Enosis

Enosis

:"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 considered 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% [ [http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-3504.html Cyprus - Population ] ] between 1882 and 1960), coupled with the growth of the anti-colonial movement throughout the British empire after the Second World War. 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 were roundly rejected.

Enosis was put to a referendum held under the initiative of the Cypriot Orthodox Church. The referendum was boycotted by the sizable Greek-Cypriot Left, as well as the Turkish Cypriot population. Among the rest, over 98% voted in favor of extracting the island from the British Empire and annexing it to the Kingdom of Greece.

In 1955, the guerrilla 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 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 coup against him in 1974. The coup was sponsored by the military dictatorship of Greece, which triggered the Turkish invasion of Cyprus and resulted in the partition of Cyprus and massive population transfers. The coup and subsequent events seriously undermined the "enosis" movement. The ethnic homogeneity of the Republic of Cyprus which resulted after partition further eroded support for annexation to Greece, as the Greek Cypriot population started to strongly identify with the new polity "of the people, by the people, for the people". Enosis is nowadays no longer advocated by any mainstream political group.Fact|date=January 2007

ee also

*Cyprus dispute
*Taksim
*Megali Idea
*Nationalism
*EOKA B
*Anti-Turkism

References


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  • Enosis — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Enosis ( del griego Ένωσις, que significa unión ) se refiere al movimiento Greco chipriota (enmarcado con el Panhelenismo) que busca la unión de la isla con Grecia. Durante fines del siglo XVIII e inicio del siglo… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Enosis — Énosis Le mot Énosis (en katharévousa : ἔνωσις, équivalant au grec démotique ένωση / énosi) signifie « union » en grec. Il fait maintenant surtout référence à l unification de Chypre à la Grèce qui était devenue un but de la… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • ENOSIS — ins. iuxta Satdiniam Plin. l. 3. c. 7. quae Pineto S. Pierre dicitur. Patva et oblonga, in ora Austral. quae etiam Sulcitana dicta: nunc S. Antiochi Ins. Cluv.Habet in ambitu 25. m. p. sed cum una alterave tantum villula, propter piratas, 4. mill …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • enosis — [e nō′sis] n. [ModGr] union; specif., the proposed political union of Cyprus and Greece …   English World dictionary

  • Enosis — Griechen demonstrieren für Enosis, 1930 Die Enosis (griechisch (Katharevousa) Ένωσις „Vereinigung“) bezeichnet eigentlich die Vereinigung der mehrheitlich von Griechen bewohnten Territorien mit dem griechischen Staat. Die erste Enosis war der… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Énosis — Le mot Énosis (en katharévousa : ἔνωσις, équivalant au grec démotique ένωση / énosi) signifie « union » en grec. Il fait maintenant surtout référence à l unification de Chypre à la Grèce qui était devenue un but de la politique… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • enosis — {{#}}{{LM E44349}}{{〓}} {{[}}enosis{{]}} ‹e·no·sis› {{◆}}(pl. enosis){{◇}} {{《}}▍ s.f.{{》}} Unión de Chipre y Grecia (países mediterráneos) …   Diccionario de uso del español actual con sinónimos y antónimos

  • enosis — noun Etymology: Modern Greek enōsis, from Greek henõsis union, from henoun to unite, from hen , heis one more at same Date: 1928 a movement to secure the political union of Greece and Cyprus …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • enosis — enosist, n. /i noh sis, ee noh /; Gk. /e naw sees/, n. (sometimes cap.) a movement for securing the political union of Greece and Cyprus. [1935 40; < ModGk énosis, Gk hénosis union, equiv. to heno , var. s. of henoûn to unify (deriv. of hén, neut …   Universalium

  • enosis — e•no•sis [[t]ɪˈnoʊ sɪs, iˈnoʊ [/t]] n. (sometimes cap.) gov a movement for securing the political union of Greece and Cyprus • Etymology: 1935–40; < ModGk énōsis, Gk hénōsis union …   From formal English to slang

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