exiles)|journal=Hansard|date=25 November 1931|volume= 260|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1931/nov/12/cyprus#S5CV0259P0_19311112_HOC_108 |access-date=17 June 2010}}</ref><!--''The Governor acted on behalf of, and answered to, the British Government'': In effect, the governor became a dictator,{{Citation needed|date=March 2007}} empowered to rule by decree. --> Municipal elections were suspended, and until 1943 all municipal officials were appointed by the government.{{Citation needed|date=March 2007}} The governor was to be assisted by an Executive Council, and two years later an Advisory Council was established; both councils consisted only of appointees and were restricted to advising on domestic matters only. In addition, the flying of [[Flag of Greece|Greek]] or [[Flag of Turkey|Turkish flags]] or the public display of visages of Greek or Turkish heroes was forbidden.{{Citation needed|date=March 2007}}

The struggle for ''enosis'' was put on hold during [[World War II]]. In 1946, the British government announced plans to invite Cypriots to form a Consultative Assembly to discuss a new constitution. The British also allowed the return of the 1931 exiles.<ref>{{cite book|last=Holland|first=Robert F.|title=Britain and the revolt in Cyprus, 1954–1959|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|page=14|isbn=978-0-19-820538-8}}</ref> Instead of reacting positively, as expected by the British, the Greek Cypriot military hierarchy reacted angrily because there had been no mention of ''enosis''.{{Citation needed|date=March 2007}} The [[Cypriot Orthodox Church]] had expressed its disapproval, and Greek Cypriots declined the British invitation, stating that ''enosis'' was their sole political aim. The efforts by Greeks to bring about ''enosis'' now intensified, helped by active support of the Church of Cyprus, which was the main political voice of the Greek Cypriots at the time. However, it was not the only organisation claiming to speak for the Greek Cypriots. The Church's main opposition came from the [[AKEL|Cypriot Communist Party]] (officially the Progressive Party of the Working People; ''Ανορθωτικό'' ''Κόμμα'' ''Εργαζόμενου'' ''Λαού''; or AKEL), which also wholeheartedly supported the Greek national goal of ''enosis''. However the British military forces and colonial administration in Cyprus did not see the pro-Soviet communist party as a viable partner.{{Citation needed|date=March 2007}}
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The issue was hotly contested with the [[Papagos]] Government,{{Citation needed|date=March 2007}} whose attempt to defend the principle of Cypriot self-determination at the United Nations was particularly threatening to the UK. The British Government turned to the US Secretary of State [[John Foster Dulles]], who recruited the votes in the UN to defeat the Greek challenge.{{Citation needed|date=March 2007}} At the same time, British foreign secretary [[Harold Macmillan]] prevailed upon Turkey to alter its policy on Cyprus and make vigorous representations as to its claims and rights on the island.{{Citation needed|date=March 2007}}-->

During the 1940s, politically charged Turkish and Turkish-Cypriot newspaper reports, poems, and stories, including those by Dursun Cevlâni, contributed to a concerted effort to deny any Greek identity of the island and foster a political movement in support of a Turkish Cyprus.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last2=Hatay |last1=Bryant |first2=Mete |first1=Rebecca |date=January 2015 |title=Turkish Perceptions of Cyprus: 1948 to the Present |publisher=[[Peace Research Institute Oslo]] Cyprus Centre |url=https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/zypern/13468.pdf |via=[[Friedrich Ebert Foundation]] |pages=7–18 }}</ref> By the mid-1950s, the "Cyprus is Turkish" party, movement, and slogan gained force in both Cyprus and Turkey.<ref name=":2" /> In a 1954 editorial, Turkish Cypriot leader Dr. Fazil Kuchuk expressed the sentiment that the Turkish youth had grown up with the idea that "as soon as Great Britain leaves the island, it will be taken over by the Turks", and that "Turkey cannot tolerate otherwise".