Henry Kissinger – CIA documents reveal more about his role to Cyprus tragedy.
Strange silence over CIA papers
2007-06-29 14:38:27
By Jean Christou
ONLY the European Party has commented on new declassified CIA papers that appear to reveal that former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger not only pushed for the Turkish invasion of Cyprus but gave military aid to Ankara for the attack.The papers, detailing 30 years of covert activities by the CIA, were published this week and are known as the ‘Family Jewels’. They contain other gems such as the CIA’s hiring of three mafia mobsters as one of hundreds of attempts by the US to kill Cuban President Fidel Castro.The documents reveal that Kissinger, long suspected of at least turning a blind eye to the planned invasion, may not only have given his tacit approval but apparently was pushing for it.Complaining about “professional leakers” in the agency, he said: “In all the world, the things which hurt us the most are the CIA business and Turkey aid. The British can't understand us. Callaghan says insiders there are routinely tapped. Our statements ought to indicate the gravity with which we view the situation.”According to the news web site Raw Story, former intelligence sources confirmed he was referring to illegal financial aid and arms support to Ankara for the Turkish invasion.A former CIA officer who was working in Turkey at the time suggested that Kissinger's statement in the memorandum about Turkish aid likely meant the Ford administration, which following Kissinger’s advice, conducted business under the table with right-wing ultra-nationalist General Kenan Evren, who later dissolved Parliament and became the dictator of Turkey in a 1980 coup.“The implication is that the US government was dealing directly with General Evren and circumventing the [democratically elected] Turkish government,” the former CIA officer told Raw Story. “This was authorised by Kissinger, because they were nervous about [Bulent] Ecevit, who was a Social Democrat.”The former CIA official said military aid to Turkey had been stopped after the invasion. “Technically… technically, but this would imply that the military and/or probably CIA aid continued even after the aid was cut off by Congress. This may substantively be what led to the overthrow eventually of Ecevit,” he said.According to the former CIA officer, Turkey’s democratically elected President Ecevit had good relations with the Johnson administration, but the Nixon administration, where Kissinger served as National Security Advisor and Secretary of State, had issues with Ecevit.“I don't remember now what all the issues were,” the CIA source said. “But I remember that the White House did not like Ecevit.”Although the government could not be reached for comment yesterday and the main political parties were strangely silent about the allegations, European Party chairman Demetris Syllouris called for the House Committee examining the Cyprus File to ask for more information about people in Cyprus who had collaborated with the Americans in 1974 to facilitate the invasion.Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2007
