§ 67. Mr. K. Robinsonasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on the situation in Cyprus since the deportation of Archbishop Makarios.
§ Mr. HareThe deportations did not produce any significant spontaneous demonstrations in Cyprus, but two days afterwards a campaign of intimidation in favour of a general strike was launched in the main towns. This campaign achieved some success, but by 20th March—eleven days after the deportations—conditions had returned to normal.
246WSince 9th March, seventeen persons have been killed by terrorists, including eight members of the security forces and thirty-nine have been wounded, including twenty-eight members of the security forces. There have been 101 bomb incidents and two serious ambushes. The two grossest crimes committed during the period were the murder by masked men of a worshipper in the church at Kythrea during a service, and the—mercifully unsuccessful—attempt on the Governor's life. The security forces killed three and captured eight terrorists during the same period, and three terrorists have been killed by their own explosives.
Relations between Greeks and Turks in Cyprus deteriorated as a result of the serious incident at the village of Vassilia where seventeen people were injured in a conflict between the two communities. This was followed by anti-Greek demonstrations by the Turkish-Cypriot population of Nicosia. Good sense has fortunately prevented any further occurrences of this kind.
The people of Cyprus are now fully aware of the Government's determination to restore law and order. The security forces continue to take active measures against the terrorists, and the Governor is hopeful that this will show significant results in the course of the next few months.