Abstract:

During the early 1950s, the demand for a union with Greece (Enosis) grew stronger among the Greek Cypriot population of Cyprus under the leadership of Archbishop Makarios. The Greek Government raised the issue at the United Nations General Assembly in September 1954, but their demand for self-determination for Cyprus was not adopted. The British Government continued to treat the issue as an internal matter, but the outbreak of an armed Greek Cypriot uprising in Cyprus on 1 April 1955, under the leadership of pro-Enosis Colonel Grivas, led the British Government to call a conference in London on the Cyprus problem in September 1955. Greece and Turkey were invited to attend on behalf of their respective minorities in Cyprus, but there was no representation of the Cypriots themselves. From 1955 to 1974, a series of multilateral talks were held at intervals: bilateral between Turkey and Greece, trilateral between Britain, Turkey and Greece, and inter-communal between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. However, they failed to reach a settlement on the future constitutional arrangements in Cyprus, and the dialogue was consequently suspended. The first tripartite talks on the Cyprus issue were held in London from 29 August to 7 September 1955. Direct Anglo-Cypriot negotiations took place in Cyprus from October 1955 to February 1956. In January 1958, the “Foot Plan” was presented to the British Prime Minister by Sir Hugh Foot. The “Macmillan Plan” was announced in the House of Commons by the British Prime Minister in June 1958. In 1964, representatives of Britain, Turkey, Greece and both Cypriot communities met in London, but the Conference ended in deadlock two weeks later, because the views of the Greek and Turkish Cypriots proved to be irreconcilable. In July 1964, the “Acheson Plan” was introduced, but rejected by the Greeks. In May 1966, the Greek and Turkish Governments began a series of secret exchanges on the relations between their two countries with particular reference to the Cyprus issue. However, nothing emerged. In June 1966, the British Government announced the formation of a commission under Lord Radcliffe and presented the Turks with a plan centred on arranging a date for self-determination to be applied, with certain guarantees for the Turkish Cypriot minority. Intercommunal talks started in June 1968 and continued, with intervals, until 1974 without any success.

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