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THE ACTIVITIES OF THE CYPRIOT RUMS IN THE TURKISH INDEPENDENCE WAR*

Engin Berber**

1. Cyprus as a Bargaining Object in International Relations

The conquest of the third biggest island of Mediterranean (9.251 km2) was

completed in August of 1571 by the Ottoman State. An official report describes the

location of the island as:

The Island of Cyprus situated in the eastern Mediterranean between 34o 33' and 35o

41' N. latitude and between 32o 20' and 34o 35' E. longitude, is about 140 miles in greatest length from east to west, and about 40 miles in greatest breadth from north to south. A narrow range of Limestone Mountains, with an average height of 2,000 ft., extends along the northern coast, and an extensive group of mountains, culminating in Mount Troodos, 6,406 ft. above sea, fills the south-western part of the island. Between these ranges lies the fertile Messaoria plain1.

The island was 'left and assigned' to England for 'occupation and administration' within the

scope of the Agreement and Annex signed on 4 June and 1 July 1878 by the Ottoman

State2.

Although this situation, which ended the Ottoman sovereignty of 308 years in the

Island, was not a requirement of the Treaty of Ayestefanos, which officially ended the

Ottoman State´s defeated war with Russia on 3 March 1878; it was one of the

consequences of it. Thus, the Ottoman State left Cyprus to Britain in return for the revision

of this treaty, which resulted in her loss in large territories in Anatolia and Rumelia, and for

the protection from the possible Russian attacks on her Asian territories.

At first, Britain bothered by a Russia, which consolidated her power and influence

in the Near East with the Treaty of Ayestefanos3, thought of wanting the Island of Crete in

* This article is an extended version of the presentation called “The support that came from Cyprus to Greece during the Turkish Independence War” which was delivered in the Güzelyurt History Meeting (3-4 April 2001) organized by European University of Lefke. See: Güzelyurt Tarih Buluşması (3-4 Nisan 2001) Bildiriler, Lefke Avrupa Üniversitesi, Lefke, June 2001. I would like to thank Asst. Prof. Dr. Elif Yeneroğlu for taking the photocopies of the documents from the British National Archives / Colonial Office, which were used for the improvement of this article.**Ege University, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Department of International Relations, Prof. Dr.1 Cyprus Report for 1922 (No. 1159), Printed & Published by His Majesty’s Stationery Office, London, 1923, p. 2.2 For the text of this Agreement and Annex, see: Kıbrıs Meselesi, Hariciye Nezareti Yayınları, Istanbul, 1335 quoted in Osmanlı İdaresinde Kıbrıs (Nüfus-Arazi Dağılımı ve Türk Vakıfları), T.C. Başbakanlık Devlet Arşivleri Genel Müdürlüğü, Yayın No: 43, Ankara, 2000, pp. 22-24.3 Marian Kent begins her article with these sentences, which indicate the fact that Britain was serving for her own interests: “Britain’s interests in the Ottoman Empire in the final decades of its existence were concentrated primarily in Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf. Concerned to maintain British supremacy in an area considered vital to the defence of India and to communications with the eastern Empire in general, Britain could uphold this interest by upholding two others of long standing: her commercial and her political

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return for the services she made and she would make if needed. However, due to the fear of

Cretan Rums´ desire to incorporate with Greece, she abandoned that idea and dwelled on

wanting one of the Dodecanese, Stampalya, and even renting Iskenderun or Mitylene. In

the end, Prime Minister Disraeli“decided that the key to the Western Asia (Near East) was

Cyprus”4 and took action in May of 1878. In order to be able to repulse the Russian

attacks, Britain needed a base. It was informed to the Ottoman State that this base could be

located nearer than the Island of Malta, for instance in Cyprus through the Ambassador of

Britain, Layard in Istanbul5.

As far as we know, the first meeting regarding Cyprus after Britain took over the

administration (22 July 1878) between the two sides, which signed the Agreement and the

Annex, was in December of 1908. Upon the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina by Austria-

Hungary, which was an ally of Germany, in October of 1908 in violation of the Treaty of

Berlin; two of the leading members of the Union and Progress Party, Ahmet Rıza and

Doctor Nazım, went to Britain with an offer of alliance and were rejected. It was

understood from Grand Vizier Kamil Pasha´s complain to the Ambassador of Britain in

Istanbul, Lowther that “they spoke as if they represented the Ottoman Government”6, they

were not official representatives but they did not perceive the island differently from

Abdülhamid, as it could be seen in the words of the Ambassador of Britain in Istanbul,

Grey:

that our habit was to keep our hands free, though we made ententes and friendships. It was true that we had an alliance with Japan, but it was limited to certain distant ques-tions in the Far East. They replied that Turkey was the Japan of the Near East, and that we already had the Cyprus Convention with Turkey which was still in force7.

The status quo of 30 years changed when the Ottoman State declared war on Britain

on 5 November 1914 and Britain annunciated her annexation of the Island with a royal

mandate (no. 12621)8. Britain did the same on Cyprus, which Austria-Hungary did on

Bosnia-Herzegovina six years ago. Britain went further on 18 December and put a

protective measure on Egypt; that is she took Egypt under her auspices. Besides, she

dominance in the region.” in Great Britain and the End of the Ottoman Empire 1900-1923, Marian Kent (Editor). Great Powers and the End of the Ottoman Empire, London, GBR: Frank Cass Publishers, 1996, p. 165.4 Alan Palmer, Son Üç Yüz Yıl Osmanlı İmparatorluğu [Bir çöküşün tarihi], Translated by: Belkıs Çorakçı5 Osmanlı İdaresinde Kıbrıs (Nüfus-Arazi Dağılımı ve Türk Vakıfları), p.22.6 Dispatch no. 855 from Lowther to Grey, 13 Dec. 1908, FO 371/546/ 43987, quoted by Feroz Ahmad, “The Late Ottoman Empire” in Marian Kent, Great Powers and the End of the Ottoman Empire, London, GBR: Frank Cass Publishers, 1996, p. 26.7 Ahmad, p.15.8 Ceride-yi Resmiye-yi Kıbrıs, from the extra print no. 1136, dated 5 November 1914.

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deposed Egyptian Hidiv Abbas Hilmi Pasha who supported the Sultan Mehmet Reşat´s

declaration of jihad on 11 November and proclaimed his uncle Hüseyin Kamil as “the

Sultan of Egypt”9. The Ottoman State, which was content with protesting the annexation or

more accurately the larceny of Cyprus by Britain10, reacted very harshly to the disaffiliation

of Egypt and even rued11.

About one year later, Britain´s offer of leaving Cyprus to Greece in exchange for

declaring war on the Central Powers and mobilization against Bulgaria12 was rejected by

the Greek government in Athens, headed by Zaimis on 17 October 191513. Bolsheviks, who

acquired the power in November of 1917, signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with

Germany and her allies on 3 March 1918 and neutralized Russia. When the Ottoman State

regained the provinces of Kars, Ardahan and Batum, which were lost to Russia in the war

of 1877-1878, with this treaty, she wanted Cyprus from Britain, probably considering that

the reasons for the Agreement of 4 June ended14.

