Vicissitudes - Cyprus, Korea & The Cold War

For school holidays my brother and I had to catch a plane to Cyprus between 1970-1972.  This was Cyprus pre-Turkish invasion of 1974:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyprus

Being 10-12 years old at the time, the politics of the country completely passed me by. What I do remember, however, is that on the island the two communities were not very integrated. The Turkish Cypriots were very much in the minority and were, generally speaking, the poorer citizens. You knew whenever you were travelling though a Turkish village because the road suddenly got very bumpy. The politics grumbles on today – the country is still split in two – Turks to the north, Greeks to the south. Back safely in England by 1974, I remember news reports of Turkish troops parachuting in, and of thousands of displaced Greeks moving south. This was the first time in my life that it dawned on me that things weren’t all so plain-sailingly ordered, predictable and comfortable in the world around me. Volatility was but a blink of an eye away.

Still, it was the early seventies, almost thirty years since the end of the Second World War, and in the grand scheme of things all was pretty fine, peace-wise and stability-wise in Western Europe. We’re ok sitting here in our safe European homes. Surely by now, and after hundreds of years of fighting, we could stop declaring war on each other? We had finally, proudly reached the end of fighting in Europe – hadn’t we? Well, yes, but only until 1991, when there would be all-out war and a lovely new phrase – ethnic cleansing – in the Balkans:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslav_Wars

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnian_Genocide

And a Cold War had been raging since the forties. This was a superpower stand-off (Russia versus USA and their allies/colonies. Communism versus Capitalism) that led to espionage, intrigue and paranoia on both sides. But it wasn’t all cold. For starters, it led to the Korean War of 1950-53. Taken from the Japanese in World War II, in 1945 Korea was split at the 38^th parallel. Russia had the North, America the South. Good idea lads. Kim Il-Sung was Moscow’s puppet then and, yes, that’s his Stalinist nutter of a grandson there today. After general (and increasingly violent) border skirmishing the North invaded, and this led to a two-year tit-for-tat war which ended in stalemate after American and British (and Commonwealth) forces joined in to aid the South and the Chinese intervened to help the North. Negotiations to end the war dragged on for two years, partly because thousands of North Korean prisoners didn’t want to go home:

‘While the communist negotiators were adamant that all were to be returned to their country of origin, thousands of prisoners were unwilling to be repatriated. There were several great mutinies in the Koje camps before a satisfactory formula enabled those who wished to be repatriated to go home and for asylum to be granted to those who wished otherwise.’ (BBC.co.uk)
Vietnam war statistics are horrifying, but this war is often forgotten. American estimates of Korean War deaths are 215,000 North Korean; 400,000 Chinese (including Mao’s son); 46,000 South Korean and 40,000 American. Hundreds of thousands were wounded. British and Commonwealth figures are 1,078 killed in action, 2,674 wounded and 1,060 missing or taken prisoner. Horrendous figures considering this war lasted less than two years.

Next up was the Cold War incident that brought the world to the brink of disaster – the Cuban Missile crisis of October 1962. The Russians had only gone and erected a load of nuclear missiles in Communist Cuba. This may have been ok if, as the Russian leader Kruschev  declared, they were defensive weapons. But aerial photography clearly showed that they were in fact offensive. The Russians were lying. Cue American panic, and thirteen days of tense, nervous debate and negotiation before agreement was finally reached and the Russians dismantled the missiles. The Russians did have a point though, as their actions were in response to the deployment of missiles in the U.K., Italy and Turkey – missiles that could easily reach Russian land.

Going back to before the Balkan debacle, to 1989, Communist Eastern Europe would collapse and loads of new countries emerge from the shackles of totalitarianism – events that changed the world albeit with surprisingly little loss of life. This was partly due to the fact that the Russian President at the time, Mikhail Gorbachev, saw the writing on the wall and initiated reforms known as ‘perestroika’ (reconstruction) in 1986. This was swiftly followed by a policy of ‘glasnost’ (openness) in 1988. These policies unintentionally led to the collapse of the Russian Communist Empire – the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), and therefore heralded the end of the Cold War.

These momentous events began in Poland in 1989. Before you could say Jack Robinson these nations rejected Communism and followed suit: Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Romania and Bulgaria.  (By the way, from phrases.org: ‘It would be pleasing to be able to point to a historical figure called Robinson who was the source of this expression. Regrettably, we can't. It could well be that there was an actual Jack Robinson who was reputed to be quick in some way, but, if that's the case, any reliable record of him has disappeared. It is just as likely that Jack Robinson was a mythical figure and no more real than Jack Tar, Jack Frost or Jack the Giant Killer.’).
By the end of 1991 the USSR had gone and fourteen new countries emerged from its ashes. These were: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Moldova, Lithuania, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
By 1992 Albania and Yugoslavia had also decided against The Red Flag and the latter nation eventually split into six  separate countries (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro), whilst Czechoslovakia split into two – The Czech Republic and Slovakia.
In 1990 one country disappeared – East Germany – taking its ‘Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart’ (Communist view) or ‘Wall of Shame’ (Capitalist view) – The Berlin Wall - with it. The wall’s twenty-eight year existence was over and 100-200 people had been murdered trying to cross it. The day it fell led to scenes of mass jubilation, celebrating the crumbling of the tangible symbol of The Iron Curtain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall

Considering that this was a maelstrom of transmogrification (get that!) it was incredible that Romania was the only former Soviet-controlled country to overthrow its regime violently. This just goes to show how unpopular these regimes were, how the whole phenomenon was like a powder keg, and just how much most of these populations wanted freedom and democracy. You reap what you sow. Nicolae Ceacescu was head of state of Romania from 1967-1989. Moderate and reforming at first (and friendly to the west), his rule became increasingly dictatorial and Stalinist. By definition this meant that he was in common with other national leaders who became self-important, adrift from reality and delusional, developing ‘personality-cults’ and thin, superficial veneers of normality and contentment. Peel under the surface and you’ll find rot and decay; poverty and cruelness; destruction and oppression.  

