Background
The United Kingdom had promised Greece unification with Cyprus if Greece would enter World War I on the side of the Allies; but the Greeks declined this invitation and therefore the promise was never realised. In the 1950s, EOKA organised to mount a military campaign to achieve the unification with Greece and end the status as a British crown colony. The leadership of AKEL at the time (a political party with communist roots), opposed EOKA's military action, advocating the Gandhiesque approach of civil disobedience such as workers' strikes and demonstrations. This came into direct contrast with the previous leadership who some five years previously had organised the plebiscite of 1950, where the vast majority of Greek Cypriots who voted were for the union with Greece (98%).
Read more about this topic: EOKA
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