When the First World War ended, small Greece´s (120,063 km2) esteemed Prime

Minister Venizelos15, who was on the side of the winners16, was thinking that for the

9 Palmer, p.229.10 Osmanlı İdaresinde Kıbrıs (Nüfus-Arazi Dağılımı ve Türk Vakıfları), p. 28.11 Taner Timur, Osmanlı Kimliği, Istanbul, 1986, pp. 187–188. Sultan Mehmet Reşat declared Hüseyin Kamil as a ‘traitor’ after shortly and şeyhülislam annunciated a fetva stating that “his murder is sacred”. An Ottoman army commanded by Cemal Pasha marched on the Cannel of Suez to reclaim Egypt. In addition, in the first months of 1915, a scholar in the Ottoman Palace, Georgian Abdülhatif Efendi chose Egypt as a topic for a ‘presence lesson’ in which the most powerful people of the period like Sultan Mehmet Reşat, Talt Pasha, Enver Pasha and Şeyhülislam Musa Kazım Efendi were ready. The presence lessons, which were initiated by Mustafa the 3rd in 1758, were made in the presence of the Sultan and current problems were interpreted in the framework of Islamic verses and traditions. In the lesson regarding Cyprus, everyone was excited and their eyes were filled with tears.12 Sir Harry Luke, Cyprus (Revised and Enlarged Edition), Nicosia, 1965, pp. 88-89.13 Yeorgios Leontaritis, “H Diethnis Thesi tis Ellados stis Paramones tou Protou Pankosmiou Polemou”, İstoria tu Ellniku Ethnus IE, Athens, 1980, p. 30. In Greek historiography, the years between 1915 to 1917 are called as“National Disunion”(Ethnikos Dihasmos). In this period, Greece was divided between the temporary National Defense Government (Ethniki Amina) headed by Venizelos, Kunduritios, Danglis in Thessaloniki, which wanted to enter the war in the line of the Allied Powers, and the King Constantine and his loyal governments in Athens, which wanted to conserve the neutrality due to the King´s marriage with the sister of the German Emperor II. Wilhelm. The real reason for the division was the power struggle between aristocracy and bourgeoisie. For a detailed analysis of the “National Disunion” see: A. Kocias, Ta Fovera Dokumenta, O Ethnikos Dihasmos, Venizelos kaı Konstantinos, No publication date or place.14 Ahmad, p. 25.15 He was esteemed in the eyes of the Greek people because as Th. A. Amelidis, Mikrasiatikos Polemos 1918–1923, Thesaloniki, 1988, wrote on page 102; he doubled Greece after the Balkan Wars (in terms of land and population). For the reasons of his esteem in the eyes of the winners of the First World War (except Italy) see: Engin Berber, Sancılı Yıllar: İzmir 1918–1922, Mütareke ve Yunan İşgali Döneminde İzmir Sancağı (Agonized Years: Izmir 1918-1922, The District of Izmir During the Armistice and the Invasion of Greece, Ankara, 1997, p.p. 114-120.16 The first effort of the Venizelos, who came into the office of Prime Ministry for the third time on 26 June 1917 with the support of the Allied Powers, and of his government, was to declare war on the Central Powers headed by the Germany.

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realization of the Megali Idea17, it was a historical moment. That is why in those days he

said that:

Greece will become such a great and powerful state that even our most optimists cannot even imagine it. We will get all of Thrace and become the associate master of Istanbul together with the great states... For Dodecanese and Cyprus, I am not sure about the result but I can assure you that Greece will be a country surrounded with four seas and watching the Black Sea from its own window18.

The territorial demands of the Greek Prime Minister presented on 30 December

1918 to the secretary of the Paris Peace Conference in a memorandum titled, GREECE

before the Peace Congress, conforms to the above statements. Greece wanted from

Albania: almost all of the Epir; from Bulgaria: Western Thrace; from the Ottoman State:

Eastern Thrace, Gökçeada (under the invasion of France since 1915), Bozcaada, Meis

(under the invasion of Italy since 1912), Rhodes, Twelve Islands and the Western

Anatolia19.

The day he gave this memorandum, Greek Prime Minister arrived in Paris, met

with a commission from Cyprus, and seemed so optimistic about the Enosis. The

commission headed by the archbishop of Cyprus, Kirillos managed to meet with the

Minister of Colonies, Milner in London, when they began to defend the Greek demands in

the conference on 3 February 1919. The minister rejected the demand of Enosis kindly by

these words:

I congratulate you for expressing your proposition in such a splendid manner. Although the desire of the Cypriote people to incorporate with an agnate state is natural and I think respectable, it would be neither accurate nor I had the right to give a certain response to this demand. Today, I am only authorized to say that I will give the necessary attention to your demand20.

It is known that Venizelos repeated these demands verbally without any additions in

the meeting of the Conference on 3-4 February 1919.21 An American document mentions

about his silence on the matter of Cyprus by these words:

It may be asked why no certain demand was mode as to the island of Cyprus. He

17 Nikos G. Svoronos, Episkopisi tis Neoellinikis İstorias, Translation from French to Greek: Ekaterini Azdraha, Athens, 1990, on page 81, it is written, “According to it, the Greek boundaries should extend from the Balkan Peninsula to the coast of Peloponnese, from the Adriatic Sea to the Black Sea and the Taurus Mountains.”18 Türk-Yunan İlişkileri ve Megalo İdea (Turkish-Greek Relations and Megali Idea), prepared by: Genelkurmay Askeri Tarih ve Stratejik Etüd Başkanlığı, Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Yayınları, Ankara, June 1985, p. 50.19 GREECE before the Peace Congress, (no published dates or place), pp. 3-19.20 Konstantinos Amandu, Sindomos İstoria tis Kipru, Athens, 1956, pp. 132-133.21 Gotthard Jaeschke, Kurtuluş Savaşı İle İlgili İngiliz Belgeleri, Translated by Cemal Köprülü, Ankara, 1991, p. 61.

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(Venizelos) did this for several reasons, the most important of which he believed in the British government to show the generosity to give Cyprus to Greece at the end of the war22.

Since it is not supported with concrete evidence, such a judgment could be discussed. Yet,

it is understood from Venizelos´s words that, “If Britain wanted to give the island to

Greece, it would be great,”23 he could be thinking the same way, as well. The author of this

article thinks that the Greek Prime Minister acted moderately in issues like Istanbul, Black

Sea (Pontus) and Cyprus since he did not want to upset Britain, whose support he needed

for the realization of the national demands24.

Greece, whose territorial demands on Western Anatolia had been accepted by the

Allied Powers in the conference on 6 May 191925, began to land troops in Izmir on 15 May.

