EU: Greek Tool for Enosis

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ENOSIS:

ENOSIS RUMOUR AND TURKISH REACTION 19 April 1881: The British Prime Minister, Gladstone, informed those Greek Cypriots who advocated union with Greece (enosis) that "while H.M. Government leniently desired the happiness of Cyprus they must remind the inhabitants that the island is held by England under the convention with the Porte (Ottoman Government) as a part of the Ottoman Empire and that proposals which would be a violation of that convention can not be discussed".

FIRST ENOSIS MEMORIAL AND TURKISH OBJECTION 29 August 1881: The Greek Cypriot Archbishop, Bishop and the Greek representatives of 6 districts sent a pan-cyprian memorial’ to the Colonial Secretary, Lord Kimberley, saying that "they considered it a secret duty to report the wishes of the people of Cyprus (meaning the Greek Cypriots) who declared recently that their only desire is union with mother country Greece".

December 1881: The Turkish Cypriot leaders visited the British High Commissioner and informed him of their objection to the proportional representation, demanded by the Greeks, because the two communities were always represented equally in such Ottoman institutions and reminded the British Authorities that even in provinces where the Christians were in a minority they had equal representation in local councils.

FIRST CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES FAVOURING GREEKS 10 March 1882: The British Government decided to change the constitution in order to meet the Greek Cypriot demand for proportional representation which was based on the 1881 census.

25 March 1882: The Mufti of Cyprus, Esseid Ahmet Asim Efendi, sent a telegraph to Lord Kimberley complaining that, "By this arrangement our ancient and present privileges shall be trodden under foot. We reject most positively the proposed system."

28 June 1882: Lord Carnarvon, speaking in the British House of Lords, stated that the Turkish claim to have equal representation was justified. He maintained that by disturbing this equality, the 1882 constitution would create deep differences between the two communities.

29 January 1893: A Turkish Cypriot deputation headed by the Mufti visited Sir Walter Sendall, the then British High Commissioner and protested the Greek claims for the cession of the island to Greece. Turkish Cypriot community were content with the existing administration as long as Cyprus remained an integral part of the Ottoman Empire.

ENOSIS AGITATION AND GREEK AGGRESSION 22 April 1895: Mifti Ali Rifki and other Turkish Cypriot leaders visited the High Commissioner and complained about the Greek agitation for enosis and anti-Turkish campaign.

1895: In almost every town the Greek Cypriots were provoked by the mainland Greeks who were settled in Cyprus such as Frankudi, Katalyanos and Zannetos and particularly by the Greek consul Philemon to organize enosis meetings and raise the Greek flag on every occasion. The Turkish Cypriots resented the Greek agitation and demanded the return of the island to Turkey.

9 May 1899: The Commissioner of Limassol reported to the Chief Secretary that the Greek Consul, Philemon, used the occasion of sports festivities at Limassol for Hellenic propaganda.

The Commissioner expressed his opinion that the Turkish population stood firm in the face of the Greek agitation and behaved with great sense and moderation… He recalled that Cyprus was still part of the Turkish Empire, ruled by Britain, and the vast majority of those Greeks addressed by the Greek Consul were subjects of the Turkish Empire.

HELLENIC PROPAGANDA IN GREEK SCHOOLS
1902: Canon F.D. Newham, the inspector of schools reported that in the Greek elementary schools the teachers were engaged in Hellenic propaganda. "A song book consists of material intended to inflame Greek patriotism and songs against the Turks. In practice, whenever I ask to hear children sing, it is a war song "FORWARD, FOLLOW THE DRUM THAT LEADS US AGAINST THE TURKS."

AGITATORS TRAINED IN ATHENS
20 FEBRUARY 1901: The Cyprus High Commissioner Sir W.F. Haynes Smith reported that, "The agitators are mostly Athens-trained professional people such as doctors, advocates and teachers. They return to the island imbued with Hellenic propaganda. …They have been bred up in the history of the success of agitation applied to the IONIAN ISLANDS and may have seen the success of organised agitation and violence in Crete".

RETURN IT TO TURKEY
22 June 1902: Representatives of Turkish Cypriots of Paphos district send a telegram to the Colonial Office saying that "Should the island be handed over to an uncivilized and unjust government the evil methods of the Cypriot Greek, which are known to you, will increase and the catastrophe of the Moslem (Turks) is ensued certain. … Should you deem it necessary to hand over Cyprus to another nation we pray it may be returned to Turkey whose right is indisputable". (PRO Document: CO 883/6) Similar telegrams were sent to London also by the Turkish Cypriot leaders of other towns.

GREEK INSULTS AND ATTACKS
1912: The Italo-Turkish war of 1911-12 and the defeat of the Turks in Tripoli caused excitement and joy among the Greek Cypriot community On 27 May 1912 Turkish Cypriots who were traveling to Limas sol from Malay village in two buses were attacked by Greeks. The Greeks insulted the Turks in the buses, threw stones and bottles at them and started beating them with sticks. They repeated their attacks on Turkish parts of the town, stormed the mosques; beat the Turks in shops and at the fair; stabbed a Turkish hair-dresser (barber) to death in his shop; destroyed, plundered and ransacked Turkish properties and wildly shouted the slogan "Long live Greece… Long live enosis.." The British authorities, had to call for reinforcements from Egypt to help to maintain the law and order.

UNILATERAL ANNEXATION 5 NOVEMBER 1914: An Order in Council was published on 5th of November 1914 declaring the annexation of Cyprus, still an Ottoman territory, to Great Britain, thus unilaterally violating the terms of the Convention of 1878, by which only the administration of Cyprus was handed to England.
CONDITIONAL OFFER TO GREECE 16 OCTOBER 1915: Sir Edward Grey, the British Foreign Secretary, in an emergency meeting of the Cabinet managed to have the decision of offering Cyprus to Greece made on condition that Greece should join the war helping the Serbs who were attacked by Bulgaria.

27 OCTOBER 1915: The Greek government headed by Zaimis and the King were not willing to renounce Greece’s neutrality and join the war. Thus the offer was not accepted. Therefore the British offer to hand over Cyprus to Greece lapsed and the British parliament was accordingly informed on 27 October 1915.