The 13 amendments proposed by Makarios III (also known as 13 points) was a proposal by president of Cyprus Archbishop Makarios on 30 November 1963 for constitutional changes that altered the ways in which the two communities were represented in the government. This sparked a crisis between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots that led to the conflict known as the 1963 intercommunal strife.[1]
These are the thirteen amendments that were proposed by Makarios:
The most serious constitutional problem the newly established Cyprus Republic faced in daily-life politics was the municipal issue. Turkish Cypriots strove for the creation of separate municipals for Greeks and Turks, while Greek Cypriots aimed for mixed ones.[3] Makarios took into consideration the probability of changing the constitution unilaterally, and despite warnings of constitutional collapse from the Turkish Republic, Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Averoff and his cabinet minister Glafkos Clerides, he proceeded with the changes.[4] Makarios calculated the political instability of Turkey and Greece, and he also believed that his proposal would be backed by the United Nations.[5] On 30 November 1963, Makarios handed a memo of 13 points to the Turkish Cypriot side.[6]
Kucuk, Denktash, and the Turkish Government rejected the 13 amendments.[7] Turkish Cypriots filed a lawsuit against the 13 amendments in the Supreme Constitutional Court of Cyprus (SCCC).