Georgios Grivas - Final Return To Cyprus

Final Return To Cyprus

After the discovery of his plans by the authorities he secretly returned to Cyprus where he formed the armed organization EOKA B which he used as leverage in his attempts to persuade or force President Makarios to change his policy and adopt the line of "Self Determination – Union" with Greece. EOKA B failed to overthrow Makarios but the armed struggle led to a vicious circle of violence and anti-violence which amounted to civil war among the Greek-Cypriot Community from 1971-1974.

He died of heart failure at the age of 75 on January 27, 1974 while in hiding in a house in the city of Limassol. The post-Grivas EOKA B signed a secret agreement with Brigadier Ioannides, the "invisible dictator" of Greece and was controlled directly from Athens. Grivas' funeral and burial was held on January 29, 1974, in the garden of the house that had been Grivas' last hideout during the EOKA struggle (1955–1959) and attended by tens of thousands of Greek Cypriots. Upon his death, the Cypriot Government declared a three-day official mourning and three days later, the Cypriot Parliament declared General Grivas "a worthy son of the motherland". The government of Archbishop Makarios, the target of Grivas' campaign for enosis, formally boycotted the event.

The Second Junta of Greece of the"invisible dictator" Brigadier Demetrios Ioannides overthrew Makarios just six months after Grivas' death. Ioannides was planning to overthrow Makarios from the Spring of 1974 but the final decision to do so was taken on July 2, 1974 after Makarios decided to oppose directly the Ioannides regime and expel from the Cypriot National Guard 550 Greek officers. That would mean the loss of the military control of Cyprus for Greece as well as the humiliation of Ioannides (Secret Minutes of conversation between Makarios and British Prime Minister-London 17 July 1974). The military coup of July 15, 1974 which overthrew Makarios was executed by forces of the Cypriot National Guard under direct instructions from Greece. The National Guard was led by Greek officers and consisted of Greek-Cypriot conscripts. The EOKA B members and other pro-enosis forces joined the National Guard in the afternoon of Monday July 15, 1974 in the fight against Makarios forces. The coup was swiftly followed by the Turkish military invasion of Cyprus on Saturday 20 July taking by surprise Ioannides who failed to prepare Cyprus for a Turkish invasion and in addition failed to coerce the Greek generals that he had appointed to apply "Plan K" and assist militarily Cyprus. The loss of the "war of Cyprus" marked the downfall of Ioannides.