Diplomacy and Its Discontents: Nationalism, Colonialism, Imperialism and the Cyprus Problem (1945-1960)

DIPLOMACY AND ITS DISCONTENTS: NATIONALISM, COLONIALISM, IMPERIALISM AND THE CYPRUS PROBLEM (1945-1960) by BARBARA A. DANIELS submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY In the subject of HISTORY at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: DR Z STAVRINIDES JOINT SUPERVISOR: DR FA MOUTON June 2009 DIPLOMACY AND ITS DISCONTENTS: NATIONALISM, COLONIALISM, IMPERIALISM AND THE CYPRUS PROBLEM (1945-1960) 1954 Greek stamp showing an inkblot on the Hansard column containing Britain’s “never” statement—the author’s collection. Acknowledgements This dissertation could not have been completed without the guidance and encouragement of individuals to whom I wish to express my gratitude; my long-time mentor and supervisor of this dissertation, Professor Zenon Stavrinides, University of Leeds, who after escaping the litigious grasp of the late Archbishop Makarios, continued to make great contributions in the area of Cypriot studies. I would also like to thank my co-supervisor at the University of South Africa, Professor Alex Mouton for his patience and encouragement during the course of this project; my external examiners, Professor Hubert Faustmann, University of Nicosia, Dr. Klearchos Kyriakides, University of Hertfordshire, and Dr. Andreas Constandinos for taking the time to read this document and make useful recommendations for its improvement. Finally, I would like to thank Professor Richard Metzger, Rutgers University, for his patience and support during the course of writing this dissertation. Table of Contents Preface i Abbreviations vii Chronology ix Chapter I Introduction 10 Historical Overview 11 The Genesis of the Enosis Movement 12 Post-War Nationalism in Cyprus 15 Lord Winster’s Mission 19 Consultative Assembly and Proposals 19 Chapter II Cyprus and the UN 23 American Ambivalence towards Cyprus 25 UN Delegation 26 Anglo-Greek Relations and the Enosis Cause 30 Chapter III First American Initiatives 34 Makarios and the UN Campaign-an Overview 36 Papagos-Eden Incident 40 Never say “Never” 45 The British Constitutional Offer 46 The First Greek Appeal to the UN 47 Turkey Enters the dispute 49 Chapter IV Charting a Course: US Policy for Cyprus 52 New Zealand Resolution 62 Chapter V An Emerging Pattern: Preventing a Second UN Round 65 The EOKA Campaign 67 First Tripartite Conference Initiative 69 Anti-Greek Riots in Turkey 75 Aftermath of the Tripartite Conference 77 Second UN Appeal 78 Chapter VI The Harding-Makarios Talks 81 Beginning of Active US Engagement 84 Reaction to the Deportation of Makarios 91 Chapter VII New Approaches to the Cyprus Problem 96 Weighing the Options 97 The ‘June Plan’ 102 Chapter VIII Lost Opportunities-EOKA Campaign 111 Abandoned Attempts 114 The Holmes Mission 117 Chapter IX The Suez Factor 127 The Shadow of Partition 131 Chapter X Further UN Negotiations 141 The Bermuda Conference and the Return of Makarios 146 Chapter XI The Push for a NATO Initiative 151 Change in the Strategic Value of Cyprus 152 The Question of Independence 158 Chapter XII Pressure for Active US Involvement 162 Towards Guaranteed Independence 163 Formulating a decisive US Policy 165 Chapter XIII Second Tripartite Conference Initiative 170 Bilateral Discussions and the Tridominium Plan 176 American Neutrality in the UN Twelfth Session 182 Chapter XIV Derailing the Spaak Initiative 186 Changing of the Guard 189 The Foot Plan 192 Bases for Partition 198 Chapter XV The Macmillan Plan 200 No Support for the Macmillan Plan 204 Chapter XVI Macmillan Revisited 215 Chapter XVII Avoiding the Macmillan Plan 227 The Push for NATO Involvement 230 US Refusal to Support Greece 234 Chapter XVIII The Search for a Final Settlement 237 Abandoning the Macmillan Plan 241 Something Like a Miracle 245 Chapter XIX Towards Independence 254 Defining American Interests 255 Lifting the Ban on AKEL 257 Fine Tuning the Settlement 260 The First Election 262 Chapter XX US Policy and the New Republic 264 An Unimportant Matter” 266 Military Assistance and the NATO Question 267 Epilogue 272 Conclusions 275 Appendix 1 278 Appendix 2 280 Appendix 3 282 Appendix 4 283 Appendix 5 284 Appendix 6 286 Appendix 7 287 Bibliography 292 Preface The purpose of this present study is to critically examine the dynamic of the Anglo- American “special relationship” in the context of the Cyprus question in the 1950s. While there are some very fine studies which singularly examine British and American policies towards Cyprus during these years, there are few, if any, that specifically focus on the formulation and internal machinations behind those policies. This study aims to fill this gap. More importantly, however, it might be more useful to discuss what this study does not do: unlike most popular literature about the Cyprus problem, it does not take an ideological position, nor does it assign nefarious motives or conspiratorial designs to the actors involved. Indeed, if anything, it seeks to demonstrate that many of the furtive maneuvers and alleged conspiracies surrounding the Cyprus problem have been woven from whole cloth. Given the