EOKA celebrated in Cyprus

Today marks the fiftieth anniversary of the guerrilla war launched by the National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters (EOKA) against British rule and in favour of union with Greece, or enosis -- an event which, incidentally, began some 24 hours after my own birth. Today's Cyprus Mail carries the story: "Cyprus celebrates start of EOKA struggle." What the article fails to mention is that this conflict unnecessarily polarized the island in the cause of ethnic nationalism and unleashed a process that led eventually to the island's current division. By all means, break out the champagne.