Hostage To History Cyprus From The Ottomans To Kissinger – Christopher Hitchens (1)

Sampson was chosen faute de mieux – the bottom of the barrel. Dr Kissinger, however, treated him with respect and almost with courtesy. Compare, for instance , the different receptions accorded to the two Dimitrious. Nicos Dimitriou was the ambassador of Cyprus to Washington . His brother Dimis became Nicos Sampson’s ‘Foreign Minister’ on the day of the coup.

Dr Kissinger received the ambassador on the first day of the Emergency , and insulted him with jokes while failing to offer any condolences on the reported death of his President . I n Nicosia, ambassador Rodger Davies received Dimis Dimitriou as ‘Foreign Minister’ – the only envoy to do so . In Washington, as day succeeded day, Kissinger’s press spokesman , ambassador Robert Anderson , reflected his employer’s readiness to do business with the new regime , and his refusal to admit what was obvious to everyone else.

For example , Kissinger’s State Department never agreed that the coup in Cyprus, which had been carried out with tanks and heavy artillery under the command of Greek offiᓼers , was an interference by Athens. ‘No . In our view there has been no outside intervention,’ was the official Anderson statement when challenged on this very point . At the same time , most of the governments in western Europe were stating what was clear – that the Greek Colonels had mounted an unpardonable intrusion into the affairs of another state.

The death of Grivas meant that not even EOKA-B had a token Cypriot commander. This hypocrisy 6n Kissinger’s part was deplorable for three Dragon ‘s Teeth reasons. First , he and the State Department were well aware that the G reek j unta was responsible for the coup; and they had also been aware of the planning for it.

Even if one takes Dr Kissinger’s tepid cable of 29 June at its face value, it makes an official lie out of his later disclaimers. The cable had , after all, explicitly recognized that Athens was preparing to move against Makarios.

Published in Canada by Collins Publishers, Toronto Printed in the United States of America Published originally in hardcover by Quartet Books Limited First edition, 1984 Noonday Press edition, 1989 This work was originally published in Great Britain as Cyprta Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hitchens, Christopher. (Cyprus) Hostage to history : Cyprus from the Ottomans to Kissinger/ Christopher Hitchens. p. em. Rcpr-inr. Origimtlly published: C.““yprus. London : Quartet Books, /984.

Bibliography: p. I ncludcs index. 1. Cyp.-us-Politics and government. 2. Cyprus-History-Cyprus crisis. 1974- l. Tille. DS54.9.H57 1 989 956.45‘04-dc/9 HH·35598 This book is for Eleni, and for Laurence Stern (1929-79) Contents Preface to the Second Edition 1 Preface 9 Acknowledgements 14 Introduction 19 I Hammer or Anvil? 29 Cyprus and Enosis 32 Cyprus and Taksim 39 II The Axe and the Woods 51 III Dragon’s Teeth: Cyprus and the Greek Junta 61 ᓼᓼᓼr ᓼ The Coup 82 Collusion 85 Invasion and Evasions 87 IV Attila 101 Afterword 1 1 1 Desecration 1 12 V Consequences 121 Washington 121 Mᓼm 1ᓼ London 136 Ankara 138 Coda: The Kissinger Version 146 Alternatives: Crete and the Hatay 151 VI Conclusion 157 Appendix: Chronological Table of Events 167 Select Bibliography 180 ᓼa 1ᓼ Preface to the Second Edition In January 1986, the National Gallery of Art in Washington held a special showing of Titian’s extraordinary painting The Flaying of Marsyas.

Those who know the picture, which is seven feet in height and full of detail, will know that its centerpiece is a patient creature, suspended upside down and pinioned while a cruel knife does its worst. Accompanying the exhibit was a short monograph by Sydney J. Freedberg, Chief Curator of the National Gallery, who put forward a new and persuasive theory of the painting’s provenance. According to Freedberg, the theme of the painting (a flaying), the date of the painting (shortly before Titian’s death in 1576), certain details in the action (a Phrygian cap, symbolizing Turkey in antiquity) and the place where the painting was executed (Venice) make it clear that Titian’s subject was Cyprus.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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