A PUBLIC HOLIDAY
Today, April 1st is a public holiday that commemorates and honours the island’s struggle for independence from the British Empire. The celebrations are well attended and typically include several parades, flag-hoisting ceremonies, cultural performances, and fireworks. Church and public remembrance services also take place across the island. Banks, government offices, and several other businesses remain closed today.
THE STORY BEHIND THE PUBLIC HOLIDAY CELEBRATING CYPRUS INDEPENDENCE
THE CYPRUS NATIONAL DAY
Cyprus commemorates its national day on April 1st every year, marking the anniversary of the start of the Cyprus struggle for independence against the British colonial rule. On April 1st, 1955, hostilities, led by EOKA, which was the National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters, began and the struggle world continue for five and a half years. Cyprus finally gain its independence on October 1st 1960.
BRITISH ADMINISTRATION
The British Empire, seeking a base of operations in the region, took control of the island in 1878 from the Ottoman Empire in exchange for military support. This agreement, however, was short-lived, and the British Empire annexed the island after British and Ottoman forces found themselves on opposing sides during World War 1. In a changing world after the Great War, the idea of self-determination or a possible unification with Greece gathered momentum on the island, leading to Greek Cypriots ultimately forming EOKA.
ARCHBISHOP MAKARIOS III
A referendum organised by the Greek Orthodox Church on January 15th 1950, saw 95.7% of all Cypriots vote to advocate an end to British rule on the island. This prompted the installation Archbishop Makarios III as the Greek Cypriot political leader and he became the main negotiator, constantly holding conferences with Greece and the British.
A UNION WITH GREECE
A union with Greece was the favoured proposal, with Greece fully embracing the idea. Greece made numerous attempts to force the issue with successive appeals to the United Nations, but the British successfully vetoed each one. After peaceful efforts continually failed, George Grivas, a Greek Cypriot Nationalist leader, formed EOKA in 1954. EOKA acted as a military wing that included an ethnic Cypriot group of fighters that would spearhead a brutal military campaign that included sabotage and guerrilla warfare against the British a year later.
A MILITARY CAMPAIGN
A coordinated attack, led by George Grivas and EOKA, against British military and police installations across the island began on April 1st 1955. A military campaign of guerrilla tactics saw a series of continuous attacks follow against stronger British Colonial forces all over Cyprus. These actions would lead to a civil war on the island that would last until the signing of the Zurich-London agreement in 1959. This agreement established the Republic of Cyprus as an independent state and would see Archbishop Makarios III installed as the first president of a new Republic of Cyprus the following year.
