Cyprus Emergency
Part of the Cyprus problem
and Decolonisation of Mediterranean Europe

A street riot in Nicosia during the Battle at Nicosia Hospital in 1956
Date26 November 1955 – 19 March 1959
Location
British Cyprus
Result

London-Zurich Agreement

Belligerents

 United Kingdom

Turkish Resistance Organisation
Supported by:
Turkey Turkey		 EOKA
Supported by:
Greece Greece
Commanders and leaders
John Harding
Hugh Foot
Turkey Rauf Denktaş		 Georgios Grivas
Grigoris Afxentiou †
Evagoras Pallikarides Executed
Michalis Karaolis Executed
Andreas Dimitriou Executed
Strength
British Empire c.25,000[1]–40,000[2] 300 fighters[2]
1,000 active underground[3]
Casualties and losses
104 dead
601 injured[4]		 102–112 killed (including 9 executed)
Unknown injured[5]

The Cyprus Emergency[note 1] was a conflict fought in British Cyprus between November 1955 and March 1959.[6]

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 a non-partitioned independent state separate from Greece.

Background

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 1954, Britain announced its intention to transfer its Suez military headquarters (the office of the Commander-in-Chief, Middle East)[7] to Cyprus.

Insurgency

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.[8] The British encountered great difficulty obtaining effective intelligence on EOKA, as it was supported by the majority of the Greek Cypriot population. They were also hampered by a drain on manpower, which was caused by the Suez Crisis and the Malayan Emergency, but towards the late 1950s, they enjoyed more success.

Counter-insurgency

Torture and extrajudicial killings

At least 14 Cypriots (including a minor) arrested on suspicion of being EOKA members, were tortured then killed by U.K. forces during detention. Witnesses – both surviving detainees and U.K. veterans – recall various kinds of torture and inhumane treatment of detainees.[9]

Subsequent events

Cyprus became an independent republic in 1960 with Britain retaining control of two Sovereign Base Areas: at Akrotiri and Dhekelia.

In January 2019 the British government agreed 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".[10]

See also

Notes

      1. ↑ Also known as the Cyprus Liberation Struggle 1955–59 (Greek: Απελευθερωτικός Αγώνας της Κύπρου 1955–59), the Greek Cypriot War of Independence (Greek: Ελληνοκυπριακός Πόλεμος της Ανεξαρτησίας) or the Cypriot War of Independence (Greek: Κυπριακός Πόλεμος της Ανεξαρτησίας) among Greeks and Greek Cypriots, and the 1955-1959 Cyprus events (Turkish: 1955-1959 Kıbrıs olayları) among Turkish and Turkish Cypriots.

      References

      1. ↑ "Cyprus Emergency Deaths 1955-1960 | findmypast.co.uk". www.findmypast.co.uk.
      2. 1 2 "Cyprus". www.psywarrior.com.
      3. ↑ Kraemer 1971, p. 146.
      4. ↑ French 2015, p. 307.
      5. ↑ French 2015, pp. 66, 307.
      6. ↑ Lim, Preston Jordan (2018). The Evolution of British Counter-Insurgency during the Cyprus Revolt, 1955–1959. Springer. p. 12. ISBN 978-3-319-91620-0. The term "Cyprus Emergency" more precisely refers to events occurring between November 26, 1955, when Governor John Harding declared an official state of emergency, and Grivas' departure in March 1959.
      7. ↑ Richard J. Aldrich, Ming-Yeh Rawnsley, The Clandestine Cold War in Asia, 1945–65: Western Intelligence, Propaganda and Special Operations, Routledge, 2013, 106.
      8. ↑ "State Of Emergency Declared In Cyprus". The Central Queensland Herald (Rockhampton, Qld. : 1930–1956). Rockhampton, Qld.: National Library of Australia. 1 December 1955. p. 13. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
      9. ↑ Townsend, Mark (2022-05-07). "Tortured to death: the 14 Cypriot men killed by British in 50s uprising". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
      10. ↑ "UK government pays damages to 33 Cypriot pensioners". BBC News. 23 January 2019.

      Bibliography

      Further reading

      • French, David (2015). Fighting EOKA: The British Counter-Insurgency Campaign on Cyprus, 1955–1959. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198729341.
      • Holland, Robert (1998). Britain and the Revolt in Cyprus, 1954–1959. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 9780198205388.
      • Novo, Andrew R. (2010). On all fronts: EOKA and the Cyprus insurgency, 1955-1959 (D.Phil Thesis). University of Oxford.
      • Durrell, Lawrence (1957), Bitter Lemons of Cyprus. London: Faber. ISBN 0571061869
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