Η Elizabeth II, was crowned Queen on 2 June 1953 at the age of 26 at Westminster Abbey in London, and in the early years of her reign, she developed the profile of a formal yet aloof leader.
Although Queen Elizabeth has been a symbol of unity both for Britain and for the 56 countries that make up the Commonwealth of Nations, in her long reign, there have been black pages concerning Hellenism: The non-granting of grace by the then young queen to the Cypriot fighters, Michalaki Karaolis, Andreas Dimitriou and Evagora Pallikaridis during the 1950s, resulting in them being hanged at Nicosia Central Prisons by British forces Cyprus, they are events deeply damaged in the souls of the Greek Cypriots and Greeks.
Evagoras Pallikaridis
His story Evagora Pallikaridis, is related to the coronation itself Elizabeth in June 1953. In Cyprus, then, as in many other colonies, they had taken care to decorate all the towns for the great event.
15time Evagoras Pallikaridis, was a high school student Paphos and he disagreed, when he saw that British flags were brought into his school. It was the time when the demand for the Union of Cyprus with Greece stirred up the crowds in Megalonis,
The students, refused to enter the Gymnasium, demanded that the flags be lowered, while Pallikaridis headed towards the 28th of October Square. He climbed the mast and lowered the British flag to the applause of the crowd.
The young student's move sparked reactions across Paphos, where students began tearing down anything British that had been set up, on the occasion of Elizabeth's coronation.
After investigations the British colonialists arrested students, including Pallikaridis. The sentences imposed on them were not long.
At the age of 17, Mr Evagoras Pallikaridis he dropped out of school and joined the EOKA, while in January 1957 he was arrested, without a warrant and after a mock trial, in which no one paid attention to the horrible and inhumane torture he reported, a confession was extracted from him and he was sentenced to death.
The now 18-year-old Evagoras Pallikaridis was accused of carrying weapons. Despite the pleas of his lawyers, Pallikaridis admitted that he was a member EOKA, that he wanted the freedom of his country and that he did what was his duty.
His lawyers sent a telegram to Elizabeth that she could grant a pardon with one of her words. The queen, however, did not even reply to the telegram.
Evagoras Pallikaridis was hanged on March 14, 1957, at the age of just 18.
The last letter of Evagoras Pallikaridis
"My greetings to everyone and I wish for the freedom of Cyprus soon" were the last words of Evagoras Pallikaridis to the priest who read them before he was led to the place of execution.
I know you will hang me. Everything I did, I did as a Greek Cypriot seeking his Freedom. Nothing else. I will follow my destiny with courage. This may be my last letter. But again, it's okay. I don't regret anything. Let me lose everything. One dies once. I will march happily to my last abode. What today what tomorrow? Everyone dies one day. It is a good thing to die for Greece. Time 7:30. The most beautiful day of my life. The most beautiful time. Don't ask why."
"My greetings to everyone and I wish for the freedom of Cyprus soon" were the last words of Evagoras Pallikaridis to the priest who read them before he was led to the place of execution.
I know you will hang me. Everything I did, I did as a Greek Cypriot seeking his Freedom. Nothing else. I will follow my destiny with courage. This may be my last letter. But again, it's okay. I don't regret anything. Let me lose everything. One dies once. I will march happily to my last abode. What today what tomorrow? Everyone dies one day. It is a good thing to die for Greece. Time 7:30. The most beautiful day of my life. The most beautiful time. Don't ask why."
The execution of Karaolis – Dimitriou
On August 28, 1955, the Michalakis Karaolis together with his competitor Andreas Panagiotou they killed the policeman Herodotos Pullis, while he was watching a gathering of AKEL
Panagiotou managed to escape, while Karaolis was arrested in an ambush by the english forces and was imprisoned on Nicosia Central Prisons. On October 28 he was sentenced to death, even though the bullet that killed the Greek Cypriot policeman came from Panagiotou's gun. The English did not forgive him for not revealing his accomplices during the interrogation.
Ο Andreas Dimitriou, her young fighter EOKA, pioneered the seizure of armaments from the British occupying authorities of Famagusta. The weapons were advanced to various guerrilla groups, which until then had been equipped almost exclusively with shotguns.
21-year-old Dimitriou was arrested by the occupying forces on November 22, 1955, accused of shooting and wounding "Intelligence Service" agent Sidney Taylor in Famagusta and sentenced to death.
On May 10, 1956, Mr Michalakis Karaolis and Andreas Dimitriou were hanged in the Central Prisons of Nicosia. Their brave stand in the face of their executioners and the fact of their execution caused a worldwide reaction and outcry, while Elizabeth will refuse to pardon the young Cypriots.
CNN