TY - JOUR
T1 - Understanding the support from the Australian far-left and ALP-Left for Greek Cypriot enosis during the EOKA period (1955-59)
T2 - migrant workers, anti-imperialism and national liberation in Australia
AU - Varnava, Andrekos
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Why did the Australian far-left, namely the Communist Party of Australia (CPA), and the left-wing of the Australian Labor Party (ALP-left), support Cypriot enosis (union with Greece), when it was led by a violent far-right nationalist group, EOKA, and Greece was a repressive right-wing state? There are two aspects to answering this question: the ideological-intellectual and the political-electoral. Intellectually, the CPA and the ALP-left favoured their anti-imperialism and support for left-wing national liberation over any qualms in supporting far-right nationalist causes. Politically, they saw an electoral opportunity in courting left-wing and potential left-wing Greek-speaking migrants from Greece and Cyprus and championing both their labour and perceived ‘national’ causes. In doing so, they engaged with the Greek-speaking migrant labouring classes and gave prominence to their perceived ‘national’ struggles. This article considers why and how the Australian far-left in the form of the CPA and ALP-left became involved in the enosis politics of Greek Cypriots and the violent struggle of a small far-right minority in the island, while attempting to court the votes of left-wing Greek-speaking migrants, by supporting them in what they accepted was their ‘national’ cause – the ‘liberation’ of Cyprus and its enosis with Greece.
AB - Why did the Australian far-left, namely the Communist Party of Australia (CPA), and the left-wing of the Australian Labor Party (ALP-left), support Cypriot enosis (union with Greece), when it was led by a violent far-right nationalist group, EOKA, and Greece was a repressive right-wing state? There are two aspects to answering this question: the ideological-intellectual and the political-electoral. Intellectually, the CPA and the ALP-left favoured their anti-imperialism and support for left-wing national liberation over any qualms in supporting far-right nationalist causes. Politically, they saw an electoral opportunity in courting left-wing and potential left-wing Greek-speaking migrants from Greece and Cyprus and championing both their labour and perceived ‘national’ causes. In doing so, they engaged with the Greek-speaking migrant labouring classes and gave prominence to their perceived ‘national’ struggles. This article considers why and how the Australian far-left in the form of the CPA and ALP-left became involved in the enosis politics of Greek Cypriots and the violent struggle of a small far-right minority in the island, while attempting to court the votes of left-wing Greek-speaking migrants, by supporting them in what they accepted was their ‘national’ cause – the ‘liberation’ of Cyprus and its enosis with Greece.
KW - Australian Far-Left
KW - Greek Cypriot
KW - Migrant Workers
UR - http://purl.org/au-research/grants/ARC/DP180102200
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85158889456&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/0023656X.2023.2208077
DO - 10.1080/0023656X.2023.2208077
M3 - Article
SN - 0023-656X
VL - 64
SP - 165
EP - 184
JO - Labor History
JF - Labor History
IS - 2
ER -