"Many loved betrayal, but none loved the traitor." Except that in Greece, fifty-two years after the Cyprus tragedy, we seem to want to remember the invasion, but forget what came before. We justifiably talk about "Attila," but we often avoid looking directly at the betrayal that opened the back door.
On July 15, 1974, the Athens dictatorship overthrew the legitimate president of the Republic of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios, in a coup. The regime of Demetrios Ioannides was behind the operation, while Greek forces and officers serving in Cyprus played a decisive role. The Presidential Palace was bombed and Makarios escaped at the last moment.
Four days later, on July 19, he stood before the UN Security Council and spoke bluntly: “The coup of the Greek junta is an invasion.” He denounced that the junta in Athens violated the independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus. He did not say that the Greek people were fighting Cyprus. He denounced a dictatorial regime that used Greek weapons and Greek officers against an independent Greek state.
A day later, on July 20, 1974, Turkey invaded Cyprus. This was followed by a second "Attila" in August, occupying approximately 37% of the island. Thousands of people were killed or missing, approximately 200.000 Greek Cypriots were uprooted from their homes, and Cyprus remains divided to this day.
The testimonies of people who experienced the events are numerous. Officers, soldiers, diplomats and politicians testified what they knew. The volumes of the “Cyprus File” include testimonies of people who participated in the coup or were in critical positions during those days. The evidence no longer allows the claim that everything was an accident or a series of miscalculations. There was planning, there were orders and there were people who knew that they were leading Cyprus to disaster.
The historical responsibility of the junta and Ioannides does not diminish in the slightest the responsibility of Turkey for the invasion, the ongoing occupation, the colonization and the violation of the rights of refugees. One crime does not excuse the other. The coup created the tragedy and Turkey exploited it to occupy and hold Cypriot territory.
And we come to today.
For months now we have seen politicians, collectives and citizens taking to the streets shouting "Free Palestine". Solidarity with the innocent victims of every war is a human and moral duty. Greece rightly offers aid to Ukraine and to countries suffering from wars, earthquakes and humanitarian disasters.
But who is taking to the streets for Cyprus?
Who shouts "Free Cyprus" for a European state that has remained under occupation since 1974? Who demands the withdrawal of Turkish troops? Who remembers daily the missing, the refugees and the families who never returned to their homes?
Solidarity should not be selective or determined by current trends. We cannot be moved by every corner of the planet and treat the occupation of Cyprus as an outdated issue. We cannot be motivated by a foreign tragedy and our own wound turned into a formal anniversary with wreaths and repetitive speeches.
Retreat is not always done with tanks. It can be done little by little, with forgetfulness, indifference and habit. Stone by stone, piece by piece, we are used to seeing our homeland only as a tourist product, real estate and investment opportunity.
If someone types the word “Aegean” into international tourism platforms, they may encounter both the Greek regions of North and South Aegean as well as the Turkish administrative name “Aegean Region”. This does not mean that a Greek island was ceded to Turkey. However, it shows how easily an unclear geographical formulation can create false impressions if Greece does not systematically protect its nomenclature and digital presence.
In Mytilene, Chios, Samos, Kos and Rhodes, even a mobile phone can automatically connect to a Turkish antenna, due to the short distance from the coast. Thus, the visitor can receive a message "Welcome to Turkey", while being on Greek territory. This is a technical telecommunications issue and not a change of borders. However, it is a painful image and a reminder that Greek sovereignty needs daily, practical and digital protection.
It is not too late, if we decide to remember. To claim historical truth without fear and partisan blinders. To protect our land, borders, islands and cultural heritage without xenophobia, but also without naivety. To demand transparency from politicians and national responsibility from those who manage public property.
Cyprus is not a distant country. It is not an old chapter of history. It is a part of Hellenism that continues to bleed.
Before we cry out for the whole world, let us find the courage to cry out for our own open wound:
Free Cyprus. Free Cyprus.
Historical sources: Makarios' speech and UN archives, Cyprus File – Hellenic Parliament, historical documents from the US State Department on Ioannides and the crisis.
Greece is being lost little by little
I look at my homeland and I feel that it is being lost every day, little by little. Greek land, houses, historical buildings and entire regions are gradually passing to foreign investment interests. Greece is increasingly treated more like a plot of land for sale and less like a homeland that we must hand over intact to future generations.
No one is saying that we should expel foreigners or isolate the country. But healthy investment is one thing, and the uncontrolled sale of Greek land is another. Development is one thing, and the transformation of Greeks into tenants in their own land is another. When residents can no longer buy or rent a house on the islands and in the cities where they were born, we are not talking about real progress.
I see people taking to the streets and shouting "Free Palestine." I see Greece sending aid to Ukraine and to every country suffering from wars, earthquakes and humanitarian disasters. And it does well. Humanity knows no borders.
But I did not see the same mobilization for Greece and Cyprus. I did not see crowds chanting “Free Cyprus” for the 37% of a European country that remains under Turkish occupation. I did not see them taking to the streets for Greek land being sold, for young people emigrating, for villages being deserted, and for families who can no longer afford a home in their homeland.
I did not see them protesting against this slow economic and demographic annihilation. Because the destruction of a people does not always come with weapons. It can come with abandonment, low birth rates, poverty, the sale of property and the silent removal of the inhabitants from their own land.
Enter an international booking platform and type “Aegean”. Next to the Greek regions, the Turkish administrative name “Aegean Region, Turkey” appears. This does not mean that any Greek island belongs to Turkey. However, the unclear presentation can cause confusion and shows how important it is to protect even the digital geography of our country.
Go to Mytilene, Chios, Samos, Kos or Rhodes and your mobile phone may automatically connect to a Turkish antenna. Suddenly the message “Welcome to Turkey” appears, while you are on Greek soil. I know that this happens for technical reasons and does not change the borders. But the image hurts. It hurts because it reminds us of how close the threat is and how easily we get used to even things that would once have angered us.
Betrayal fascinated many, but no one loved the traitor. I too feel that my homeland has been sold off piece by piece over the years, through decisions made by people who treated Greece as a commodity and not as a sacred heritage.
It may not be too late. Free this beautiful country from uncontrolled interests, from those who buy without limits and from politicians who sell out without accountability. Protect the Greek land, the islands, the homes, the history and the right of the Greeks to be able to live in their own homeland.
Free Greece. Free Cyprus. Greece is not for sale. Cyprus is not forgotten.
listen to the interview with journalist Mr. Griparis
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