AKEL on the 52 years since the fascist coup of 15 July 2026

 

15 July 2026, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia

The shame of treason will forever accompany the fascists in Greece and Cyprus who colluded with Turkey and shed the blood of our people.

The tragic anniversary of 15 July serves as a reminder of the greatest betrayal suffered by Cyprus and its people, when the fascist coup was carried out by the Greek Junta and EOKA B, paving the way for Turkey to invade our island. The Cypriot people remember today the tanks that, on the junta’s orders, attacked the Presidential Palace, the Archbishopric, and other government buildings to overthrow the democratic government and assassinate the country’s democratically elected President. It recalls the hordes of Grivas’ EOKA B that raided every village and neighbourhood in Cyprus, murdering, torturing, and arresting leftists and democratic Cypriots.

The coup to overthrow the Makarios government was not some “reckless” action, but a willing collaboration with the NATO plan to divide our homeland, which is why it was subsequently followed by the Turkish invasion and the de facto partition of our island and people.

Nor was the coup d’etat a “civil war,” but instead an illegal act of terror by a dismal minority that, with the dollars of treason, turned against the entire people and the country’s legitimate government.

Their treason continued because, as the invasion unfolded, the coupists abandoned the battlefields, hid in the rear, and engaged in the murder of leftists, Makarios supporters, and civilian Turkish Cypriots, leaving the children of our people to confront an unequal and treacherous confrontation with the Turkish invading army of Attila. The shame of betrayal that was committed will forever accompany the fascists in Greece and Cyprus who drowned our homeland and people in blood.

AKEL pays tribute with gratitude, honor and respect to the fighters of the Resistance who defended democracy and stood up to EOKA B terror, fascism and the coupists in battles, in prisons, during interrogations and under torture.

AKEL once again recalls the House of Representatives’ Resolution of December 2022, which calls on the government and the entire State to honor the heroes of the Democratic Resistance and to refrain from any kind of events to honor the leader and members of EOKA B and/or officials of the coupist government.

AKEL makes it clear to all that it will not cease to defend the democratic memory and the historical truth regarding the tragedy of 1974, in the face of the organized distortion of the truth by the Right and the far right. The struggle against historical amnesia and the far right is an integral part of the Cypriot people’s anti-occupation struggle for freedom, reunification, and peace in our homeland.