The Tragedy of Cyprus -rescue by US marines of FBIS staff in

THE TRAGEDY OF C Y P R U S

~by A. Djev. Basharan (1974)
-author & formerly of the FBIS
A memory of the day of a military coup

I had gone through this before. But it was not accompanied by bombs, shells, and bombardment, and the war was not waged right on top of us or around us.

The coup which ousted President Makarios took place on a Monday morning. Shells dropped on CYTA which is only 100 yards from my house in Nicosia, fell in dozens into our street. I knew then that the island was in for endless trouble. I could not bear to hear Greek Cypriots call their president a traitor, a tyrant. This was unbelievable.

In the afternoon of the same day when a curfew was imposed throughout the island, Chief editor Henne and another American picked me up from Nicosia and took me to FBIS where I stayed on duty until the hours of evacuation.

It was obvious to me that what the Greek officers from Greece tried to do was to bring about an unproclaimed Enosis. In fact, all courting trouble, and trouble it was.

Ankara had pretended to be seeking powers from the Grand National Assembly to send troops to foreign countries, though the Government had already been vested with such powers earlier. This move fooled many people.

On Friday evening, asked whether he expected any sad development, Prime Minister Ecevit cheerfully answered in the negative. And yet early next morning Turkish planes started coming in rapid succession. Most of us had spent the night at the station as a precautionary measure. It was 05.15 in the morning on Saturday 20 July when we all rushed into the corridor in utter amazement. Some of us looked more horrified than others.

On Sunday night shells from the warships and bombs and strafing from the planes came down thick and fast. Some exploded within the precincts of FBIS, damaging doors and shattering windows. Some explosions were simply as much deafening as they were horrifying. At times, death was not around the door. It was inches away.

Our bureau Chief Mr. Tom Weiss, exhausted as he was, kept praying not only for himself but for all of us. I will never forget that tried but determined figure continuing to operate in various capacities under the most trying circumstances. His wife, a formidable lady I thought, was always by his side.

On the last day, our Bureau Chief looked like a ghost of himself, and yet he was bombarded with all sorts of questions to which he tried to provide answers. I do not recollect having seen him in a bad mood. I don