How Ham Radio helped to shape history

‘I am Makarios, I am alive’ 
These words mark the historic anniversary for a local Cypriot station.

Reading in the Cyprus Mail, we see that IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE 1974 coup, these words rang out from a ham radio station in Paphos.

Tuesday 15th is an important anniversary for Radio Paphos, which was the first broadcaster to inform the island that deposed President Makarios III was still alive.

On that day in 1974, the Cypriot National Guard and EOKA-B launched a coup to overthrow President Archbishop Makarios III. The presidential palace in Nicosia came under artillery fire from tanks, while Makarios was greeting a group of schoolchildren from Cairo.

At that time, one Nicos Nicolaides was a CyBC technician in Paphos and was unaware that his life was about to change forever.

His son explains: “My father was a technical whizz and could fix anything. He was so good with electronics, he even built his own amateur radio broadcasting equipment, My father had the idea to broadcast a recorded message by the deposed President to other patriots across Cyprus, and to stand up to the Junta.”

Israel picked up the message, and sent it to the BBC for conformation that the voice was indeed Makarios’. This was verified and the speech was broadcast later in the evening of July 15, by CyBC in Cyprus.

This was very important, the international community had believed Makarios was dead and governments were on the verge of recognising Sampson as the new President.”

The Nicolaides family are hoping to obtain official museum status for Nicos’ workshop, which still stands today, full of equipment and memorabilia, used to broadcast more than thirty years ago.