Name	EOKA
War	Cypriot struggle for Independence
Active	1955–1959
Leaders	Georgios Grivas
Headquarters	Cyprus
Ideology	Greek nationalism, Enosis(union of Cyprus with Greece), Antiimperialism
Strength	1,250
Opponents	British Empire,Turkish Resistance Organisation
Battles	}}

EOKA (Εθνική Οργάνωσις Κυπρίων Αγωνιστών, ''Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston'' (Greek for National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters)) but sometimes expanded as ''Ethnikí Orgánosis Kipriakoú Agónos'' (Greek for National Organisation of Cypriot Struggle) was a Greek Cypriot nationalist military resistance organisation that fought a violent campaign for the end of British rule of Cyprus, as well as for self-determination and for union with Greece (enosis).

Background[link]

The United Kingdom had promised Greece unification with Cyprus if Greece would enter World War I on the side of the Allies; but the Greeks declined this invitation and therefore the promise was never realised. In the 1950s, EOKA organised to free the Greek Cypriots from British rule. The leadership of AKEL at the time (a political party with communist roots), opposed EOKA's military action, advocating the Gandhiesque approach of civil disobedience such as workers' strikes and demonstrations. This came into direct contrast with the previous leadership who some five years previously had organised the plebiscite of 1950, where the vast majority of Greek Cypriots who voted were for the union with Greece (98%).

Ideology[link]

EOKA was an anticolonial, anti-imperialist nationalist organisation with the ultimate goal of ''"The liberation of Cyprus from the British yoke"''. Although not stated in its initial declaration of existence which was printed and distributed on 1 April 1955, EOKA also had a target of achieving enosis (union of Cyprus with Greece). Despite this ideology being reflected in many of its members (and chiefly its military leader George Grivas) throughout the armed campaign, it was not of universal acceptance. The head of the political arm of EOKA, Makarios, took a more compromising approach especially during the later stages of the struggle.

There were arguments of collusion with the CIA to further American interests. Ultimately, the intents of the struggle were political, not military. EOKA wanted to attract the attention of the world through high profile operations that would make the press headlines. In his memoirs Grivas admits to ''"by deeds of heroism and self sacrifice to draw the attention of international public opinion, especially among the allies of Greece"''.

Armed campaign[link]

The military campaign officially began on April 1, 1955. On this date EOKA launched simultaneous attacks on the British controlled Cyprus Broadcasting Station in Nicosia (led by Markos Drakos), on the British Army's Wolseley barracks and on targets in Famagusta (led by Grigoris Afxentiou). Thereafter and unlike other anti colonial movements, EOKA confined its acts to sabotaging military installations, ambushing military convoys and patrols, and assassinating British soldiers and local informers. It did not attempt to control any territory, a tactic that according to Grivas would not have suited the terrain and size of Cyprus nor the imbalance of EOKA's conventional military capabilities with respect to the British Army.

Formation and structure[link]

The organisation was headed by Georgios Grivas. Grivas had rich military experience having been educated at the Hellenic Military Academy, having served as an officer in the Greek army and having fought for Greece in both World Wars. In terms of ideology, of particular relevance was his action during the Hellenic Civil War where he led Organisation X, a right wing faction charged with opposing the leftist group ELAS . Grivas (who was believed to be a CIA agent along with Nikos Sampson) assumed the nom de guerre ''Digenis'' in reference to the Byzantine Digenis Akritas, who repelled invaders from the Byzantine Empire during the Middle Ages.

Second in command was Grigoris Afxentiou who had also served in the Greek army. Afxentiou had graduated from the reserves Officers Academy in 1950 but had no prior experience in active military operations.

Recruitment of members was targeted at the younger population. The conditions for a mass uprising as witnessed in other colonial conflicts did not exist in Cyprus. There were no fundamental economic problems nor was there widespread poverty or food shortage. The working class was largely allied to the left wing party of AKEL which did not openly support an armed struggle. Cyprus' privileged geographical position allowed the middle class to prosper through international trade, activities that were openly encouraged by the British administration. As a result EOKA's leadership directed recruitment to the ''"passionate youth"''.

At the peak of the conflict EOKA guerillas numbered 1,250 members (250 regulars plus 1,000 active underground). They faced British security forces totalling 40,000 (32,000 regulars plus 8,000 auxiliaries). It was clandestinely supported by the Greek Government in the form of arms, money and propaganda on radio stations broadcast from Athens. The cost of running the campaign was reported to be only GBP £50,000 (US $140,000) for the whole 4 years.

