Sunday was the 62nd anniversary of “Bloody Christmas,” or “Black Christmas,” in Cyprus, the beginning of a campaign of violence by the Greek Cypriot terrorist group EOKA in Cyprus. The Turkish Foreign Ministry and Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz issued messages on the occasion, condemning the attacks against Turkish Cypriots.
The EOKA, praised as a guerilla movement for fighting for Greek Cypriots’ freedom by the Greek Cypriot administration, left indelible scars in collective memory of Turkish Cypriots. Dec. 21-25 is marked as the Week of Martyrs in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Bloody Christmas was the first step of the terrorist EOKA’s barbaric attacks on Turkish Cypriots, noting that Turkish Cypriots’ legendary fight for independence and sovereignty, particularly the fight by the Turkish Resistance Organization and the unwavering support of “motherland” Türkiye ultimately defeated the EOKA.
“We remember Turkish Cypriots killed in barbaric Greek Cypriot attacks and owe gratitude to veterans. We will never forget martyrs who died for Cyprus, a national cause for Türkiye,” the ministry said.
Yılmaz said the 1963 massacres were “a black stain in history.” “This genocide attempt targeting women, children, everyone, failed to achieve its objective thanks to resolute resistance by Turkish Cypriots and Türkiye. I fondly remember our martyrs killed in those attacks and express our gratitude to late Dr. Fazıl Küçük and Rauf Raif Denktaş,” he said, referring to two key figures in the resistance against Greek Cypriot attacks. “Türkiye and the TRNC will stand together forever,” Yılmaz said.
Dec. 21, 1963, is viewed as the beginning of the notorious Akritas Plan developed by the EOKA to weaken the Turkish Cypriot presence in the divided island of Cyprus, with the ultimate goal of “enosis,” or the reunion of Cyprus with Greece. EOKA gangs launched their campaign of atrocities on the night of Dec. 20, 1963, as they gunned down Zeki Halil and Cemaliye Emirali, a man and a woman whose car were stopped by Greek Cypriot police in Nicosia (Lefkoşa). More attacks followed and in a few days, 92 Turkish Cypriots were killed in Lefkoşa.
On Dec. 23, 1963, 21 Turkish Cypriots held hostage by the EOKA in the village of Ayvasıl were shot dead and dumped in a mass grave. Probably the most infamous incident of massacres took place in the Kumsal area of Lefkoşa on Dec. 24, 1963. The wife and three children of Major Nihat İlhan, who was stationed at a Turkish military base, were shot dead by the EOKA that day. The image of the bodies lying in a bathtub has been a symbol of the genocidal campaign, while the house of atrocities was later converted into the Museum of Barbarism by the TRNC. The EOKA’s attacks led to the evacuation of 103 Turkish Cypriot villages. Attacks continued into 1964 and the terrorist group killed 364 Turkish Cypriots in total in their campaign.
