EOKA EOKA ( Εθνική Οργάνωσις Κυπρίων Αγωνιστών , " Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston " ( Greek for National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters ) ) but sometimes expanded as " Ethnikí Orgánosis Kipriakoú Agónos " ( Greek for National Organisation of Cypriot Struggle ) was a Greek Cypriot nationalist paramilitary organisation that fought a violent campaign for the end of British rule of Cyprus , as well as for self - determination and for union with Greece . Background . The United Kingdom had promised Greece unification with Cyprus if Greece would enter World War I on the side of the Allies ; but the Greeks declined this invitation because King Constantine I of Greece had been educated in Germany , was married to Sophia of Prussia , sister of Kaiser Wilhelm , and was convinced of the Central Powers ' victory . Prime minister Eleftherios Venizelos on the other hand was an ardent anglophile , and believed in an Allied victory . Due to Venizelos ' unsuccessful attempt to sway Constantine ' s opinion , the promise was never realised . In the 1950s , EOKA organised to mount a military campaign to achieve the unification with Greece and end the status as a British crown colony . The leadership of AKEL at the time ( a political party with communist roots ) , opposed EOKA ' s military action , advocating the Gandhiesque approach of civil disobedience such as workers ' strike s and demonstrations . This came into direct contrast with the previous leadership who some five years previously had organised the plebiscite of 1950 , where the vast majority of Greek Cypriots who voted were for the union with Greece ( 98 % ) . Ideology . EOKA was a nationalist organisation with the ultimate goal of " " The liberation of Cyprus from the British yoke " " , presenting itself as " anti - colonialist " . Although not stated in its initial declaration of existence which was printed and distributed on 1 April 1955 , EOKA also had a target of achieving enosis ( union of Cyprus with Greece ) . Despite this ideology being reflected in many of its members ( and chiefly its military leader George Grivas ) throughout the armed campaign , it was not of universal acceptance . The head of the political arm of EOKA , Makarios , took a more compromising approach especially during the later stages of the struggle . Ultimately , the intents of the struggle were political , not military . EOKA wanted to attract the attention of the world through high profile operations that would make the press headlines . In his memoirs Grivas admits to " " by deeds of heroism and self sacrifice to draw the attention of international public opinion , especially among the allies of Greece " " . Armed campaign . The military campaign officially began on April 1 , 1955 . On this date EOKA launched simultaneous attacks on the British controlled Cyprus Broadcasting Station in Nicosia ( led by Markos Drakos ) , on the British Army ' s Wolseley barracks and on targets in Famagusta ( led by Grigoris Afxentiou ) . Thereafter and unlike other anti colonial movements , EOKA confined its acts to sabotaging military installations , ambushing military convoys and patrols , and assassinating British soldiers and local informers . It did not attempt to control any territory , a tactic that according to Grivas would not have suited the terrain and size of Cyprus nor the imbalance of EOKA ' s conventional military capabilities with respect to the British Army . Formation and structure . The organisation was headed by Georgios Grivas . Grivas had rich military experience having been educated at the Hellenic Military Academy , having served as an officer in the Greek army and having fought for Greece in both World Wars . In terms of ideology , of particular relevance was his action during the Hellenic Civil War where he led Organisation X , a right wing faction charged with opposing the leftist group ELAS . Grivas ( who was believed to be a CIA agent along with Nikos Sampson ) assumed the nom de guerre " Digenis " in reference to the Byzantine Digenis Akritas , who repelled invaders from the Byzantine Empire during the Middle Ages . Second in command was Grigoris Afxentiou who had also served in the Greek army . Afxentiou had graduated from the reserves Officers Academy in 1950 but had no prior experience in active military operations . Alongside with these figures of the Greek - Cypriot campaign stands out the figure of Kostis Efstathiou , a Limassol based police officer from Kiti / Troullous , widely known in Cyprus as Pachykostis . Famous for his dedicated nationalism Pachykostis enjoyed unreserved trust of the leader of the EOKA movement , Grivas Digenis . In fact Digenis resorted to his help , while hiding from the British Army in the Kykkos mountains . At a critical moment Grivas was secretly and safely transferred to Limassol in Pachykostis ' car , which is currently exhibited at the EOKA museum in Nicosia . Many times Pachykostis ' connections with the intelligence proved vital for the lives of the EOKA leaders . Recruitment of members was targeted at the younger population . The conditions for a mass uprising as witnessed in other colonial conflicts did not exist in Cyprus . There were no fundamental economic problems nor was there widespread poverty or food shortage . The working class was largely allied to the left wing party of AKEL which did not openly support an armed paramilitary campaign . Cyprus ' privileged geographical position allowed the middle class to prosper through international trade , activities that were openly encouraged by the British administration . As a result EOKA ' s leadership directed recruitment to the idealist " " passionate youth " " . At the peak of the conflict EOKA paramilitary members numbered 1 , 250 members ( 250 regulars plus 1 , 000 active underground ) . They faced British security forces totalling 40 , 000 ( 32 , 000 regulars plus 8 , 000 auxiliaries ) . It was clandestinely supported by the Greek Government in the form of arms , money and propaganda on radio stations broadcast from Athens . The cost of running the campaign was reported to be only GBP £50 , 000 ( US $ 140 , 000 ) for the whole 4 years . Targets . British . EOKA ' s main target as stated both in its initiation oath and its initial declaration of existence was the British military . In total during the campaign EOKA engaged in 1 , 144 armed clashes with the British Army . About 53 % of clashes took place in urban areas , whilst the rest ( 47 % ) took place in rural areas . During the course of the insurrection 105 British servicemen were killed as well as 51 members of