The Thirteen Amendments and the Akritas Plan: What the Documents Say About December 1963

Why It Matters

The events of November–December 1963 are the point at which the 1960 bi-communal Republic of Cyprus stopped functioning as designed. Sources broadly agree on the sequence: the thirteen-point proposals of 30 November, their rejection, the outbreak of violence on 21 December and the ceasefire line of 30 December. They disagree on intent, on the authenticity of the so-called Akritas Plan, and on casualty and displacement figures. Türkiye argues that these events ended the 1960 partnership, and it ties that reading to UN Security Council Resolution 186 of 1964.

This dossier reads the documents and accounts side by side, attributes each claim to its source, and marks where historians and UN reporting diverge.

Background

The 1960 settlement

The Republic of Cyprus was founded in 1960 on the Zurich and London Agreements of February 1959, together with the Treaty of Establishment, the Treaty of Guarantee and the Treaty of Alliance. The Constitution gave the presidency to a Greek Cypriot and the vice-presidency to a Turkish Cypriot. The Vice President held a final veto over certain laws on foreign affairs, defence and security. Some legislation, including tax and electoral laws, required separate majorities of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot members. Public posts were allocated by a fixed ratio of 70:30, and the army by 60:40, whereas Turkish Cypriots were roughly 18 per cent of the population. The Treaty of Guarantee named Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom as guarantor powers. Its text and Article IV are set out in our Cyprus case file.

The settlement followed the 1955–1959 EOKA campaign, which sought ENOSIS (union with Greece). Turkish sources say that in 1955–1958 Turkish Cypriots were forced out of 33 mixed villages.

Friction between 1960 and 1963

The new state quickly met deadlocks over municipalities, the separate-majority rule for taxation, the integration of the army and the civil-service ratios. Greek Cypriot leaders described the Constitution as unworkable. Turkish Cypriot leaders described the provisions as the guarantees on which their consent to the Republic rested.

Chronology

What the thirteen proposals contained

The 'Suggestions for Amendment of the Constitution' addressed the Vice President's veto and his role as a deputy to the President. They also covered the separate-majority requirements, the unification of municipalities, a unified judiciary, the abolition of the communal chambers' legislative role, and changes to the public-service and security-force ratios. The proposals were presented as measures to make government workable. Under the Constitution, many of the provisions concerned were designated basic articles.

The violence of December 1963

Accounts agree that on 21 December 1963 a Greek Cypriot police patrol stopped a Turkish Cypriot couple in a mixed district of Nicosia, shots were fired, and two Turkish Cypriots died. Fighting then spread across Nicosia and to other towns. Turkish sources call the period 'Bloody Christmas' (Kanlı Noel) and describe armed attacks that drove Turkish Cypriots from their villages, from the state institutions and from mixed areas. British officers brokered the truce. The ceasefire line in Nicosia on 30 December is credited to General Peter Young. The line, traditionally said to have been marked with a green pencil, became the Green Line.

Key Players & Positions

Greek Cypriot accounts

Greek Cypriot official and academic accounts generally present the thirteen points as an attempt to remove obstacles to effective government. They argue that the 1960 arrangements created veto-based deadlocks, and that proportional representation should replace fixed ratios. They describe the 21 December incident as the spark of intercommunal fighting in which both communities took part, and many stress that Turkish Cypriot fighters were organised in advance. They also argue that Turkish Cypriot ministers and civil servants left their posts largely on the instruction of their own leadership, and that the Republic's institutions continued.

On the Akritas Plan, Greek Cypriot writers diverge. Some accept that a document of that name was drafted by a group around the then Interior Minister, Polykarpos Yiorkadjis. Others question whether it was official policy or was implemented as written. The text was published in the Greek Cypriot newspaper Patris in 1966. As published, it treats the constitutional amendments as a first step and discusses handling any Turkish Cypriot resistance. The sources do not agree on its provenance, and the document should be read as a published text whose chain of custody is contested.

Turkish Cypriot leadership

The Turkish Cypriot leadership, then headed by Vice President Fazıl Küçük, rejected the proposals as an attack on the constitutional guarantees of political equality. It says the Turkish Cypriot ministers, judges and civil servants were excluded by force from the institutions of the state.

Greece and the United Kingdom

Greece and the United Kingdom, as co-guarantors, urged restraint. The United Kingdom's forces supervised the first truce, and the British joint truce force was later succeeded by the UN peacekeeping mission.

The United Nations

The UN Secretary-General's reports of 1964–1965 describe displacement, enclave formation and the breakdown of normal intercommunal movement. Greek Cypriot sources frequently cite the Secretary-General's 1964 reporting that the Turkish Cypriot leadership favoured physical separation of the communities. Turkish sources respond that this separation was a consequence of attacks, not a prior goal. UN-era and independent estimates of displaced Turkish Cypriots are generally in the tens of thousands but lower than the Turkish figure; readers should consult the Secretary-General's reports directly.

Source Comparison

Some analyses stress the intercommunal nature of the fighting. Others stress the Greek Cypriot political aim of ENOSIS. The sister-publication analyses on Bloody Christmas and the Akritas Plan at The Global Anatomy and on why federation talks failed at Regions & Powers set out the Turkish perspective on what followed.

For the 2004 vote, see the fact check at The Nations Dialogue on whether Turkish Cypriots rejected the Annan Plan. For how to locate the primary documents yourself, including UN Security Council records and treaty texts, see How to Verify a Claim About Türkiye's Foreign Policy.

Key Terms & Related Guides

• Thirteen amendments: the 30 November 1963 proposals for constitutional change, the starting point of the crisis.
• Akritas Plan: a document published in 1966, attributed to a Greek Cypriot group, whose authenticity and status are contested.
• Bloody Christmas (Kanlı Noel): Turkish term for the violence that began on 21 December 1963.
• Green Line: the ceasefire line drawn in Nicosia on 30 December 1963, later the UN buffer zone.
• ENOSIS: the Greek Cypriot nationalist aim of union with Greece.
• Resolution 186: the UN Security Council resolution of 4 March 1964 that established UNFICYP and referred to the Government of Cyprus.

Related guides: The Cyprus Case File: Zurich–London Texts, the Treaty of Guarantee and Article IV; The Annan Plan Referendum, 24 April 2004; and the Editorial Principles explaining how this site attributes figures and handles disputed sources.

Diplomatic Dossier presents Türkiye's official perspective and legal positions alongside the documentary record, and makes this editorial stance transparent to readers. Claims are attributed to primary sources such as treaties, UN documents, archival records, and official statements, so that readers can verify them independently.