Targets[link]

British[link]

EOKA's main target as stated both in its initiation oath and its initial declaration of existence was the British military. In total during the campaign EOKA engaged in 1,144 armed clashes with the British Army. About 53% of clashes took place in urban areas, whilst the rest (47%) took place in rural areas.

During the course of the insurrection a total of 105 British servicemen were killed and 51 members of the police.

Aside from British military personnel, EOKA targeted civilians connected to the British armed forces such as their families, British expatriates, colonial and civilian police officers.

Greek Cypriots[link]

Greek Cypriots suspected of being allied to the colonial forces and those believed to be informants were targeted, sometimes with severe brutality. Although the number of operations launched against Greek Cypriots were far less than those against the British military, they were much more efficient. In total 230 assassination attempts were attributed to EOKA action. Of these only 13 targets escaped unharmed, whilst 148 Greek Cypriots were killed and 69 were wounded.

Amongst the 148 killings, 23 were of known leftists. After the end of the struggle there has been debate whether EOKA was also used to target individuals on the basis of their political affiliations, in particular if they did not correspond to Grivas' extreme right ideology and or as vehicle for settling personal differences. The communist party of AKEL and EOKA veteran fighters have both been outspoken on this issue.

Turkish Cypriots[link]

One of the first actions of Field Marshal Sir John Harding, the newly appointed governor of Cyprus in 1955, was to expand the numbers of auxiliary Cyprus Police. This was achieved by disproportionate recruitment from the Turkish-Cypriot community—an action that went against the advice of experienced colonial officials who knew that over-reliance upon a Turkish police force would alarm the Greek Cypriot population and likely lead to open conflict between the island’s ethnic communities A new separate 'Special Mobile Reserve' unit was created exclusively recruited from the Turkish community.

Communal violence, rare in Cyprus before the insurgency, flared up in 1956 and increased throughout EOKA's campaign.

Events[link]

On the 16 June 1956, the bombing of a restaurant by EOKA led to the death of William P. Boteler, a CIA officer working under diplomatic cover. Colonel Grivas immediately issued a statement denying a deliberate attempt to target American citizens. He further warned American officials, for their own safety, to avoid the establishments patronised by "our British enemy."

In October 1956 an EOKA leader, Pilots Christof, was captured during Operation Sparrowhawk. The following year, Grigoris Afxentiou was burned to death in the Battle of Machairas. A number of other Greek fighters were hanged, including the 19-year old, Evagoras Pallikarides.

EOKA's activity continued until December 1959 when a cease-fire was declared which paved the way for the Zürich agreement on the future of the country.

The EOKA aim to rid Cyprus of British rule was partially met when on 16 August 1960 Cyprus achieved independence from the United Kingdom with the exception of two "Sovereign Base Areas" (SBA) at Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The settlement explicitly denied ''enosis'' – the union with Greece sought by EOKA. Although Cyprus gained its independence, it came with a complex constitution and the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee – a security arrangement comprising a three-way guarantee from Turkey, Greece and Britain that none would annexe the independent republic. (see History of Cyprus).

Allegations of torture by the British colonial forces[link]

In 2011, veteran EOKA fighters announced that lawsuits were being planned against British authorities. The veteran's association is claiming that at least 14 Cypriots died and hundreds more could have been tortured during interrogations by the British during the 1955–1959 armed struggle against colonial rule. Two of those who died during interrogation were aged 17. The action comes on the back of the uncovering of secret documents released in 2011 which document similar practices during the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya, during the same period.

Dissolution and legacy[link]

The EOKA campaign lasted – officially – until 31 March 1959. After independence EOKA fighters formed regional associations such as ΣΑΠΕΛ (Σύνδεσμος Αγωνιστών Πόλεως και Επαρχίας Λεμεσού; Union of Fighters of Limassol and district) that have been participating in commemorations, museum collections etc. In the 1990s a dedicated old people's home for ex EOKA fighters was constructed in the village of Palodhia, near Limassol.

A museum dedicated to the EOKA struggle was created in 1960 and is located in the centre of Nicosia.

The guerilla methods of EOKA, and the nature of its struggle, has served as a widely studied example for other anticolonial, national-liberation struggles in the period of decolonisation.

Political perception[link]

: In its official website, the Cyprus government mentions EOKA as an organisation that waged an "armed struggle" against the British.

: Greek press refers to EOKA as an organisation that mounted a liberation struggle against British Colonial rule.

: The Turkish Republic Of Northern Cyprus (an internationally unrecognised entity), recognises EOKA as a terrorist organisation.

