Aware of the Greek government’s reluctance to get involved in the conflict, Mavros reportedly told Clerides that the Cypriots would have to fight to the bitter end, even if that meant the occupation of all of Cyprus
The metaphor suggests that the summer of ’74 was “black” because that color is associated with mourning. It could also be black for another reason: the darkness that shrouds much of what happened during that period—the bitterness, the pain, dashed expectations, unacknowledged thoughts and actions, the need for “national reconciliation,” and postwar interests all weigh heavily on any attempt to understand the situation. One aspect of the “Black Summer” that remains unclear is the stance taken by the Greek government from the fall of the junta (July 23, 1974) until the second invasion (August 14–16, 1974). Indicative of this stance is the political conduct of the second-in-command in that government, Georgios Mavros.
Georgios Mavros had an exceptional resume. He studied at the Universities of Athens and Berlin, was awarded a doctorate in law with honors, and later became an assistant professor of private international law at the University of Athens. He fought on the Albanian front, and from the early 1950s onward, he advocated for self-determination and the union of Cyprus with Greece. After the war, he was elected to parliament many times and served as a minister in nearly all of Greece’s democratically elected governments prior to the seven-year dictatorship. During the dictatorship, he opposed the colonels, was placed under house arrest, and was exiled. He was, therefore, a highly educated man, a patriot, and a democrat.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
At one of the most critical moments in Greece’s postwar history, he was once again present. On July 23, 1974, the Ioannidis junta collapsed in a state of panic and isolation. Konstantinos Karamanlis was called upon to form the so-called government of national unity, with Evangelos Averoff at his side. Georgios Mavros served in this government as second-in-command, Vice President, and Minister of Foreign Affairs. When he assumed his duties, the situation in Cyprus was dire. The Turkish army had already established a bridgehead in Cyprus and occupied 8% of its territory, thousands of Greek Cypriots had been forcibly uprooted from their homes, while the “Greek side’s” front on the island was disorganized, demoralized, and deeply divided.
Mavros participated as Greece’s representative at the two Geneva conferences that took place between the first and second Attila operations. At the so-called Second Geneva Conference, alongside Glafkos Clerides and facing Turkish Foreign Minister Gunes, he had to contend with Turkey’s intransigent stance. Güneş demanded that 34% of Cypriot territory be “ceded” to Turkish control. At this awkward moment, and aware of the Greek government’s inability and unwillingness to become involved in the conflict, Mavros reportedly told Clerides that the Cypriots would have to fight to the bitter end, even if that meant the occupation of all of Cyprus. In fact, many recall hearing his iconic phrase on the radio: “Greece, faced with a choice between national humiliation and war, would choose war.” In any case, on August 14, when the Turkish army advanced and occupied 36% of Cypriot territory, the Greek government made its decisions…
For many Greek Cypriots, the Greek government’s reaction was one of the final pieces in the mosaic of national disappointment. This was preceded by the shameless actions of the Greek junta, which, exploiting the idea of union, overthrew the legal order in Cyprus and paved the way for Turkey to occupy part of the island Turkey. Under the weight of repeated disappointments, many Greek Cypriots realized that while they themselves placed Greece in the realm of ideas, Greece, in the earthly realm of nations and states, “behaved” like… a country. A country that operates within the limits set by its size, capabilities, and interests, as interpreted by its leadership at any given time. Thus, in a bitter way, that dark August contributed to the Greek Cypriots’ journey toward political maturity—a journey that has clearly not yet been completed…
