Guardian : Files reveal brutal treatment meted out by British forces in 1950s Cyprus

Παρασκευή, 27 Ιουλίου 2012

Documents released by the National Archives describe incidents of abuse by British forces against opponents of colonial rule

The documents also show that soldiers chasing EOKA members also took retaliatory measures against citizens  http://famagusta-gazette.com  . 

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• Richard Norton-Taylor
• guardian.co.uk, 

Fresh evidence of brutal treatment meted out by British forces to opponents of colonial rule in the 1950s has been revealed in secret files showing how they attacked and killed with impunity in Cyprus, where their victims included a blind man and a 17-year-old youth.

The incidents are among many disclosed in hitherto highly classified documents released at the National Archives in the wake of a court case relating to the other contemporary anti-colonial struggle – the violent repression of Mau Mau rebels in Kenya.

They describe how in July 1958, on a dark night but "with a bright moon", a patrol of soldiers from the Royal Ulster Rifles came across a group of Greek Cypriots, who started throwing stones. Two of them grabbed one of the soldier's guns and "hand-to-hand fighting took place", according to a report on the incident.

"A shot was fired … the fallen man was shot through the head." The Cypriots backed away but apparently ignored orders to stop. "This had no effect. One man, who was urging the others to attack the patrol and was obviously the ringleader, was selected and four shots were fired at him." The man was blind.
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