Cypriot Rums supported Greece effectively for the expansion and permanency of this

unjustified and illegal action. Before mentioning how they did so, it is necessary to glance

on the population of Cyprus when the Greek Army landed on Anatolia.

Source: Cyprus Blue Book 1919-1920, Nicosia, 1920, p. 224

22 Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, The Paris Peace Conference 1919, III, from p.861 quoted by Michael Llewellyn Smith, Anadolu Üzerindeki Göz, Translated by: Halim İnal, Istanbul, Februrary 1978, p. 84.23 Margaret Macmillan, Paris 1919, 1919 Paris Barış Konferansı ve Dünyayı Değiştiren Altı Ayın Hikayesi, Çeviren: Belkıs Dişbudak, Ankara, Ekim 2004, p. 349.24 Dimitri Kitsikis, Yunan Propagandası, Translated by Hakkı Devrim, Kaynak Kitaplar, Istanbul (No publication date), on pages 10-11, our approach can be seen in a letter which Venizelos wrote to the King, Constantine dated 1 March 1915 that: “Your majesty knows my belief about the necessity of sustaining the Greece's close relationships with the Britain. The Britain is without any doubt the strongest among these great states. Therefore, if she assumes that she can rely on and trust Greece about her interests in the region, it would be more useful than the other great ones in the realization of the national ideals.”25 Sina Akşin, “Paris Barış Konferansı´nın Yunanlıları İzmir´e Çıkarma Kararı”, Türk-Yunan İlişkileri Üçüncü Askeri Tarih Semineri, Ankara, 1986, p. 177.

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Source: Cyprus Blue Book 1919-1920, Nicosia, 1920, p. 225.

The data published by the British administration in the yearbook titled Cyprus Blue

Book and the statistics presented by the Greek administration are different. For instance,

the memorandum given by Venizelos to the secretariat of the Paris Peace Conference

indicated the population of Rums as 235,000, which were 20,000 more than the other

data.26 In reality, all the statistical data presented by the Greek Prime Minister in the

memorandum, brochures, books and maps27 to support the territorial demands in the

Conference were either false or distorted28. Even worse, the Allied Powers was aware of

that fact29.

2. Enrolling as Volunteers in the Greek Army

Enrollment of the Ottoman Rums for the service in the Greek Army was a common

behavior since the establishment of the Kingdom of Greece. In this sense, it is known that

Cypriot Rums fought side by side with their fellows in Peloponnesus, first time in 1821

against the Turks. About one hundred and thirty of the Rum volunteers, who had been

fighting in the Special Cypriots Legion commanded by General Hacipetros, died in the

Athens War in 182730. When the Ottoman State and Greece began to war in 1897, the

Acting Consul General for Greece recruited Cypriot Rums for the Greek Army without any 26 GREECE before the Peace Congress, (no published dates or place), p. 3. For the critics of population statistics in the memorandum see: Justin McCarthy, “Greek Statistics on Ottoman Greek Population”, International Journal of Turkish Studies, autumn 1980.27 For the list of these publications, see: Kitsikis, pp. 141-154.28 For a concise critic of the Greek data on Western Anatolia, see: Berber, pp. 109-113.29 Macmillan, p. 420.30 Amandu, p. 131.

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need to hide the practice31. Cypriot historian Amandu writes that thousands of Cypriot

Rums went to Greece to fight against the Turks during the Balkan Wars; the Mayor of

Limasol, Hristofos Sozos, who was shot and killed in Epir on 6 December 1912, was

among them and Yoannis Kiriakidis (1853-1955), whom Amandu considers to be the most

important politician of the island ever lived, together with Nikolaos Lanitis accompanied

more than three hundred volunteers´passage to Athens32. According to a Greek newspaper

published in Cyprus, two thousand and five hundred Cypriot Rums were fighting in the

battlefields as of February of 1913 and “the number would have been much higher, if the

Greek government hadn’t announced that she won’t accept volunteers in the beginning”.

According to the same news, in that way, Cyprus had her place in the war effectively,

proved her Greekness and reinforced her unshakable bonds with the mother Greece with

the bloods shed by her sons33.

British High Commissioner´s34 call to “fight for freedom” (against the Central

Powers) towards the Cypriots was supported by the Rum leaders headed by Kiriakidis35. It

is known that, this support36, which was given in thought of shortening the path to the

integration with Greece (enosis), provided the enrollment of thousands of Rum volunteers

in the British Army37. Actually, The Cyprus Gazette38 annunciated in 1921 that Cypriot

personnel serving in the Logistics Corps in Macedonia should apply to their regional

commanders with a petition stating their village names and regiment number for having

their right to take British Copper War Medal39.

The Greek Consul of Nicosia asked “everyone in reserve who is a subject of Greece

31 Sir George Hill, A History of Cyprus, IV, Cambridge, 1952, pp. 501-502. Since the Island was a property of the Ottoman State, the British Administration should have prevented the Greek Consul. However, since British High Commissioner Sir Walter Sendall was a pro-Greek administrator, he neglected the actions of the Greek consul, Filemon, the Greek teachers and agent provocateurs. 32 Amandu, pp. 130-131 and 173.33 “Cypriot Volunteers”, İho tis Kipru, 3 February 1913.34 It is worth indicating that Greek newspapers in Cyprus used the title ‘governor’ for the highest-ranking British official in the island. However, this title began to be used after Turkey´s recognition of the British government´s‘annexation’decision by the signature of the Lausanne Treaty and the declaration of Cyprus as the crown colony on 10 March 1925. Behind the Rums´ no usage of the title ‘high commissioner’ lies in the fact that Cyprus was legally under the sovereignty of the Ottomans.35 Amandu, p. 174.36 H. Petropulos, İstoria kaı Agones tis Kipru, No publishing date or place, from page 16: In the memorandum given by the Archbishop of Cyprus, Kirillos and Rum deputies, they mentioned their hope that this development would be the last step to bring about enosis. 37 Ankebut wrote on 9 August 1922 that their number was more than 16,000.38 It was the official newspaper of the British administration in Cyprus. It was published both in Greek and in Turkish (Cerde-yi Resmiye-yi Kıbrıs).39 “For the muleteer Cypriots in the British Army”, Kipriakos Filaks, 9 March 1921.

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and obliged to serve for the military and received his document of mobilization by now” to

gather in Magosa on 2 March with a notice published in a newspaper dated 18 February

191840. After one and a half year later from this notice, the articles which were titled “Rum

volunteers” published in the Turkish newspapers of Cyprus, Doğru Yol and Söz41, indicates

that recruitment of the Rum volunteers to the Greek Army began after the invasion of

Izmir. 4 months later, a Greek newspaper in Cyprus, Kipriakos Filaks (The Guardian of

Cyprus) on 4 May 1920, protested Britain and threatened her by implying enosis with these

words:

We have learned that by an order of the government, the governor of the British colony administration prohibited the enrollment of the Cypriots for the struggle of the Hellenism in the Minor Asia. The decision, which doesn´t suit a liberal government, makes it inevitable for us to join the duty of our struggle for feeling the British administration’s gravity even more and for our national satisfaction with more enthusiasm42.