fact that the parties involved, except on very few occasions, were rarely in accord, any conspiracy would not only have been unlikely, it would have been impossible. Following an overview of the historical background of the island, which includes the push towards internationalization and the 1955 armed struggle against the British colonial administration, the study then shifts to an analysis of the many and varied attempts by Britain and the US to resolve the problem during the period of 1954-1959. During this period a number of solutions were put forward, including the June Plan, the Holmes mission, the Spaak initiative, and the Foot and Radcliffe proposals. For a number of reasons, which this study thoroughly explores, none was successful. Although in its first i incarnation, the Macmillan plan also failed, later modifications to it provided the basis for the ultimate settlement. It was during this period that Britain finally confronted the fact that there actually was a Cyprus problem with wide-reaching implications, not merely an internal dispute between HMG and its incorrigible colony. Prior to the 1950s, the Cyprus dispute was a British rather than an American problem. This all changed in 1954, when Greece brought the question before the United Nations, thus shifting the Cyprus problem from a dispute among Britain, Greece, and Cyprus to an international conflict involving the interests of Turkey and the United States. Between 1954 and 1958, Greece resorted to the UN five times in attempts to resolve the Cyprus question. The eventual settlement was not decided in the international body, however, but in an impromptu meeting between the Greek and Turkish Foreign Ministers. These were also the years in which Britain, and later the US, began the search for a final settlement and where much of the mythology relating to the workings and resolution of the Cyprus problem have their origins. The study ends in 1960, following the implementation of a constitution based on the London- Zürich Agreements and the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus, the defining points of the end of one era and the beginning of another. About the Sources This work draws heavily upon published and unpublished official documents from the United Kingdom, Canada, and especially the United States. Particularly useful were the ii FRUS series (Foreign Relations of the United States) and the enormous number of unpublished documents available from NARA (National Archives and Records Administration). The FRUS series is available electronically and, while the NARA collections are best searched at the National Archives in College Park, MD, documents can also be searched electronically. Some other useful official documents relating to Cyprus can also be found in the Official Documents on Canadian External Relations (DFAIT). These are also available electronically in both French and English. The Dwight D. Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kansas is home to several valuable collections, including the Papers of John Foster Dulles, Presidential Papers, and the White House Central Files. The United Nations Yearbook collection is another valuable resource, especially for the General Assembly discussions pertaining to the 1950s. The British Office of Public Records (PRO) provided the best place for documents relating to the Anglo-American relations regarding Cyprus. Most of the materials are contained in the records of the Foreign Office (FO), the Prime Minister’s Office (PREM), and the Ministry of Defense (DEFE). These too can be searched electronically. Published British documents on Cyprus are scarce, with the exception of the parliamentary debates (Hansard) and documents pertaining to constitutional proposals. The End of Empire, edited by Frederick Madden is a rare exception. The Survey of International Affairs is useful, but it is a semi-official publication which contains no actual documents. Much of the analysis of British policy and its realization with regard to Cyprus in this study is base on the outstanding work of Robert Holland, Ioannis D. iii Stefanidis, and Evanthis Hatzivassiliou. These studies draw heavily upon PRO and other British archival documents. A number of fine scholarly published works have contributed not only to shaping this study, but also to the general manner in which the author views the subject at hand. Claude Nicolet’s, United States Policy Towards Cyprus, 1954-1974 is a pioneering study based largely on US and UK archival sources. Meticulously documented, Nicolet does not suffer fools easily and goes further than any other author to date in dismantling the conspiracies so popular in the literature of Cyprus. Robert Holland’s Britain and the Revolt in Cyprus, 1954-1959, is a masterly work which critically covers the historiography of the decolonization of Cyprus. It is now a standard text on British policy towards Cyprus in the 1950s. George Horton Kelling’s, Countdown to Rebellion: British Policy in Cyprus, 1939-1955 provides a detailed and critical study of British policy from the outbreak of World War II to the EOKA uprising of 1955.

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