February 24, 1959
CYPRIOT INDEPENDENCE: London, 21 – The Turkish Cypriots, who have staged demonstrations in Cyprus against the accord signed here two days ago, have opened the eyes of many Greek Cypriots in London and in Cyprus itself, regarding the advantages the creation of a new republic will have for them. Many doubts were cleared up in the past 48 hours, when Spyros Kyprianou, the representative of the Cypriot Ethnarchy in London, said yesterday that the reality was far better than the impression created by the Zurich agreement. During the London talks, he said, the threat of a possible invasion by Greek or Turkish troops was ruled out. Only in the event that one of these countries wanted to encourage union or partition, in combination with threatening moves in Cyprus, would it be possible to break this accord… In reality, there is no risk of unilateral action by Greece or Turkey, as that would result in war. Therefore this should not be taken too seriously next Monday, when the agreement is released. A few days ago Archbishop Makarios expressed his satisfaction with the agreement, saying it opened the door for a new period of peace and prosperity for Cyprus.