: The Republic of Turkey recognises EOKA as a terrorist organisation.

:Media in the United Kingdom referred to EOKA as a terrorist organisation during the conflict but currently the BBC describes it a 'paramilitary organisation'.

: Press in the United States of America referred to EOKA as a terrorist organisation during the conflict, however current press such as the New York Times refers to the organisation as a 'guerilla movement'.

See also[link]

EOKA B

General Grivas

Nikos Sampson

Grigoris Afxentiou

Evagoras Pallikarides

Markos Drakos

Michalis Karaolis

Battle of Spilia

Field Marshal Harding

Notes and references[link]

Category:Cyprus dispute Category:Paramilitary organizations Category:Guerrilla organizations Category:Military history of Cyprus Category:Crime in Cyprus Category:National liberation movements Category:Organizations based in Cyprus Category:Secession in Cyprus Category:Secession in the United Kingdom * Category:1955 establishments in Cyprus

de:EOKA el:Εθνική Οργάνωσις Κυπρίων Αγωνιστών es:EOKA eo:EOKA fr:Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston it:EOKA he:אאוקה (ארגון) hu:EOKA nl:EOKA no:EOKA pl:Narodowa Organizacja Cypryjskich Bojowników pt:Organização Nacional de Combatentes Cipriotas ru:ЭОКА sv:EOKA tr:EOKA

Group	Greek Cypriots ''Ελληνοκύπριοι'' ''Ellinokyprioi''
Region1
Pop1	650,000
Region2
Pop2	350,000
Region3
Pop3	60,000
Region4
Region5
Pop5	80,000
Pop4	50,000
Region6
Pop6	35,000
Region7
Pop7	25,000
Langs	Greek (Cypriot and standard)
Rels	† Orthodox Christianity(Church of Cyprus, belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church) }}

Greek Cypriots (, ''Ellinokýprioi''; ) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community at 77% of the population. Greek Cypriots are mostly members of the Church of Cyprus, an autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church within the wider communion of Orthodox Christianity. In regards to the 1960 Constitution of Cyprus, the term also includes Arabic-speaking Maronites, Armenians and Latin Rite Catholics ("Latins"), who were given the option of being included in one or other of the two constituent communities (Greek or Turkish) and voted to join the Greek Cypriot community.

History[link]

The Greek Cypriots trace their origins to the descendants of the Mycenaean Greeks who settled on the island during the second half of the second millennium BC. Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily and Sardinia, and the largest island in the eastern Mediterranean. Mount Olympus (also known as Chionistra), the highest point of the Troodos Mountains (1952 m), is the highest point on the island. The island gradually became part of the Hellenic world as the settlers prospered over the next centuries. Alexander the Great liberated the island from the Persians in 333 BC. After the division of the Roman Empire in 285 AD, Cypriots enjoyed home rule for almost nine centuries under the jurisdiction of the Byzantine Empire, something not seen again until 1960. Perhaps the most important event of the early Byzantine period was the local church's independence from the Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East in 431. The bishop of the ancient capital Salamis (renamed ''Constantia'' by Emperor Constantius II) was constituted metropolitan by Emperor Zeno, with the title ''archbishop''.

The Byzantine era profoundly molded Greek Cypriot culture. The Greek Orthodox Christian legacy bestowed on Greek Cypriots in this period would live on during the succeeding centuries of foreign domination. Because Cyprus was never the final goal of any external ambition, but simply fell under the domination of whichever power was dominant in the eastern Mediterranean, destroying its civilization was never a military objective or necessity.

The Cypriots did however endure the oppressive rule of first the Lusignans and then the Venetians from the 1190s through to 1570. King Amaury, who succeeded his brother Guy de Lusignan in 1194, was particularly intolerant of the Orthodox Church. Greek Cypriot land was appropriated for the Latin churches after they were established in the major towns on the island. In addition, tax collection was also part of the heavy oppressive attitude of the occupiers to the locals of the island, in that it was now being conducted by the Latin churches themselves.

The Ottoman conquest of Cyprus in 1571 delivered the Greek population from serfdom and servitude to the Latin church. Cypriot Greeks were now able to take control of the land they had been working on for centuries. The local Christians resumed practicing their religion in the only acceptable way they knew. The patriarch serving the Ottoman sultan also acted as ''ethnarch'', or leader of the Greek nation, thus enabling the local Orthodox representative to practice decidedly secular powers, for instance in adjudicating justice and in the collection of taxes.