<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Hostage to History: Cyprus from the Ottomans to Kissinger |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2468-1733_shafr_sim180100011 |access-date=2024-02-02 |website=The SHAFR Guide Online|doi=10.1163/2468-1733_shafr_sim180100011 }}</ref> By 1954 a number of Turkish mainland institutions were also active in the Cyprus issue such as the National Federation of Students, the Committee for the Defence of Turkish rights in Cyprus, the Welfare Organisation of Refugees from Thrace and the Cyprus Turkish Association.{{Citation needed|date=March 2007}} Above all, the Turkish trade unions were to prepare the right climate for the then main Turkish goal, the division of the island (''taksim'') into Greek and Turkish parts, thus keeping the British military presence and installations on the island intact. By this time a special Turkish Cypriot paramilitary organisation [[Turkish Resistance Organisation]] (TMT) was also established which was to act as a counterbalance to the Greek Cypriot ''enosis'' fighting organisation of [[EOKA]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.taraf.com.tr/yazar.asp?id=12 |title=Othello'nun güzel ülkesi Kıbrıs |work=[[Taraf]] |first=Ayşe |last=Hür |date=27 July 2008 |access-date=27 July 2008 |language=tr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080902110745/http://www.taraf.com.tr/yazar.asp?id=12 |archive-date=2 September 2008  }}</ref>
[[File:Turkish rally Nicosia 1950s.jpg|alt=A crowd with some Turkish flags in front of a building|thumb|Turkish rally in Nicosia in January 1958]]
In 1950, Michael Mouskos, Bishop Makarios of Kition (Larnaca), was elevated to Archbishop [[Makarios III]] of Cyprus. In his inaugural speech, he vowed not to rest until union with "mother Greece" had been achieved.{{Citation needed|date=July 2008}} In [[Athens]], ''enosis'' was a common topic of conversation, and a Cypriot native, Colonel [[George Grivas]], was becoming known for his strong views on the subject. In anticipation of an armed struggle to achieve ''enosis'', Grivas visited Cyprus in July 1951. He discussed his ideas with Makarios but was disappointed by the archbishop's contrasting opinion as he proposed a political struggle rather than an armed revolution against the British. From the beginning, and throughout their relationship, Grivas resented having to share leadership with the archbishop. Makarios, concerned about Grivas's extremism from their very first meeting, preferred to continue diplomatic efforts, particularly efforts to get the United Nations involved. The feelings of uneasiness that arose between them never dissipated. In the end, the two became enemies. In the meantime, on 16 August [Papagos Government] 1954, Greece's UN representative formally requested that self-determination for the people of Cyprus be applied.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Work of the UN in Cyprus: Promoting Peace and Development|last1=Richmond|first1=O.|last2=Ker-Lindsay|first2=J.|date=19 April 2001|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-0-230-28739-6|page=9|language=en}}</ref> Turkey rejected the idea of the union of Cyprus and Greece. Turkish Cypriot community opposed Greek Cypriot ''enosis'' movement, as under British rule the Turkish Cypriot minority status and identity were protected. Turkish Cypriot identification with Turkey had grown stronger in response to overt Greek nationalism of Greek Cypriots, and after 1954 the Turkish government had become increasingly involved. In the late summer and early autumn of 1954, the Cyprus problem intensified. On Cyprus the colonial government threatened publishers of seditious literature with up to two years imprisonment.<ref name="TPP1">{{cite news|title=Cypriots on spot|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XqkvAAAAIBAJ&pg=4511,2773672&dq=sedition+5+years+in+prison+cyprus&hl=en|access-date=17 June 2010|newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press|date=24 November 1956|page=4}}</ref> In December the [[UN General Assembly]] announced the decision "not to consider the problem further for the time being, because it does not appear appropriate to adopt a resolution on the question of Cyprus". Reaction to the setback at the UN was immediate and violent, resulting in the worst rioting in Cyprus since 1931.{{Citation needed|date=March 2007}}