On August 14, 1974, the Turks launched “Attila 2” in the northern part of Cyprus, and the government of national unity under Karamanlis responded by withdrawing from the military wing of NATO—a move primarily intended for domestic consumption.

Simultaneously, Karamanlis faced off against senior officers controlled by Ioannidis, whom he then retired. At the same time, he began carefully dismantling the junta’s influence, both in the military and the state.

This period also saw the invention of the term “instant offense,” which was used to shield those who collaborated with the junta from consequences, targeting only the main perpetrators of the 1967 coup.

Everything concluded with the arrests related to the “pyjama conspiracy” in February 1975.