EOKA
| EOKA | |
|---|---|
| Participant in Cyprus Emergency and Cypriot intercommunal violence | |
 |
|
| Active | 1955–1959 |
| Ideology |
Anti-imperialism Greek nationalism Enosis Anti-communism |
| Leaders | Georgios Grivas |
| Headquarters | Cyprus |
| Strength | 1,250 |
| Allies | Greece |
| Opponents |
British Empire Turkish Resistance Organisation |
EOKA (/eɪˈoʊkə/) was a Greek Cypriot nationalist guerrilla organisation that fought a campaign for the end of British rule in Cyprus, for the island's self-determination and for eventual union with Greece.
EOKA is the acronym of the organisation's full name in Greek, Εθνική Οργάνωσις Κυπρίων Αγωνιστών, Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston (National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters), sometimes expanded as Εθνική Οργάνωσις Κυπριακού Αγώνος, Ethnikí Orgánosis Kipriakoú Agónos ("National Organisation of Cypriot Struggle").
The United Kingdom had promised Greece unification with Cyprus if Greece would enter World War I on the side of the Allies; but the Greeks declined this invitation because King Constantine I of Greece had been educated in Germany, was married to Sophia of Prussia, sister of Kaiser Wilhelm, and was convinced of the Central Powers' victory. Prime minister Eleftherios Venizelos on the other hand was an ardent anglophile, and believed in an Allied victory. After Venizelos' efforts to sway Constantine's opinion proved unsuccessful, the promise was never realised.
In the 1950s, EOKA was established having the specific aim to mount a military campaign to end the status of Cyprus as a British crown colony and achieve the island's unification with Greece. The leadership of AKEL at the time, the island's large communist party, opposed EOKA's military action, advocating a "Gandhiesque approach" of civil disobedience, such as workers' strikes and demonstrations. AKEL was previously involved in organising the plebiscite of 1950, where the vast majority of Greek Cypriots voted for union with Greece (98%).
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