First, it must be stressed that the British High Commissioner in Cyprus, Malcolm

Stevenson wrote to London (The Ministry of Colonies) for the first time after almost two

months about the Rum volunteers. Steven states in his telegram on 29 June that:

The Acting Consul General for Greece has communicated to me a request which has received from the Government of Greece to take steps for the enrolment in Cyprus of volunteers for the Greek battalions; He has asked whether the government concur in his taking action accordingly. I have no information as to whether the Greek government has simultaneously made representations to His Majesty’s Government on this matter prior to making any attempt to recruit British subjects for the Greek Army, but the susceptibilities of Moslems in Cyprus would in my opinion be gravely offended by such recruiting, which might thus have undesirable results. I propose to withhold approval for the enrolment of any volunteers except men registered as Greek subjects and to communicate in this sense with the Consul General. If you approve kindly inform me without delay43.

Secondly, those words explicitly indicate that Stevenson prohibited the enrollment of the

Cypriots Rums in the Greek Army not by an order but by his own initiative and he did not

involve the Greek subjects in the prohibition. Stevenson did not mention in his letter what

would hurt the Cypriots Muslims but he was probably feared that the Turkish nationalism,

which became very popular among the Muslims after the Cypriot Rums expedited the

efforts towards enosis44, would create further obstructions for himself and thus, for the

British administration in the island.

40 Eleftheria, 23 February 1918, Notice numbered 96 and signed by “Consul N. Vapbellas”.41 Sabahattin İsmail-Ergin Birinci, Atatürk Döneminde Türkiye – Kıbrıs İlişkileri 1919–1938, November 1989, p. 26.42 Sabahattin İsmail, İngiliz Yönetiminde Türk-Rum İlişkileri ve İlk Türk-Rum Kavgaları, (No dates), p. 391.43 CO, 67/198, the document numbered 32080 received by the Colonial Office on 30 June.44 For the political activities of the Cypriots Turks between 1918 and 1922, see the source on footnote 43, pp.21-80 and Dr. Nazım Beratlı, Kıbrıslı Türklerin Tarihi, Third Book, Nicosia, 1999, pp. 57-64.

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Foni tis Kipru (The Voice of Cyprus), after stating that the Greek Army leans

towards the Cypriots volunteers warmly, published a telegram on 5 June:

The voluntary recruitment will be for three, six months and a year. The ones who joined the Army, except for the other soldiers´ salaries, will get 100 (for three months), 120 (for 6 months) and 150 (for a year) Drachmas, with respect to their service period. The volunteers will fill the vacancies of the old corps discharged from the battalions in the new region (Anatolia).

The Acting Consul General for Greece, A. Artemis45 confuted the telegram on 16 June: “I

have not taken an order stating that those determined to go to Athens will definitely be

accepted” but he did not hesitate to encourage the enrollment process, neither:

Stalwart and patriot youth’s desirous and excited application to the Consulate offices without my definite order is a natural result of displaying a meritorious eagerness, which is emotional but at the same time in the call of duty, with a response to the voice of the homeland (Greece) in nobility and national senses46.

Eleftheria (Freedom) wrote three days later in an article titled “Volunteer for the Greek

Army” that:

The Government of Greece will recruit volunteers for the battalions in the Greek Army. More than 2000 young men came to enroll to the Greek Consulate in Nicosia from diverse places of the island. In addition, many people in Nicosia expressed the same intentions47.

According to Kipriakos Filaks on 23 June, Cypriot Rums took action to form a division of

volunteers to fight in Anatolia. With the support of the Baf Metropolitan´s written

promulgation that asking “...to gather in the shadow of the flag by answering the holy voice

of the homeland”, 2,158 in Nicosia, 1000 in Baf, 974 Maraş, 850 Limasol, 600 in Larnaka

and 390 in Girne enrolled for the service in the Army48.

Stevenson´s telegram (second one sent to London about the Rum volunteers) on 4

July indicates that the order, which the Greek Consul had confuted, was taken ten days

later:

On July 2nd a local paper published a telegram to the Greek Consul General from the Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs dated June 26th. In this he was authorized to enrol Cypriot volunteers for service in Greek army and it was suggested that if enough volunteers enlisted he should telegraph for a ship to take them away. The terms offered were very attractive and in consequence considerable members of Cypriots have came forward and according to the newspaper the Greek Consul General has telegraphed to

45 Ankebut, 11 Aralık 1920, it is understood from the news that Agesialos Artemis, who was a Cypriot lawyer, notified the Greek government with a telegram that he will not be able to accomplish his tasks at ht Consulate due to his overwhelming business. From the same newspaper dated 23 July 1921, it is understood that the new Consul Zisis Hacı Vasiliu arrived in Larnaka. According to Cyprus Blue Book 1921, Nicosia, 1922, p. 144, Vasiliu took over the office on 14 July.46 “The Consul of Greece in Cyprus”, Eleftheria, 19 June 1920.47 Eleftheria, 19 June 1920.48 Quoted by Ismail (No dates), pp. 390–391.

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his Government for a ship to be sent. I consider this action of the Greek Gov´t is most unjustifiable and would recommend that they should be requested to withdraw any instructions which they may have sent to the General Consul on the subject by telegram immediately and before any ship is sent. There is no objection to the enrolment of bona fide Greek subjects who are registered49.

As is stated in the minute, on which ‘urgent’ was written by hand, numbered 32080

and dated 6 July that “... if Earl Curzon of Kedleston (Minister of Foreign Affairs) sees no

objection steps should taken immediately to induce the Greek Government to instruct the

Consul General in Cyprus not to attempt to enlist any but Greek subjects”50, it is

understood that London’s High Commissioner´s proposition was accepted.

The letter sent by the Cyprus Deputation headed by Kirillos, which shuttled

between Paris and London during the Paris Peace Conference, is interesting in terms of

indicating the insistence of the Cypriots Rums for joining the war in Anatolia and the last

phase of the volunteers matter:

Right Honourable Sir,The Mandate given to the Greek Army by the Allied Powers to operate against

the forces of Mustafa Kemal in Asia Minor aroused great enthusiasm throughout the Hellenic world. Cyprus, true to her duty and policy to support the allied and Greek war of liberation, hastened on this occasion too to offer her small help by sending 8,000 Greek Cypriotes, who, up to Monday last, enlisted as volunteers for service in the Greek Army. These volunteers were ready to sail for Greece but, according to telegraphic message from the island, the Cypriote Government intervened and prevented their departure, except the sailing of those who happened to be in possession Certificates for Hellenic nationality. We are unaware of any law or order prohibiting the departure of volunteers. We want to believe that the prohibition is due to a wrong conception on the part of the Cypriote Government and that his Majesty´s Government is no party to a measure which, we venture to suggest, is not only contrary to the English policy applied to Cyprus ever since the occupation, but it is also against the general policy of His Majesty´s Government and of the execution of the pleasant duty of all Greeks to assist their Mother Country to bring to a successful and speedy end the mandate entrusted to her. In respectfully bringing the above to your knowledge we trust that his Majesty´s Government will take such steps as they may consider necessary in order to enable the Greek Cypriotes to participate in the military operations in Asia Minor.

