Enosis
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- For the genus of grass skipper butterflies, see Enosis (butterfly).
Enosis (Greek: Ένωσις, meaning "union") refers to the movement of the Greek-Cypriot population to incorporate the island of Cyprus into Greece, a country which they consider their motherland (i.e country of origin).
Similar movements had previously developed in other regions with ethnic Greek majorities such as Crete and the Dodecanese. These regions were eventually incorporated into the Greek state.
The enosist movement was the natural outgrowth of national awareness among the ethnically Greek population of Cyprus (around 80% [1] between 1882 and 1960), coupled with the growth of the anti-colonial movement throughout the British Empire after World War II. In fact, the anti-colonial movement in Cyprus was identified to the enosist movement, enosis being, in the minds of the Hellenic population of Cyprus, the only natural outcome of the liberation of the Cypriot people from Ottoman rule and later the British rule. A string of British proposals for local autonomy under continued British suzerainty was roundly rejected[citation needed].
In December 1949, the Cypriot Orthodox Church challenged the British Colonial Government to put the Enosis question to a referendum. As was expected, the colonial government refused, and the Church proceeded to organize its own referendum which would take place in churches and be supervised by priests. The referendum took place on the two consecutive Sundays of January 15 and 22, 1950, with the overwhelming majority (95.7%) voting in favor of extricating the island from the British Empire and annexing it to the Kingdom of Greece. It should be borne in mind that unlike modern elections and referenda which are decided by secret ballot, the 1950 referendum amounted to a public collection of signatures, not unlike a petition[2][3].
In 1955, the resistance movement EOKA was formed in Cyprus in order to end British rule and annex the island to Greece. It was gradually recognized, however, that enosis was politically unfeasible due to the presence of the Turkish community and its increasing assertiveness. Instead, the creation of an independent state with elaborate power-sharing arrangements among the two communities was agreed upon in 1960, and the fragile Republic of Cyprus was born.
The idea of enosis was not immediately abandoned, though. During the presidential campaign for the 1968 elections, Makarios III said that enosis was "desirable" whereas independence was "possible". This differentiated him from the hardline pro-enosis elements which formed EOKA B and participated in a military coup against him in 1974. The coup was organized and supported by the Greek government, which was still in the hands of a military junta. The Turkish government responded to the change of status quo by invading Cyprus. The result of the events of 1974 was the geographic partition of Cyprus, followed by massive population transfers. The coup and subsequent events seriously undermined the enosis movement. The departure of Turkish Cypriots from the areas which remained under the Republic's effective control resulted in a homogeneous Greek Cypriot society in the southern 2/3 of the island. Greek Cypriots started to strongly identify with the Republic of Cyprus, which, since the partition, has lain under their community's exclusive political control. As an internationally recognized state and a full member of the European Union (since 2004), the Republic of Cyprus is nowadays seen as the most effective advocate of the Greek Cypriots' cause in Europe and beyond. Enosis is no longer advocated by any mainstream political group.[citation needed]
