CYPRUS: The Bridge Builder

In the month since he became governor of revolt-torn Cyprus, Britain’s Sir Hugh Foot has worked unflaggingly to build what he calls “bridges of trust” between his administration and the Greek and Turkish inhabitants of the island. Five days before Christmas, he set off celebrations in Nicosia by releasing from detention camps 89 men and 11 women accused of supporting EOKA, the Greek-Cypriot rebel force. Where his predecessor, Field Marshal Sir John Harding, commonly moved about in a heavily escorted bulletproof car. Sir Hugh toured the island’s villages on horseback, stopping off in coffee houses for chats with amazed farmers.

Good Road. Last week, as he boarded a London-bound plane at Nicosia airport, Sir Hugh was cautious about the success of-the bridge building. “On our journey to the Promised Land,” said he, “we are not yet at the Jordan. We are just about at the Red Sea. Our task must be to find a good road toward an eventual settlement.”

Back in London, Foot proceeded to map out for Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and the Colonial Office the road he favored. Best guess as to Sir Hugh’s recommendations: immediate talks either in Cyprus or London with Archbishop Makarios, leader of the Greek Cypriot community whom the British still refused to allow to return to Cyprus. Object of the talks: to agree upon a set period of self-government for Cyprus, after which the Greek majority (80%) of the island’s inhabitants could decide in favor of union (enosis) with Greece if they still wanted it.

Such a settlement would be fought bitterly by the Turks, who argue that Greek possession of Cyprus would be a strategic menace to Turkey, insist that if Britain gives up Cyprus, the island must be partitioned between Greece and Turkey. The obvious danger was that Foot’s plan might end EOKA violence only to set off a new wave of disorder by Volkan, the Turkish Cypriot underground.

Traps and Deeds. At week’s end Britain’s Cabinet was still divided. Most of its members were inclined to feel that diplomatic talks with the Greek and Turkish governments should precede conversations with Makarios. Others were dubious about Foot’s desire to relax the stringent British security measures now in force on Cyprus. In bureaucratic circles both in Cyprus and London, there was a feeling that the new governor was being “a little bright-eyed about it all.” In a New Year’s message delivered in the form of leaflets scattered through Nicosia’s streets, EOKA Leader Colonel Grivas broke his month-long silence to warn that the “spectacular shows” of the new Foot regime did not impress him. “On the contrary, I consider them traps. I am awaiting deeds.”

But no one could deny that Sir Hugh’s bright-eyed approach has created new hope in Cyprus. “You never know,” mused one British official last week. “Perhaps it’s just exactly the kind of faith that is needed.”