March 27, 1957
MARCH 25 IN CYPRUS: Nicosia, 25 – The Reuters correspondent here has reported that British troops and police used clubs and tear gas in two Cypriot towns to break up demonstrators celebrating today’s anniversary of Greece’s independence. The demonstrators, most of them chanting patriotic songs, congregated in the streets despite the British authorities’ official warnings over the radio that any rallies or marches were banned because of the emergency orders. The police used tear gas in Limassol to break up crowds and in Nicosia the British military police used clubs to disperse a parade of young people after a memorial service in church. In the cathedral of Faneromeni in the center of Nicosia, a large crowd attended the service and all Greek stores, schools and offices were closed for the national commemoration. Police and military contingents armed with clubs, pistols and automatic rifles were deployed outside the cathedral. The crowd, energized after the service and swirling with national pride, chanted slogans such as «Long Live the Ethnarch Makarios» and «Down with Harding.»
