ΤΟΥΡΚΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΤΟΥΡΚΟΚΥΠΡΙΟΙ ΤΗ ΔΕΚΑΕΤΙΑ ΤΟΥ 1950: ΠΡΟΣΛΗΨΕΙΣ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗΣ ΑΡΙΣΤΕΡΑΣ ΜΕΣΩ ΤΟΥ ΚΥΠΡΙΑΚΟΥ

Abstract

The claim for the unification of Cyprus with Greece constituted a cru¬cial point of Greek politics in the 1950s. The Cyprus issue influenced to a large extent the ideological framework and determined the political controversies of this period. At the same time, it emerged as a major point for the Greek Left parties. It is in this context that the attitude of KKE and EDA towards Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots will be shaped. The Turkish interventions in Cyprus and the position of Turkey within the Western camp formed the background for the polemic of the Left to be developed.
The present paper examines the discourses articulated by the Greek Left on Turkey and their correlation with the –preexisting but, in par¬allel, always shifting– anti-Turkish trends within Greek society. Also, the interaction and interdependence of the anti-Western reflexes de¬veloped at the time with the ‘‘traditional’’ Greek anti-Turkish stance. Furthermore, the ‘‘national’’ idea comes to the fore and is analyzed, as it is formulated and manifested by the Greek Left in this period: the narrative of an inherently and eternally resistant nation facing now a series of dangers, the most direct and threatening of which comes from Turkey. Finally, the paper examines the ways Turkish Cypriots were perceived during this period.