March 14, 1957
EOKA TRUCE: Nicosia, 14 – The National Cypriot Fighters’ Organization (EOKA) is prepared to cease operations as soon as Archbishop Makarios – who has been exiled to the Seychelles – is freed, according to a proclamation circulated here this afternoon bearing the signature found on all of EOKA’s proclamations, that of «the leader Digenes.» The text is as follows: «In accordance with the spirit of the recent UN resolution expressing the desire to achieve a peaceful solution to the Cyprus problem on the basis of the UN Charter, EOKA announces that in order to facilitate the resumption of negotiations between Great Britain and the true representative of the Cypriot people, Archbishop Makarios, it is willing to cease all operations as soon as Ethnarch Makarios is freed.» The governor of Cyprus, Field Marshal Sir John Harding, called a meeting of his senior advisers to discuss the proposed truce. EOKA’s proposal was received with interest by political circles in London, but Whitehall has not issued any official comment. The condition set by EOKA’s leader regarding the freeing of Makarios has been rejected in the past by the British government, which demands that the archbishop first publicly denounce the violence in Cyprus.
