The Incidents of September 6-7, 1955

On September 6-7 1955, Turkish mobs rioted against the Greek minorities of Turkey and vast damage to their property. The incidents were the outcome of tension created between the communities on the Cyprus conflict and took place at the same time of London Conference where England, Greece and Turkey were having official talks regarding the future status of Cyprus.

The policies of the Democratic Party government and one-sided publications of Turkish press leading up to the events. Thereby, in order to review the position of Turkish government on the Cyprus issue, the speech of Adnan Menderes, delivered a few days before incidents, and the provocative approach of the Turkish press against the Greek minorities are studied through examples of the newspaper articles of the period. The September 6-7 Incidents, are further illuminated by articles, extracts from books, and eye-witness reports.

The dimensions of the incidents and the behavior of the police force and certain government officials encouraged the mobs to further attacks throughout the events. Bearing these facts in mind, the reaction of the Turkish government to the incidents in the following period caused suspicion in the public that the government had been involved in the incidents. In this respect, assertions for the responsibility for the September 6-7 Incidents, such as the communists, the Cyprus is Turkish Association and counter-guerrillas are also briefly studied.

(Approved by Prof. Dr. Zafer Toprak, Prof. Dr. Sevket Pamuk, Assoc. Prof. Halil Berktay)