We have the honour to be,Right Honourable Sir,Your obedient Servants,THE CYPRUS DEPUTATION:Kipro Kirillos (The Archbishop of Cyprus), Th. Thodotou, Digemmetos, Nik. Kl. Lanitis, N. Pashalis51.

This letter resulted in a series of correspondence. In a note sent by Sir H. Read to

Mr. Elliot, it was written that:

This is just like them. If Cypriotes want to go and join the Greek army they can do so 49 CO, 67/198, numbered 113 and received on 5 July by the Colonial Office.50 CO, 67/198, numbered 1114 and signed by Sir H. Read.51 CO, 67/201, numbered 35475.

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quietly but H. M. G. (His Majesty´s Government) cannot allow recruitment for a foreign army. If any reply at all is called for reply that H. M. G. cannot in any way permit British subjects to be recruited for service in foreign forces52.

Colonel Amery’s writings on 27 July were not different from O´Connor:

Information was recently received that the representative of the Greek Government in Cyprus had informed the local Government that he had been asked to enroll volunteers in Cyprus for service in the Greek Army. As it would be contrary to well established usage to allow British subjects to be recruited in British territory for service in the Army of a foreign Power, the proposal of the High Commissioner to withhold his consent to any such recruitment in the case of British subjects was agreed to. No objection was made to the recruitment of Greek subjects53.

It is understood that the British Government considered Stevenson’s proposals on

29 June and 4 July to be suitable, as is read from a note to the letter by Colonel Amery to O

´Connor:

The recruitment of volunteers for the Greek Army in Cyprus was prohibited by His Majesty’s Government for the reason given in Colonel Amery’s reply to Mr. O´Connor, on 27th July, copy of which is below. I know nothing of the other matters referred to except that I believe it is true that martial law still exists in Cyprus (as it does also in Malta). Mr. Stevenson is expected here any day now – and no doubt the Secretary of State will see him54.

After the Government of Greece made a decree law, which pardoned the deserters,

on 21 December, Artemis made an announcement asking all the obliged young men and

reserves as required by the law for enlistment to join the Army until 18 April (1921)55.

Stevenson stated, in reply to the Rum deputies´ letter dated 9 March 1921, in which

whether the volunteers´ enlistment for the Greek Army and their departure will be allowed

or not was asked, that, as he previously informed the Consul General for Greece (in

Cyprus), only the Greek subjects would be allowed. His answer caused complaints in the

Rum press. Kipriakos Filaks wrote on 24 March as follows:

The Greek Revolution, whose 100th anniversary (1821-1921) is solemnized, is a great and magnificent milestone in the national development of our race... It is not allowed to form a Cyprus Greek Division, which would be completely composed of thousands of Cyprus´ sons and help the foundation of peace and civilization in the East, together with the Greek Army, who is the brother of the island’s Greek people56.

The prohibition of Britain did not hinder the Cypriot Rums from joining the Greek

Army. A newspaper article titled “The Letter of the Cypriot Warrior” demonstrates this fact

clearly:

52 CO, 67/201, numbered 35475 and dated 19 July. In the same document, another note was attached, written by Sir H. Read to Colonel Amery stating the same opinion on 21 July.53 CO, 67/201, numbered 420.54 CO, 67/201, numbered 419.55 Kipriakos Filaks, 23 February 1921, the announcement dated 12 February numbered 630.56 “Only the Greek Subjects”, Kipriakos Filaks, 19 March 1921.

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At a time when the British disrespect our national conscious and our race´s history in the highest ranks officially and unofficially, [enosis had been postponed for “an indefinite period of time” by the British Prime Minister Lloyd George on 14 November 1919] Cyprus’s brave sons, whose Greekness is beyond doubt, have the right to proud of themselves because they fight with their brothers for the great ideal of the motherland.

After that comment, a volunteer’s letter from Sapanca to his family in Nicosia sent on 2

April 1921 was quoted:

You complain since you did not receive a letter from me. How could I write, while I was struggling with the snow in the mountain for a month? Although the situation in the front costs us much, no doubt you should have read in the newspapers that we knocked those (Turks) about. We are preparing for a new attack to get the Gevye strait. Right now, we are not in danger and I hope we will be able to see each other again57.

We could observe a newspaper article titled “Contribution to National War with

Cyprus Blood”:

Including the Second and Twelfth Divisions´ losses in the last operation, we have proudly read the names of the three Cypriot soldiers (volunteers) in the newspapers of Athens: G. H. Karayergou from Gadaru, (The village of ‘Korkuteli’in Magosa) who was martyred in the war of Akkin, on 7 July; Hristu İ. Kuçubi from Akakiu, (Akaça) who was martyred in Akpınar, on 8 July; Evpl. Vilaridu from Larnaka, who was martyred in the War of Çavuş Çiftlik, on 2 July. Like the wine is spilled on the floor (in the old religious rituals of the Ancient Greece), in the lands of Cyprus, which is thirsty for freedom, with his sons shedding their bloods for the holy national altar, (Greece) it is impossible not to flourish freedom there watered by this precious fluid (blood). The combat of the Diasporas of the islands in the Aegean and of Cyprus, which are proven by the science of geology to be separated from Anatolia million years ago, in the forefronts of the battlefields, is, as usual, a development indicating the nobility of Cyprus. Therefore, the great sacrifice of the Cypriot heroes is beyond helping the unification of all the Greeks... it is the most natural action emanating from the other side (Cyprus) of the ancient home, (Anatolia) which is the cradle of Greekness58.

A newspaper article stating, “As it is seen in the Greek newspapers, about fifty

Palikaria from the Omorfo district applied to the archbishopric for enlisting as

volunteers”59 indicates that enrollment as volunteers continued even until May of 1922.

The initiatives of the Omorfo Rums in Nicosia to enlist as volunteers propelled the British

administration to re-announce the mandate published in The Cyprus Gazette before, which

declares that according to the law of the year, 1881 about the neutrality of Cyprus, it is

forbidden to register soldiers from the island for using at both land and sea in a foreign

army60.

57 Kipriakos Filaks, 5 May 1921. Due to the fear of British prosecution, instead of the full name of the volunteer, only his name´s initial ‘K’ was read below the letter.58 Kipriakos Filaks, 25 August 1921. For detailed information regarding the settlements of the island, see: N. Kliridi, Horia kai Polities tis Kipru, No dates.59 Ankebut, 19 April 1922.60 Ankebut, 17 May 1922.

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A considerable number of Cypriot Rums petitioned the Greek administration in

Izmir headed by Aristidis Stergiadis for service in the administrative and military units in

Anatolia. It is understood from these petitions that some of the volunteers´ families went to

Izmir, settled there and underwent economic problems61.