After a two hour show trial on Christmas Day, 1989, Ceacescu and his wife Elena had their hands ties behind their backs and were executed by their own elite paratroopers. Ironically, two weeks later, on the 7^th January 1990, capital punishment was abolished in Romania.

Globally, Communism was also abolished in Cambodia, Ethiopia, South Yemen and Mongolia. However, protests in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, were brutally repressed.

How many Communist countries does that leave left in the world today? The list may depend on the definition of Communism, but may include China since Mao’s ‘Long March’ resulted in victory by 1949 (run by the Communist Party of China); Cuba since Castro’s 1959 revolution (Communist Party of Cuba); Vietnam since 1954 (Communist Party of Vietnam) and  Laos since a 1975 revolution (Lao People’s Revolutionary Party). North Korea, you’d think, is a bona fide Communist state. Well, it is a perfect example of a Totalitarian state apart from the fact that it has removed all Marxist-Leninist references from its constitution and government, a Party Congress has not been held since 1980 and it has hereditary rule.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism

So that’s five ‘pure’ Communist nations left. Even here though there will be inevitable flux. Both China and Vietnam are really more ‘nationalist’ in approach now and are embracing elements of capitalism in order to compete economically in the global market and turning them into prosperous developing nations.

When the Soviet Union existed Communist countries included: Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Benin, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Congo, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Ethiopia, Hungary, Mongolia, Mozambique, Poland, Romania, Somalia, South Yemen, Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia.

Back to Cyprus now - we went home for the three holidays per year, but the RAF only paid for two of them. So the paid trips were with BA and all mod-cons including personal care from an air hostess as we were unaccompanied minors. These flights were usually in Boeing 707s from Heathrow or Gatwick.

For the one holiday a year that the RAF didn’t cough up the cash, we caught an ‘indulgence’ flight. An indulgence means that you are basically hitching a lift on a military plane for a few pounds, and these lifts may be subject to late-notice changes as spaces can be filled by members of the military who have more priority then mere dependants, or by prioritised freight. The planes would either be an old RAF Bristol Britannia which shook, rattled and rolled across the sky from Brize Norton, Oxfordshire or an RAF VC 10 (the more comfortable option).

The destination was RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akrotiri_and_Dhekelia

I remember going to nearby Larnaca to visit the beaches or to go for a Greek meze. Pink flamingos shimmering in the distance on a huge salt lake just outside Akrotiri. A flamingo or two in the harbour in Paphos, arrived at via a beautiful coast road that took you past Aphrodite’s rock: the birthplace of Aphrodite, the Goddess of beauty and love.  Dining  al fresco by the water in Kyrenia, now in Turkish hands. Driving up Mount Troodos to reach a restaurant at the top. Miles of empty beaches in the north-west tip: the ‘pan-handle’. The scent of citrus fruit. Diving off rocks in Akrotiri, swimming to our own secluded, tiny bay, dodging the jelly fish. Fishing from these rocks with a home-made rod, catching a sea trout, trying to keep it in a rock pool and feeling very guilty when it inevitably perished.  Trying once, and failing miserably, at water-skiing. Far too self-conscious, awkward and unconfident. Three attempts, three falls. A distraught young couple arriving with my father at my house. Their  young child had just drowned and my Dad was doing his pastoral duty as commander of the (70) squadron, in charge of a fleet of Hercules transport planes and a couple of old Argosys.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_C-130_Hercules

Dad on the right!

With every Cypriot meal there would be free cochinelli wine – red and rough – on the table. Growing sunflowers. Catching lizards. A family holiday in Famagusta, fabulous sandy beaches and giant waves – spending hours jumping into them and letting them whirlpool me around. Exhilaration.  Walking  the two miles or so to the beaches of Akrotiri under the hot Mediterranean sun. Surrounded by miles of sand and gorgeous blue sea, picking my way through the blobs of oil randomly deposited on the beach by the passing tankers and swimming in the gently rolling surf. Sometimes reaching a raft and diving from it. Snorkelling: clear blue water, pretty fish and a grumpy looking grouper.

Later a large part of Famagusta would become a Turkish-occupied ghost town – a dead zone between Turks and Greeks, the once popular tourist resort becoming a mess of derelict, crumbling buildings, including lots of hotels. The Greek inhabitants had to flee the oncoming Turkish tanks.

http://www.inhostage.com/

The exiled local football team, Anorthosis Famagusta, eventually built a new stadium in Larnaca, and are now regulars in the Champions League or Europa League.