the police . Aside from British military personnel , EOKA targeted civilians connected to the British armed forces such as their families . colonial and civilian police officers were targeted along with British expatriates who were targeted due to their nationality Greek Cypriots . Greek Cypriots suspected of being allied to the colonial forces and those believed to be informants were targeted , sometimes with severe brutality . Although the number of operations launched against Greek Cypriots were far less than those against the British military , they were much more efficient . In total 230 assassination attempts were attributed to EOKA action . Of these only 13 targets escaped unharmed , whilst 148 Greek Cypriots were killed and 69 were wounded . Amongst the 148 killings , 23 were of known leftists . After the end of the struggle there has been debate whether EOKA was also used to target individuals on the basis of their political affiliations , in particular if they did not correspond to Grivas ' extreme right ideology and or as a vehicle for settling personal differences . The communist party of AKEL and EOKA veteran fighters have both been outspoken on this issue . Turkish Cypriots . One of the first actions of Field Marshal Sir John Harding , the newly appointed governor of Cyprus in 1955 , was to expand the numbers of auxiliary Cyprus Police . This was achieved by disproportionate recruitment from the Turkish - Cypriot community — an action that went against the advice of experienced colonial officials who knew that over - reliance upon a Turkish police force would alarm the Greek Cypriot population and likely lead to open conflict between the island ’ s ethnic communities A new separate ' Special Mobile Reserve ' unit was created exclusively recruited from the Turkish community . Although EOKA ' s primary targets were British interests , Cypriots of Turkish descent , especially those serving the colonial security forces soon became targets . Activity against Turkish Cypriots was initiated only after the anti - Greek Istanbul Pogrom of September 1955 . Communal violence , rare in Cyprus before the insurgency , flared up in 1956 and increased throughout EOKA ' s campaign . In 1957 the Turkish Resistance Organization ( TMT ) came into existence , a rival paramilitary organisation serving Turkish interests . Although infrequent , EOKA and TMT targeted each other ' s members with ferocity . In the worst period of such violence , in 1958 , EOKA killed 55 Turkish Cypriots whilst TMT killed 60 Greeks . Events . On the 16 June 1956 , the bombing of a restaurant by EOKA led to the death of William P . Boteler , a CIA officer working under diplomatic cover . Colonel Grivas immediately issued a statement denying a deliberate attempt to target American citizens . He further warned American officials , for their own safety , to avoid the establishments patronised by " our British enemy . " In October 1956 an EOKA leader , Pilots Christof , was captured during Operation Sparrowhawk . The following year , Grigoris Afxentiou was burned to death in the Battle of Machairas . A number of other Greek fighters were hanged , including the 19 - year old , Evagoras Pallikarides . EOKA ' s activity continued until December 1959 when a cease - fire was declared which paved the way for the Zürich agreement on the future of the country . The EOKA campaign objectives were partially met when on 16 August 1960 Cyprus achieved independence from the United Kingdom with the exception of two " Sovereign Base Areas " ( SBA ) at Akrotiri and Dhekelia . The settlement explicitly denied " enosis " – the union with Greece sought by EOKA . Although Cyprus gained its independence , it came with a complex constitution and the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee – a security arrangement comprising a three - way guarantee from Turkey , Greece and Britain that none would annex the independent republic . EOKA allegations of torture by British forces . In 2011 , veteran EOKA paramilitary figures announced that lawsuits were being planned against British authorities . This was re - iterated in 2012 . The veteran ' s association is claiming that at least 14 Cypriots died and hundreds more could have been " tortured during interrogations " by the British during the 1955 – 1959 campaign . Two of those who alllegedly died during interrogation were aged 17 . The action comes on the back of the uncovering of secret documents released in 2011 which document similar practices during the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya , during the same period . Dissolution and legacy . The EOKA campaign lasted – officially – until 31 March 1959 . After independence EOKA fighters formed regional associations such as ΣΑΠΕΛ ( Σύνδεσμος Αγωνιστών Πόλεως και Επαρχίας Λεμεσού ; Union of Fighters of Limassol and district ) that have been participating in commemorations , museum collections etc . In the 1990s a dedicated old people ' s home for ex EOKA fighters was constructed in the village of Palodhia , near Limassol . A museum dedicated to the EOKA campaign was created in 1960 and is located in the centre of Nicosia . According to Dr . Vassos Lyssarides , the paramilitary methods of EOKA , and the nature of its campaign , has served as a widely studied example for " anticolonial , national - liberation struggles in the period of decolonisation . " Political perception . but currently the BBC describes it a ' paramilitary organisation ' . However , the British press didn ' t always refer to EOKA as " terrorist " organisation , calling its members " terrorists " . This was happening mainly in the opposition ' s press . For example in the editorial on 9 / 5 / 56 " Making martyrs " , Manchester Guardian didn ' t refer to EOKA as a terrorist organisation but as a " movement " avoiding to describe EOKA members as " terrorists " . The significance of the specific editorial is that it was commenting the executions which were going to happen the day after ( 10 / 5 / 56 ) . United States : Press in the United States of America referred to EOKA as a terrorist organisation during the conflict , Monuments . There are various monuments dedicated to the members of EOKA who died during the 4 - years of EOKA and are regarded as war - time heroes by the people of Cyprus . In Larnaka there are monuments dedicated to Michalakis Paridis , Grigoris Afksentiou — and on King Paul Square — Petrakis Kiprianou , a 17 year old member of EOKA who was killed in the village of Ora in 21 March 1957 . The inscription reads , " ΠΕΤΡΑΚΗΣ ΚΥΠΡΙΑΝΟΥ ΑΓΩΝΙΣΤΗΣ Ε . 1956 – 1959 – ΠΕΣΩΝ ΣΤΗΝ ΟΡΑ ΛΑΡΝΑΚΑΣ 21 . 3 . 1957 " .