the junta had come to power in a military coup in athens in 1967. in the autumn of 1973 after the 17 november student uprising there had been a further coup in athens in which the original greek junta had been replaced by one still more obscurantist headed by the chief of military police, brigadier ioannides, though the actual head was general phaedon gizikis. ioannides believed that makarios was no longer a true supporter of enosis, and suspected him of being a communist sympathiser. this led ioannides to support the eoka-b and national guard as they tried to undermine makarios.