Yiannos Ioannou, 14. August (Übersetzung in den Commnents)

On August 14, 1974…

I apologize if the photos are disturbing…

Maratha, Santalaris, and Aloa were three small Turkish Cypriot villages north of Famagusta, with populations of 124, 100, and 46 inhabitants respectively. In July 1974, following the Turkish invasion, all men of fighting age were arrested and taken as prisoners of war by members of EOKA B‘. After the men were removed, EOKA B‘ members gathered the women and children in the Greek school of Peristerenopigi. Daily rapes of girls, women, and boys are reported from July 21 to August 14. Journalist Andreas Parashos reports that the perpetrators boasted in the village café, inviting fellow villagers to have intercourse with Turkish Cypriots, and later raped children as well.

On August 14, the perpetrators stole goats and sheep from Maratha to celebrate the Assumption. However, on the same day, the second phase of the Turkish invasion began, and the perpetrators decided not to leave any witnesses, executing the entire population then present in the villages. In Maratha and Santalaris, 84-89 people were killed after being tied up. They were then burned and buried in a garbage dump using an excavator, attempting to erase the traces. The imam of Maratha later stated that there were 90 inhabitants in the village before the massacre, and only six remained. The deceased included elderly people and children, the youngest only 18 months old. In Aloa, only three people remained after the massacre. The massacre was characterized as a crime against humanity by the UN, and the event was published and recorded by international media such as The Guardian and The Times. In the following days, Turkish troops executed dozens of residents of the village of Assia…if you ask why, now you know. None of the murderers have been arrested…

These clowns run the government now. A few more years and they’ll all be dead of old age. Can’t wait.

Had Turkey never invaded the island, no one would have been killed. It becomes more and more obvious why the invasion was a huge mistake that created further problems for everyone.

Also:

1. The perpetrators of the massacre knew that they were committing a crime, and to hide/erase the evidence, they burned the bodies. After burning the bodies, they buried everyone in a shallow grave located within a landfill. A Turkish kid found the bodies while playing in the landfill in September, about a month after the massacre.

2. A Greek reporter that was covering the story planted evidence (a necklace of the Holy Mary) on one of the bodies, and snapped a photograph. The headlines in the Greek media the next day said „A Greek amongst the slain“

3. Parashos (the investigative journalist that looked into this beyond what is publicly well known), actually published the initials of the names of the perpetrators (the child molesters, rapists, and murderers) in a printed newspaper. (I believe Πολίτης). On the same day the initials were published he got death threats from (a) some of the surviving perpetrators, and (b) the descendants (children and grandchildren) of some of the deceased perpetrators.

4. The Cyprus government „apologized“ to the Turkish community for something related to the crimes. The „apology“ was not issued as an official communication as part the government’s press releases, but rather it was posted as a tweet by a Minister at the time. Following the apology, the Minister received harsh criticism from some of the Greek community’s political parties, politicians, and others.

These crimes do not represent me as a member of the Greek community in Cyprus. I firmly believe the perpetrators should be brought to justice and convicted with the maximum allowable penalty. I know that nothing the Cyprus government can do will bring back the dead or undo the rapes, but at a minimum the government should take responsibility for its ineptitude and inability to protect the minority on the island. And by taking responsibility I mean the government can and should compensate the (families of the) victims. Also the government should recognize the rapes and massacre for what they are, include them within the history books, and respect the slain somehow (build a monument or something)

But I am afraid that too large a percentage of the Greek community believes that these were justified crimes, and, if they could, they would have joined the perpetrators, and killed even more people. I am a pessimist in this regard because I see blatant racism and hatred against Turks on a daily basis within the Greek community.