Very disappointing book. Superficial, naive, uninformed, full of misinterpretation and oversights that ends up excusing British colonialism, Turkish expansionism, Turkish Cypriot fanaticism and largely pins the blame for Cyprus' downfall on Greek Cypriots: bit.ly/3UDTdwd
2/18 Britain's expressed desire to deny Cyprus self-determination because it would mark further British retreat from the Middle East is taken at face value…
Sep 16, 2021 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
1/10 Britain has come in for a lot of stick recently in Cyprus over its perceived shielding of Turkey as the occupying power looks to colonise Varosha and find acceptance for its plan for a confederation of two independent states on the island.
To dispel displeasure at the UK's behaviour, HC Stephen Lillie gave a newspaper interview. His remarks are a tirade of dishonesty that conclude with this crass, if not shameless, statement: 'Ultimately, it’s up to the Cypriots to decide what happens next.'
1/4 The two most senior British military officers at the start of the the so-called Cyprus Emergency – General John Harding and Brigadier Geoffrey Baker – are interviewed at length about the British response to the EOKA revolt. 2/4 The level of idiocy, conceit and obtuseness of Harding and Baker and the incompetence of the British military response to EOKA is breathtaking, as is the obsession with George Grivas, an unremarkable soldier whose elusiveness humiliated them.
Sep 14, 2020 • 13 tweets • 3 min read
1/12 Since Greece and Cyprus have been in the news lately, here's a thread on an assertion regarding Turkey’s 1974 invasion of Cyprus that always bugs me when I come across it.
2/12 It's that the 15 July 1974 coup that ousted President Makarios (and was followed five days later by Turkey's invasion) was aimed at bringing about Enosis – union of Cyprus with Greece. This is totally wrong:
