Restoration of Democracy (Metapolitefsi)

If the uprise of Polytechneion was the beginning of the end for the colonels of the dictatorship, the coup d' etat of Cyprus and the Turkish invasion of the island was the final blow. On July 23 of 1974, the dictators were forced to surrender their power.

The first steps towards democracy were the return of former Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis for his exile in Paris and the congress of the "National Unity" government.

The new government dissolved all the exile camps, including the one on the island of Yiaros, released the political prisoners and announced a general amnesty for all the people who were persecuted by the dictatorial regime. This period of the restoration of democracy and the transition to freedom of state is called "Metapolitefsi" (Political Regime Change.)