Self-Government – Enosis or Immediate Enosis: The Influence of Zakhariadis on the Shift in AKEL's Strategy (November 1948 - January 1949)

Abstract

This paper focuses on the meeting between a two-member delegation from AKEL, the Cyprus communist party, and Nikos Zakhariadis, the leader of KKE, which took place in November 1948. In particular, it considers the impact of this meeting upon AKEL's strategy in relation to the Greek Cypriot campaign for self-determination which was equivalent to enosis, the union of Cyprus with Greece. This paper argues that the meeting was instrumental in persuading AKEL's leadership to revert  to an uncompromising stance towards British colonial rule and to embark on a political campaign in favour of immediate enosis.