Despite the inherent oppression of foreign subjugation, the period of Ottoman rule (1570-1878) had a limited impact on Greek Cypriot culture. The Ottomans tended to administer their multicultural empire with the help of their subject ''millets'', or religious communities. The tolerance of the ''millet'' system permitted the Greek Cypriot community to survive, administered on behalf of Constantinople by the Archbishop of the Church of Cyprus, who became the community's head, or ethnarch. Although religiously tolerant, Ottoman rule was generally harsh and inefficient. Turkish settlers suffered alongside their Greek Cypriot neighbors, and the two groups together endured centuries of oppressive governance from Constantinople. A minority of Greek Cypriots converted to Islam during this period, and are sometimes referred to as "neo-Muslims" by historians.

Cypriot cuisine, as with Greek cuisine, was imprinted with the spices and herbs made common as a result of extensive trade links within the Ottoman Empire. Names of many dishes came to reflect the sources of the ingredients from the many lands under the Ottoman rule. Coffee houses pervasively spread throughout the island into all major towns and countless villages.

Politically, the concept of ''enosis'' — unification with the Greek "motherland" — became important to literate Greek Cypriots after Greece declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821. A movement for the realization of ''enosis'' gradually formed, in which the Church of Cyprus played a dominant role (see "Cyprus dispute").

During British rule (1878–1960), the British brought an efficient colonial administration, but government and education were administered along ethnic lines, accentuating differences. For example, the education system was organized with two Boards of Education, one Greek and one Turkish, controlled by Athens and Istanbul, respectively. The resulting education emphasized linguistic, religious, cultural, and ethnic differences and ignored traditional ties between the two Cypriot communities. The two groups were encouraged to view themselves as extensions of their respective motherlands, and the development of two distinct nationalities with antagonistic loyalties was ensured.

The importance of religion within the Greek Cypriot community was reinforced when the Archbishop of the Church of Cyprus, Makarios III, was elected the first president of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960. For the next decade and a half, ''enosis'' was a key issue for Greek Cypriots, and a key cause of events leading up to 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied the northern part of the island. The island remains divided today, with the two communities almost completely separated. Many Greek Cypriots, most of whom lost their homes, lands and possessions during the Turkish invasion, emigrated mainly to the UK, USA, Australia, South Africa and Europe. There are today estimated to be 335,000 Greek Cypriot emigrants living in Great Britain. The majority of the Greek Cypriots in Great Britain currently live in England; there is an estimate of around 3,000 in Wales and 1,000 in Scotland. By the early 1990s, Greek Cypriot society enjoyed a high standard of living. Economic modernization created a more flexible and open society and caused Greek Cypriots to share the concerns and hopes of other secularized West European societies. The Republic of Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, officially representing the entire island, but suspended for the time being in the Turkish occupied north.

Greek Cypriot dialect[link]

The Greek Cypriot dialect is a member of the south-eastern group of modern Greek dialects. It shares common characteristics with the dialects of the Dodecanese islands as well as those of Asia Minor. The dialect does not have a common form but is divided into a number of distinct local varieties.

Notable Greek Cypriots[link]

Evagoras

Clearchus of Soli

Zeno of Citium

Apollonios of Kition

Demonax

Theodora (wife of Justinian I)

Vasilis Michaelides

Georgios Grivas

Grigoris Afxentiou

Makarios III

Michael Cacoyannis

Mihalis Violaris

Sotiris Moustakas

Anna Vissi

Michalis Hatzigiannis

Alkinoos Ioannidis

Kyriakos Charalambides

diaspora">Greek Cypriots of the diaspora

Notable Greek Cypriots of the diaspora (including also anchestry):

Ioannis Kigalas

George Michael

Tulisa Contostavlos

Cat Stevens

Stelios Haji-Ioannou

Christopher A. Pissarides

Marcos Baghdatis

See also[link]

Greek Cypriot diaspora

Turkish Cypriots

Greek Britons

List of Cypriots

Greeks in New Zealand

External links[link]

Reassessing what we collect website – Greek Cypriot London History of Greek Cypriot London with objects and images

Cyprus: Historical Setting

References[link]

The Ottoman Empire 1700–1922, Donald Quataert, ISBN 0-521-83910-6

Greek Cypriots

de:Zypern-Griechen el:Έλληνες Κύπριοι eo:Grekaj kipranoj fr:Chypriotes grecs nl:Grieks-Cyprioten no:Greskkypriot pl:Grecy cypryjscy pt:Cipriotas gregos ru:Греки-киприоты sk:Cyperskí Gréci fi:Kyproksenkreikkalaiset sv:Grekcyprioter tr:Kıbrıs Rumları