Britain and the Cyprus Crisis of 1974: Conflict, Colonialism and the Politics of Remembrance
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Britain and the Cyprus Crisis of 1974: Conflict, Colonialism and the Politics of Remembrance John Edward Burke Doctor of Philosophy School of History, Classics and Archaeology Newcastle University August 2015 Abstract This thesis examines the ideological and socio-political discourses shaping the remembrance and representation of Britain and the Cyprus conflict of 1974 within Greek Cypriot society. In moving beyond the politics of conflict and directly analysing the memory of British actions in 1974, this thesis shows how different societal forces shape and utilise the image of Britain within their construct of modern Cypriot history. With the consequences of 1974 deeply infused into the collective memory of all Greek Cypriots, an analysis of public remembrance rituals, popular publications, official school textbooks and a series of oral history interviews allows for an in depth examination of the explicit and subconscious frameworks shaping the history and memory of conflict on Cyprus. From this basis, this thesis demonstrates how the connection between Britain’s colonial legacy, which continues in a changed form through their military bases, and British ambiguities as a post-colonial Guarantor creates an ideological discourse of inherent suspicion that frames the image and understanding of British actions on Cyprus. The influence of this socio-political discourse, combined with a collectivised discourse of trauma, sustains the power of the conspiracy theories associated with the division of the island. In turn these discourses influence the distortions and counter-memories of oral history interviews associated with the actions of Britain in 1974. From this foundation, wider conclusions are offered into the socio-political debates related to the conflict and partition of the island, with a particular focus on the influence of the transnational discourses of Greece in shaping internal forms of development on Cyprus. As Cyprus is an island divided by multiple competing forms of history, memory and identity discourses, each of which draws on and creates a selective image of the past to frame developments in the present, the analysis of this thesis provides a direct insight into the wider frameworks of memory active within a society scarred by conflict but shaped by the hope for reunification. i Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisory team of Dr Violetta Hionidou and Dr Matt Perry for their insights and help during the course of my research. In particular I would like to thank Violetta for all of her assistance, guidance and patience during the times when my ideas and confidence would fluctuate. Without this support and guidance, I would not have been able to pull this project together, so thank you. I would also like to thank my family for all of their help, support and patience over the years. To my parents Sue and Stephen, my sister Ann Marie, and my aunts Olive Driver and Dr Winifred Burke, it might not have been said as often as it should, but thank you for all of your help and encouragement, it was always very much appreciated. Lastly, I would like to thank all of those people in both Britain and Cyprus who took time out of their lives to sit down and speak to me about their experiences and memories. Without their time, their recollections and most of all their kind help, this study would not have been possible. ii Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... ii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................ v Glossary .................................................................................................................................... vi Chapter 1: Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Britain on Cyprus: History and Memory ......................................................................... 5 1.2 Methodological Foundations: Oral History .................................................................. 12 1.3 Research Structure ......................................................................................................... 16 Chapter 2: ‘One of Our Problems’: The British view of the Crisis of 1974 ............................ 19 2.1 Roots of Conflict: An ‘Official’ View ............................................................................. 20 2.2 British Rights and Obligations....................................................................................... 27 2.3 An ‘Eternal Balancing Act’ ............................................................................................ 41 2.4 A British ‘scapegoat’? ................................................................................................... 48 2.5 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 53 Chapter 3: Imagining Conflict and its Causes: Structuring a Popular Greek Cypriot Response .................................................................................................................................................. 55 3.1 NATO ‘conspiracies’ and the Cold War ........................................................................ 59 3.2 The SBAs and (neo)-colonial continuity ........................................................................ 68 3.3 Britain and the ‘Big Lie’ ................................................................................................ 75 3.4 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 86 Chapter 4: Creating Official Images of the Past in Greek Cypriot Historical Narratives and School Texts............................................................................................................................. 89 4.1 Politics of History Construction .................................................................................... 92 4.2 Consequences of Conflict ............................................................................................... 96 4.3 Causality of Conflict .................................................................................................... 102 4.4 A British legacy ............................................................................................................ 107 4.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 116 Chapter 5: Reconciling the Past: Sites of Memory and acts of Public Remembrance .......... 119 5.1 Sites of Memory for 1974: Politics and Mourning ...................................................... 121 5.1.1 Contested Content ................................................................................................. 123 5.1.2 ‘Imposed’ Sites of Memory – Peace and Freedom Rally ...................................... 125 5.1.3 ‘Constructed’ Sites of Memory – The Occupation ................................................ 130 5.1.4 Inclusivity .............................................................................................................. 135 5.2 ‘Stepmother’ Britain: A memorial heritage ................................................................. 137 5.2.1 ‘Forgotten Conflict’ .............................................................................................. 137 iii 5.2.2 Controversies over Content and Location ............................................................ 145 5.2.3 Layers of Memorial Meaning ................................................................................ 149 5.3 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 152 Chapter 6: Cyprus as a ‘Crypto-Colony’: Informal Colonialism and the National Politics of Remembrance ........................................................................................................................ 155 6.1 National Foundations of Crypto-Colonial Cyprus ...................................................... 159 6.2 Structuring Shared Values ........................................................................................... 163 6.3 Defending Cultural Ideals............................................................................................ 169 6.4 ‘Who are the Cypriots?’............................................................................................... 176 6.5 Cultural Affinity and Political Suspicion ..................................................................... 179 6.6 Cypriotism .................................................................................................................... 185 6.7 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 194 Chapter 7: Conclusion............................................................................................................ 197 Appendix 1: Interview Details ............................................................................................... 209 Appendix 2: Letter ................................................................................................................