The Middle East — II: Periphery

Abstract

On the fringe of the Middle East, close enough to be the scene of further difficulties for Britain with the force of nationalism arising out of her attempts to retain some footing in the Middle East area, lies the island of Cyprus. It was the last remaining territory in or near the Eastern Mediterranean where Britain retained sovereignty. For that reason, when Britain was obliged to end her occupation of the Suez Canal Zone, she chose Cyprus as the site for her new Middle East base. Believing that their difficulties in coping with the hostility of the Egyptian population had been greatly increased by the refusal of the Egyptian police to co-operate with them, the military authorities hoped that, should similar disaffection arise in Cyprus, they would be able to deal with it more easily since the police would be under British control. Nevertheless the move to Cyprus, producing a flaring-up of the ‘Enosis’ agitation, brought Britain again into a very difficult situation.