3. Cypriot Rum Officers in the Greek Army

By the end of the First World War, the highest-ranking Rum officer born in Cyprus

in the Greek Army was Lieutenant Colonel Fotios Pandacis from Kitherea (The village of

Değirmenlik in Nicosia). He was awarded with a medal and promoted him to the 25th

Regiment Commandership in Macedonia. Pandacis never fought in Anatolia and about

him, the Rum Press spoke of these words:

We congratulate this Cypriot born distinguished officer and wish him to reach higher ranks and realize his passionate desire to lead his Cyprus Invasion Army, which will acquire liberty from the high minded British Administration in here62.

The highest-ranking Cypriot Rum officer fighting in Anatolia was Cavalry Major

Yoannis Çangaridis from Lapithos (Lapta). Çangaridis, graduated from the Pankiprios

Middle School, became a cavalry lieutenant after finishing the Athens Military School,

which he began in 1910. Çangaridis, having fought in the Balkan and First World wars, in

June of 1920, was the chief of the Greek Cavalry Brigade in Anatolia and at the same time,

he was the commander of the Second Battalion of the Third Regiment. In this duty, “he

was awarded with a Golden Bravery Medal”63on the strength of his actions in the

operations performed in March of 1921. He became the second-in command of the Third

Regiment in the same brigade.

Çangaridis, commanding a mixed cavalry force composed of units from three

different divisions and an infantry battalion of the Ninth Division supported by artilleries,

was injured on 30 August in the Battle of Sakarya, while his force arrived in the Castle of

Groto (Pazarköy) in the North of Güzelce Kaleköy64. The news was announced to the

public in the newspaper on 15 September 1921 with the title of “The Injury of the Cypriot

Officer in the Fronts of Ankara”:

During the War of Giants in Sakarya, our Cyprus joined our honor, proud and pride in our army´s march towards Ankara in the person of İo. H. Çangaridis, who is the brave son, enlightened officer, cavalry major and the second-in-command of the Third

61 General State Archives-Athens, (Yenika Arhia tu Kratus), Envelope: 37.62 “The Rightful Promotion of the Cypriot Officer”, Kipriakos Filaks, 16 February 1921.63 “An Honor for Cyprus”, Kipriakos Filaks, 11 August 1921.64 Küçük Asya´da Harekat 1919-1922, (Epihirisis pros Ankiran 1921), First Volume, Greek War History Publishing, Athens, 1963, p. 153 and p. 176. After Çangaridis was injured, this mixed cavalry force was dismissed by the order of the Second Army Corps.

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Cavalry Regiment. Mr. Çangaridis was injured in the battle for capturing Ankara under these circumstances. At the most critical moment of the battle, cavalries were ordered to march. The enemy was scattered. His soldiers left the Turkish commander. The Turkish commander injured the Cavalry Major in shoulder by shooting with his pistol behind the bushes. The Cavalry Major killed the Turkish officer with his sword in the saddle. The courageous Major as the Commander of his regiment, by pressing on his wound frequently continued his marching and fighting while he and his horse were drenched in blood. A little further, a Turkish soldier tried to stab the Cavalry Major. Yet, the Major hindered and put him in the sword. The Turkish soldier managed to graze the Cavalry Major slightly in his arm by the sword. Before three minutes passes, he is injured by a bullet in his left shank and at the same time, his horse is killed and they both fall down. The marching of the horses and the sword fight continue. Nobody gets to the help of the Cavalry Major. Eleven hours after the battle, the brave cavalry major is found unconscious where he was injured. His wounds are bound and he is taken to the operating room. From there, he is transferred to the hospital in Bursa. Afterwards, he is treated in the Evagelismon Hospital in Athens. Fortunately, his life is not in peril. Cyprus is proud and honorable to have generated and brought up such a hero65.

Except for Çangaridis, who did not return to Anatolia after recovery66, all the

Cypriot Rum officers´ ranks were lieutenant. Cyprus Turks especially learned one of the

names of these officers, who were in the first steps of their career with the uniforms of the

Greek Army:

He was born as a son of a villager family, grew up with the dream of shedding his blood for Greece and this young officer, who just after graduated from the Military Academy joined his corps in Anatolia, was the then founder and leader of EOKA: Yeorgios Grivas Digenis67.

Konstantinos Fanu, who is an owner of “a golden bravery honor” (probably a

medal), was injured in Eskişehir and appointed as the director of the Greek Military

Hospital in Izmir in 1922. He was mentioned in an article titled “Unknown Subject, The

Contribution of Cyprus to the Minor Asia Struggle” signed by Dimitrios Talyadoros in the

issue of 27 August 1991 in Alithia (Truth) newspaper, which is published in Cyprus. There

are many sides of that information, which needs to be corrected. Firstly, in 1922, there

were four hospitals of the Greek Army in Izmir, not one. Secondly, the rank of the military

doctors, who were appointed as the directors of the Greek military hospitals opened in

Anatolia after the invasion of Izmir, was major or higher. The most important of all, we

could not locate this name in the Bureau of Greek War History’s detailed publication 65 Kipriakos Filaks, 15 September 1921.66 The information presented above about Çangaridis´ career from lieutenantship to August 1921 and his activities in Anatolia were compiled from these sources: Amandu, p. 177 and from (Greek) War History Chairmanship´s series of publications: Filedelfia, Epihirisis Filedelfia, Prusis, Usak (June-November 1920), Athens, 1957, p. 338 and 384; Epithetike Epirisis (December 1920-March 1921), Athens 1963, p. 369 and 394; Epirisos pros Ankiran 1921, First Volume, Athens, 1964, p. 416; To Telos tis Ekstratias 1922, Second Volume, 1962 and Kipriakos Filaks, 6 October 1921.67 A. G.. Hacianastastasiu, O Sintagmatarhis Yeorgio Girvas Digenis kai i Thriliki EOKA, Athens, (No dates), p. 14.

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inspecting the health structure during the operation of Anatolia titled “The Health Service

of the Army 1919-1922” (İ İgionomiki İpiresia tou Stratu, Athens, 1963). In this sense,

since they were mentioned in the article of Talyadoros, by necessity, we cautiously observe

the existence of the Lieutenant Doctor Kulis Meli, who was rewarded with the Medal of

Bravery two times, the Medal of Honor once, and the Cavalry Lieutenant Sofoklis

Zografos from Thessaloniki, who was injured during the operations in Sakarya68.

4. Launching Aid Campaigns

Another activity, which is routinely done by the Rums, was providing the Greek

Army with money or payment in kind. It is known that Cypriot Rums sent arms and money

to Mora during the formation of the Kingdom of Greece and the pair of Kiriakidis-Lanitis,

whose activities of guiding hundreds of volunteers to Athens during the Balkan Wars are

mentioned above, gave 107 mules as gifts to the Greek officers for using them against the

Ottoman State69, in return for buying 143 mules and delivered the donations they collected

to the Greek Prime Minister Venizelos personally70.

