CYPRUS STILL A BRITISH COLONY

NIK PARMEN

Banned
We must not Forget that Hong Kong was given to China in 1997 and Gibraltar and Faklands are still British. Let's say that Britain manages to remain in control until today what's the effect among the Greek and Turkish community on the island?

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We must not Forget that Hong Kong was given to China in 1997 and Gibraltar and Faklands are still British. Let's say that Britain manages to remain in control until today what's the effect among the Greek and Turkish community on the island?

You do realize that there are a few differences between Cyprus and, say, Hong Kong or the Falklands?
 
Well, it would hopefully keep a lid on the current mess in Cyprus. Though given that the bulk of the peacekeeping troops there are British, it's not like they really left.
 
Dominion of Cyprus

Someone else has to come up with the reason why in the world the Empire should keep Cyprus. But here are my first thoughts:

#1. It might be a dominion by now or have some other way of self-administration under the Crown.
#2. Hard to imagine a Turkish invasion in the 70s. Thus: less Turkish settlement. If there were an invasion, it might become a harsher 2nd Falkland?
#3. Better economic position, more tourism (I heard its beautiful). Maybe it would replace the Baleares as the Brits' hot spot in the sun.
#4. Earlier full EU resp. EEC membership. Maybe along Greece in 1981.
 
So how do you remove EOKA and their campaign?

Given the military committment needed to defeat EOKA and maintain British control coupled with the meagre economic and marginal strategic importance of the island itself along with the small number of British subjects (would mostly be related to the British military presence).

Theres no reason for Britain to keep it in the face of resistance.
 

Macragge1

Banned
So how do you remove EOKA and their campaign?

Given the military committment needed to defeat EOKA and maintain British control coupled with the meagre economic and marginal strategic importance of the island itself along with the small number of British subjects (would mostly be related to the British military presence).

Theres no reason for Britain to keep it in the face of resistance.

Surely a pragmatist could have made the same judgements about the Falkland Islands - meagre economic value (like, sheep?), small amount of subjects etc - that's not to say, however, that, if it's sovieregnty was threatened, especially assuming the subjects considered themselves British subjects, that Britain would have seen that as a reason in and of itself to defend Cyprus.
 
It was put into consideration that Malta become part of the UK proper during the 50's (obviously it got independance) maybe Cyprus gets a referendum sometime back in the late 40's and chooses to join the UK. Maybe if you get Malta aswell pluss didn't the UK rule over some other Greek islands, Corfu? Could have an interesting little Mediterranean thing going on today. Ofcourse you would need some sort of condition where the islanders would of wanted this.
 
You need a 19th century PoD, assuming the rest of the world/history is largely unchanged. The reason is since the 20s (if ever in Cyprus go to the memorial/museum at St. George's near Paphos, there's some interesting pictures on the wall) Greek Cypriots have been agitating to join with Greece. If there's any kind post-WW2 resistance to British rule, the British simply won't stick around in the long-run

One solution is when the British occupy the island in 1878, they decide to open schools (as they did), and that the schools should teach in English rather than Greek (this actual decision went the other way - it was down to one English guy, I forget his name, who choose Greek because he was classicist). The Greek Cypriots instead of regarding themselves as Greek, then somehow come to regard themselves as British subjects of the Greek Orthodox faith.

Another solution, perhaps combined with the first, is to mess up some of ther early Enossis (unions with the motherland) that developed the modern Greek state - perhaps there are even multiple Greek statelets. That way, the idea of joining the Greek motherland doesn't come up, or is simply disregarded as a wild-dream, as far as Cyprus is concerned. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Greekhistory.GIF - what I'm talking about is the Greek state not getting the Ionian Islands, Aegean Islands, Dodecanese, etc.

Also, stopping the population transfers between Greece and Turkey in the 20s might help - if the Greek state is a mixture of Christian and Muslim, and the Turkish state is also the same type of mixture, then Greek/Turkish Cypriots won't regard themselves as aligned with one or the other by virtue of themselves being Christian or Muslim.
 
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So how do you remove EOKA and their campaign?

Given the military committment needed to defeat EOKA and maintain British control coupled with the meagre economic and marginal strategic importance of the island itself along with the small number of British subjects (would mostly be related to the British military presence).

Theres no reason for Britain to keep it in the face of resistance.

Hmm, the British could handle the EOKA as the Canadians handled the FLQ.
 
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