NICOSIA, July 15 (AFP) - Sirens wailed across Greek Cypriot towns and villages Thursday as the community marked the 30th anniversary of the Athens-backed coup that sparked Turkey's occupation of the north of the island.
The sirens sounded at 8:20 am (0520 GMT), the exact time in 1974 when tanks rolled down Nicosia streets to oust then president Archbishop Makarios at the behest of Greece's right-wing military junta.
Church memorial services were held for the mainly leftist supporters of Makarios who were killed in the coup and its aftermath.
Cyprus President Tassos Papadopoulos, whose government is dependent on communist and socialist support, became the first Greek Cypriot leader to attend a special session of parliament marking the "twin crimes" of the coup and the Turkish invasion which followed five days later.
Interior Minister Andreas Christou, who is himself a communist, paid tribute to those who tried to resist the coupists.
"They must cause us to reflect on the future course of our struggle for the reunification of our country and reconfirm our resolve for the ultimate solution," Christou said during a wreath-laying service.
The "black anniversary" commemorations are the first since Cyprus joined the European Union on May 1 and come after Greek Cypriots overwhelmingly rejected a UN reunification plan in an April referendum.
Greek Cypriot politics are still dominated by the events of the 1974, with the communist AKEL remaining loyal to the nationalist president despite his rejection of the UN reunification plan.
The right-wing opposition party DISY, accused by the communists of sheltering many former coupists, was the only major Greek Cypriot faction to openly champion the UN plan.