After the Greek Army landed on Anatolia, the first aid campaign in Cyprus, whose

revenues were to be transferred to Greece, was launched in the spring of 1921 in Nicosia. A

newspaper article titled “Donation for the Homeland” described it as follows:

We, the Cypriots, far away from the motherland (Greece), have learned the value of the independence endeavor, which was decorated with the unique sacrifices of the brave Greek regiments. Therefore, we are fulfilling our holy duty towards the fighters of the Greek honor and liberty by supporting them materially71.

It appears in a newspaper article that by 4 May, which means in one week, 523

pounds and 7 pence were gathered:

National aid began last week in the capital (Nicosia) and continue, although the revenue is less than the one gathered in the Balkan Wars, due to the ongoing economic crisis, it is not as bad s everyone has predicted. This relative shortage is caused by the form of the campaigns rather than other reasons. We hope that the archbishop will make every initiative necessary for realizing our national goal completely and without delay. The advice of Mr. F. Dragumis, who has just arrived from the Asia Minor front about its necessity and importance... (that) they must have a sense of the greatness of our goal, which we always help for the succession of the great struggle, as much as by the civilians´ general support and connecting our close environment. We are convinced that our patriot people will be flawless in realizing their national duty, as always72.

68 For the identical print of this article and its Turkish translation, see: İsmail, pp. 387-389.69 İsmail, p. 18 and 28.70 Amandu, pp. 173–175.71 Kipriakos Filaks, 28 April 1921.72 “Nicosia, For the War Orphans”, Kipriakos Filaks, 5 May 1921. The details of the total revenue are listed in the same article: “The Archbishopric 50; the Archbishop 10; The Church of Faneromeni and its Council 125; The Community of Tripiotu 91.13; The Community of Ag. Antoniu 84.10; The Community of Savva

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An article in the Hronika (Time) newspaper published in Athens titled “Poor

Cypriots” stated that the Cypriot Rums “small charity organization donated the little

money, which they saved from their tiny pockets, to the war veterans” (of the war in

Anatolia). This news was used as an instrument for increasing the support for the campaign

initiated in Nicosia by the Cypriot Rum press. Kipriakos Filaks wrote on 22 September as

follows:

Let this donation of our fellows in Greece at least warn the ones, who are so pathetically wrong to think that we completed our national duties with our donations. The participation of Greekness as a whole in the struggle against our century old enemy shows itself in our last national war undeniably. Except for a small portion, who are having economic difficulties, in here (Cyprus) the existence of the wealthy people is an irrefutable fact.

The demand for the navy lottery, which was done for years in Cyprus to support the

Greek fleet, was encouraged in another Rum newspaper as follows:

We, either old or young, must have a navy lottery. It almost equals to nothing due to the devaluation of the drachma: only 3 pennies. You can find the tickets at the stores of Mr. Savva Yoanni in Maraş; of Mr. Hristodulu Loyzidi across the Trade Club in Nicosia; of Mr. S. İkonomidu in Larnaka; of Mr. Haralambidi in Omorfo and of the enthusiastic teacher, Mr. F. Filaktu in Baf73.

According to the news from a Turkish newspaper published in Cyprus, the Rums

launched a news aid campaign in 1922. Ankebut wrote on 17 May as follows:

A few days ago, an assembly was gathered in Larnaka to discuss the collection of donations. According to the decisions taken, a member record was prepared to aid the palikarias in Anatolia in steady speed and the acceptance of donations began.

Even the Egypt Gazette published in Cairo wrote that Rums “by visiting each house

facilitated the campaign”74, which was supported with the donations of 40 pounds by

Lawyer Paskal and 20 pounds by Doctor Koriyadi in Nicosia75.

5. Psychological Dimension: Commemorations, Celebrations and Receptions

The continuation of the support given to the Kingdom of Greece in several ways

was only possible by boosting the people’s morale. As a result, first the members of the

Orthodox Church, the Rum dignitaries, who were aware of that reality and the Rum press,

began to use the national and religious days as means to that end. When the days began to

be celebrated much more effusively, the war in Anatolia also paved the ground for brand

58.10; The Community of Aliniotissis 43; The Community of Ag. Kassianu 30.14; The Community of Ag. Yoannu 25; The Community of Ag. Luka 5”.73 Eleftheria, 24 December 1921.74 Ankebut, 24 May 1922.75 Ankebut, 14 June 1922.

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new activities. Some of the news published in Kipriakos Filaks in July and October of

1921 are, in that sense, very enlightening.

The aforementioned newspaper warned the people concerned about the possibility

of a hesitation in Cypriot Rums´ support to Greece in the article titled “To Our Victorious

Soldiers” on 7 July with these words:

With the announcement of our army’s successfully progressing operation, we are naturally swimming in the sea of excitement, pride and joy. Yet, by the way, we must not neglect our duty to our heroes, who gifted this joy and excitement by shedding their bloods; and these duties must be fulfilled without delay. We have no doubt that the Archbishop, the Metropolitans, the administrators and all the dignitaries in Cyprus, without losing any time, will gave the willing people a chance to fulfill their duties.

A week later, the newspaper, firstly reminded the execution of the archbishop and

of some other religious leaders, who were sentenced for preparing a revolt for enosis by the

Ottoman Muhassıl in Cyprus, Küçük Mehmet Pasha during the Mora incidents in 1821

with these words:

The spirit of Cyprus remembered the mourning mood, which surrounded the skies on 9 July (18)21, with great pain. The cloud of tyranny covered the horizons of our home more densely and darker than ever during that accursed day and since that day, the memories about the sufferings of our martyrs intensified hundred times more.

Later, it gratified the national feelings: “The tyrant and relentless of the East, the

one who daunted the West (Turk) is now groaning under the sword of his old slave

(Greece) and the game is ending. What a magnificent and incredible inside-out!”76.

There is other news in the same issue on 14 July. In the first of those titled “The

Pray for the Cypriot Martyrs”, the pray of the Archbishop for the executed religious man

by the tyrants (Turks) in 1821 was described as follows:

The picture of the deceased Archbishop Kiprianos, who endured terrible tortures, was put on the simple and plain statue of Unknown Soldier, which was surrounded by the bright symbol of home and faith: the Greek flags. The community, which was very touched by this, watched the ceremony, which was organized for the hundredth anniversary of the accursed 9 July and for the great national days. Following the ceremony, Mr. I. Papaporfiriu made a short historical speech about the sacrifices of the noble victims separated from us by the Turkish tyranny and atrocity77.

In the second one, the Rum-Greek cooperation was exhibited conspicuously. The

news describes the festivity, which was done upon the acquiring of Eskişehir by the Greek

Army, as follows:

The fall of Eskişehir was celebrated with wild demonstrations of joy in the capital. The

76 “What a magnificent and incredible inside-out”, Kipriakos Filaks, 14 July 1921.77 Kipriakos Filaks, 14 July 1921.

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national joy of the residents of the capital, when the pleasing bulletin (announcing the fall) put on Kipriakos Filaks by the Consulate of Greece was read, cannot be described with words. People exulted with decorations of flags, ringing festival bells, warm handshakes, piano in the trade club and national songs together with bouzouki melodies. Only a small portion of this indefinable joy was apparent in the Youth Club. As a result of the density of national feelings, the great Archbishop made a real but unofficial ceremony to the people, who headed for the Archbishopric.

After the ceremony, Lawyer G. Haci Pavlu “made an extraordinarily rapturous national

speech” and the archbishop sent his greetings to the King and the Prime Minister Gunaris

by a telegram78.

The arrival of the Cavalry Major Çangaridis for medical reasons was used to hide

and eliminate the despondency due to the failure in the War of Sakarya. Çangaridis, who

set foot on Magosa in the first week of October was greeted “with great enthusiasm and

shows of respect” when he was on the way to his hometown Lapta. In the name of

Çangaridis, a dinner was given by the Consulate of Greece at the Grand Hotel and the

Mayor of Larnaka, Zannetos lodged Çangaridis at his home. The other day, Çangaridis,

who went to Lapta from Nicosia where he stayed for only several hours, was greeted by

the People´s Committee, the Teacher´s Union, the School’s trustees and the dignitaries of

the town of “Bitter Water” (Pikro Nero), a “bed of soldiers” between Girne and Larnaka.

Çangaridis, in response to the words of Mayor G. Hacilambru and Doctor İ. Pigasiu about

himself, made an emotional speech, this time was greeted at the entrance of Lapta by the

students holding flowers and by the Mayor, Haritos Athanasiu79. A newspaper article

stating, “we have learned that the Major will visit high-ranking officers and the British

governor” finished its news as follows:

We have complete confidence in the patriot capital in showing this elite officer the necessary respect. Additionally, the People’s Love Community is preparing a bright reception in the national hall in which Doctor E. Glikis will make a speech80.

Kipriakos Filaks described the visit to the capital, which it informed to its readers

on 13 October, as follows:

The capital greeted the Cypriot hero Cavalry Major by honoring him with all kinds of esteem and respect due to his great success in the war. The patriotic people of Nicosia found the chance of remembering the heroes of this small island, which are many including the volunteers and regulars, in the person of this preeminent officer, together with the Greek Army sacrificed their lives for the sake of the holy national struggle. This chance of remembrance showed the respect in the name of Greek, to which we all admire and care for. Therefore, we proved the national cooperation and loyalty with

78 “Festival in Honor of the Fall of Eskişehir in Nicosia”, Kipriakos Filaks, 14 July 1921. Kipriakos Filaks wrote on 21 July 1921 that the Greek Prime Minister Gunaris said in his replying telegram to the Archbishop that “I thank you and the people of Cyprus for the warm greetings and wishes about the victory of the army”.79 “The Cavalry Major Mr. Çangaridis at His Hometown”, Kipriakos Filaks, 6 October 1921.80 “The Cavalry Major Mr. Çangaridis in Nicosia”, Kipriakos Filaks, 13 October 1921.

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the great center of free homeland. First, the People´s Love Community greeted Mr. Çangaridis. This community determined its social goal as acting in the same way that is, primarily towards the national target and endeavors to develop and strengthen its members´ national feelings and nationalism in the same manner. The official reception was at 8.30. Yet, the people filled the are of Anagnostiriu to celebrate the Cypriot officer by 7 o´clock. Since the wide rooms of the People´s Love Community were not enough to accommodate even the one fifth of the people gathered, especially and only the Archbishop and the Bishops of Kitiu and Kikku were taken inside. Doctor Mr. E. Glikis made a national speech at his own will at the designated time in the community decorated with blue-white colors and affluent national paintings... He began with the Persian Wars, continued with the immortal 1821 and finished with the struggles of the King Constantine with bays. Then Mr. Çangaridis stand up, his gentle body appeared in the crowd and he responded in a sensitive rebellious sound with beautiful and meaningful words. Mr. Th. Theodotu who came to the chair later, told Çangaridis that with the medals you won in the battlefields and with your bay leaves, since you were born and bred in Cyprus, you wrote the notice of protest to the British people with your blood, you disproved the enemies of Cyprus. The initiatives of the enemy will be smashed to bits against the liveliness of the Greek people. We drew the path to Constantinople, which is about to fall on the Greek lap. The enemies of Greekness were trying to block the realization of the national goal in vain. The assurance of the realization of the goal is the bravery and the strong national faith of the Greek Army. After Mr. Theodotu, Mr. R. Hacı Paulu, I. Mirianthis and the lawyers made alive and excited speeches for Çangaridis. By the way, the celebration desserts were offered. Quality music songs were sang accompanied by the mandolin of the head of the People´s Love Community, Mr. H. Petropulos. The ceremony ended with the national anthem81.

The Conclusion

It is a well-known fact that the Kingdom of Greece registered her agnates in the

Ottoman citizenship for the service in the Greek Army82. The continuance of such practices

during the War of Independence was no surprise. Cyprus, where 244.887 Orthodox-

Christian people (of who 122.107 was male) were living according to the census performed

by the British administration on 24 April 192183, was a fertile land for filling the front of

the Greek Army. The sources, which have been analyzed, give no information regarding

the number of Cypriot Rum volunteers fighting in Anatolia. When the fact is remembered

that these volunteers were also fighting for the British interests, it is understandable how

these volunteers left the island in spite of the prohibition by the British officials. As it is

said in a note sent by Sir H. Read to Mr. Elliot that “If Cypriotes want to go and join the

Greek army they can do so quietly but H. M. G. (His Majesty’s Government) cannot allow

recruitment for a foreign army”, the British prohibition was pseudo and aiming to allay the

81 Kipriakos Filaks, 20 October 1921.82 It is possible to present countless proofs in this matter. It is sufficient to present only one of them in İlber Ortaylı, “The Greek and Ottoman Administration during the Tanzimat Period”, Perceptions, June-August 1997, p. 54. The Ottoman Ambassador, Musurus Pasha in London reported to Istanbul in 1861 that Cretan Rums were recruited in the Greek Army. 83 CO, 67/201, numbered 35475 and dated 19 July.

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reactions of the Cypriot Turks. In what other way, the publication of the news about the

Rum volunteers without any limitations, the absence of any arrests due to the violation of

the prohibition and the absence of any intervention to stop the gathering of donations,

whose total revenues could not be determined, could be explained?

These words of a Cypriot Rum writer explain what the victory of the Turkish Grand

National Assembly’s Army in Anatolia against Greece meant for the Cypriot Rums:

“Unfortunately, the Disaster of Asia Minor postponed the Cypriots´ longing for enosis,

again”84.

84 H. Petropulos, p. 17.Acknowledgements: I thank my doctoral student Gökser Gökçay for translating this article.